What Sofia costs
A frugal day in Sofia is €21–32 per person — a hostel, street food, a set lunch and two metro rides, all in euro.
- A frugal day per person
- €21–32
- Sleeping
- Hostel €9–15
- Food
- Street €0.92 (kebapche
Bulgaria has been in the eurozone since 1 January 2026, so nothing in Sofia needs converting from leva any more — every price here is already in euro. A frugal day, with a hostel, street food, a set lunch and two metro rides, is €21–32 per person.
Prices line by line
All prices are per person.
A frugal day
The same basket used for every city on the site: a bed, one street meal, one set lunch, two rides on public transport. Not included: breakfast, drinks with the meal, or tickets.
From the airport
The M4 metro to the centre is €0.80 per person — the same fare as any other ride on public transport. A taxi is €13–14 per ride, not per person, so it splits across everyone in the car; it makes sense late at night or with more luggage, when the saving from the metro does not cover the hassle of changing.
Sightseeing tickets
The Ancient Serdica complex and Vitosha park are free. The crypt at Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Boyana Church and the National History Museum charge separately — their prices sit on the day-by-day plan where each one falls, not here, because they do not enter every day's budget.
What moves the price
Food and transport prices stay the same all year; what changes is how full the city is and how easy it is to find a free bed in season. Bulgaria has been in the eurozone since 2026, so there is no longer a currency-exchange loss eating into part of the daily budget.
What this sum leaves out
- A hotel or a private room. The sum above counts a hostel bed; a room changes the daily total, so check its price for your exact dates.
- A day trip out of town. Rila Monastery, the Seven Rila Lakes, Plovdiv and Koprivshtitsa each have their own transport and tickets, outside the daily budget in the city.
- Breakfast and drinks with the meal. Not part of the basket compared against other cities on the site.
The same comparison for 143 places: hostel, hotel, getting into town and a day pass. Travel costs →
Before you go
Short answers to what people ask most before setting out.
How much money does a day in Sofia need?
A frugal €21–32 per person — a hostel, street food, a set lunch and two metro rides.
Is the tourist tax included in the room price?
Not in the price a booking site shows: for a three-star hotel it is €0.40–1 (3-star) per person per night, paid on the spot.
Does Sofia use euro or leva?
Euro. Bulgaria has been in the eurozone since 1 January 2026; the lev stopped being legal tender on 1 February 2026.
Ready for Sofia?
Where to next
The Sofia the six-sight list skips
→The oldest building in the city, a working synagogue, a museum of toppled statues and a park with no ticket…
Plovdiv · 132 km
→A Roman theatre, the cobbles of the Old Town and the crooked lanes of Kapana, all on one hill and in the quarter below it.
How well does Sofia suit you?
→Six questions: a score for this place and others like it.
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