Cost of Living Guide

City comparison

Cost of living in Sofia vs Medellín

One person needs about €1,050 a month in Sofia and €968 in Medellín, rent included — Medellín is 8% cheaper overall.

🇧🇬
Sofia
Bulgaria · 1.3M pop
vs
🇨🇴
Medellín
Colombia · 2.5M pop
Monthly rent (1BR)
€600€600
0% pricier
Groceries / mo
€220€220
0% pricier
Eating out (meal)
€9€6
33% cheaper
Internet (100mbps)
€13€20
54% pricier
Avg salary (tech)
€2,200€1,300
41% lower
Coworking / mo
€100€120
20% pricier
SofiaMedellín
Rent€600€600
Groceries€220€220
Transport€25€25
Utilities€120€55

Salary you'd need to keep the same lifestyle

Enter your current net monthly pay. We scale it by the full cost basket — rent, groceries, transport, utilities, eating out and internet.

To live in Medellín the way you live in Sofia on €3,000, you need

€2,766/ month net

8% less than today (-€234)

Sofia today
Basket €1,050 · left over €1,950 (65%)
Medellín at the matched salary
Basket €968 · left over €1,798 (65%)

Local pay context: average tech net pay covers the basket 134% over in Medellín (adequate) vs 210% in Sofia. Purchasing power index · How we calculate this

🇧🇬 Sofia

Flat 10% income tax, mountains at the tram terminus, and very low fixed costs.

Monthly budget: €1,050

Sources: Eurostat, Harmonised price indices (2025) · 0 community reports

🇨🇴 Medellín

Spring weather year-round and the cheapest nomad hub in the Americas.

Monthly budget: €968

Sources: Eurostat, Harmonised price indices (2025) · 0 community reports

Should you move to Sofia or Medellín?

On salary, Sofia pays more for tech roles (€2,200 versus €1,300 a month), so the money left over after costs is €1,150 in Sofia at the top end.

Rent drives most of the gap: €600 in Sofia against €600 in Medellín. Groceries, transport and utilities move far less between the two.

For remote workers, the nomad index scores Sofia at 76 and Medellín at 76 — see the full nomad index and our data methodology.

More Sofia comparisons

More Medellín comparisons