Is Bulgaria expensive?

TL;DR

In 2025, Eurostat's price level for restaurants and accommodation in Bulgaria was 56, about 44% below the EU average, and for all household spending 63, about 38% below the EU average. These indices compare price levels between countries; they are not the cost of a trip.

How expensive is Bulgaria?

Eurostat's price level indices compare the level of prices between countries, with the EU average set at 100. In 2025, Bulgaria's index for restaurants and accommodation was 56, about 44% below the EU average, and for all household spending 63, about 38% below the EU average.1 Eurostat says these indices show the rough order of magnitude, not a strict ranking of countries.

Bulgaria: price level indices, 2023 to 2025 (EU average = 100)
What202320242025
Restaurants and accommodation535556
Food and non-alcoholic drinks899093
Alcoholic drinks106107109
Alcohol and tobacco686870
Transport696970
Passenger transport services555656
All household spending596163

Restaurants and accommodation is one heading in this dataset: there is no hotels-only figure. These are price levels, not what a trip costs.

When is accommodation dearest?

Accommodation prices in Bulgaria follow a clear yearly pattern in Eurostat's monthly index: over 2023 to 2025 they were highest in July (+19.9% against the year's trend) and lowest in May (−6.5%).2 This shows how prices move through the year, not what a stay costs.

Compare with other countries on price levels in Europe and Japan, and see when Bulgaria is busy and quiet on our Bulgaria page.

Key takeaways

  • Restaurants and accommodation, 2025: 56 (EU average 100).
  • All household spending, 2025: 63.
  • What we would skip: reading an index as the price you will pay.

Sources

Indices as published by Eurostat, rounded to whole numbers; the comparison with 100 is ours. See how we research.

  1. Price levels: Eurostat, Purchasing power parities, price level indices, nominal and real expenditures by analytical categories – based on COICOP 2018, doi:10.2908/PRC_PPP_IND_1, accessed 6 October 2026 (data updated by Eurostat on 9 July 2026). Extract: price level indices, EU27 (from 2020) = 100, 2025. Eurostat is not responsible for our calculations or for how we present its data.
  2. Accommodation price index: Eurostat, Harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP) – monthly data, doi:10.2908/PRC_HICP_MINR, accessed 6 October 2026 (data updated by Eurostat on 2 October 2026). Extract: accommodation services (CP1120), monthly index, July 2022 to June 2026. Eurostat is not responsible for our calculations or for how we present its data.

Modified data: we rounded the indices and described how far each is from the EU average. Eurostat is not responsible for our calculations or for how we present its data.