Price comparison: Bulgaria remains the EU's cheapest country, housing especially so
According to Eurostat, Bulgaria's price level is 63% of the EU average, while Germany's is 8.3% above it. The gap is widest for housing.
Symbolic image · Photo: Јакша / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
Bulgaria remains the country with the lowest price level in the European Union. According to EU statistics agency Eurostat, on June 18, 2026, prices for household consumption there stood at 63% of the EU average in 2025. Romania followed at 65% and Poland at 73%. The most expensive were Denmark (140%), Ireland (136%) and Luxembourg (132%).
Germany was 8.3% above the EU average, according to the Federal Statistical Office. The gap is widest for housing: according to Eurostat data published by Bulgaria's statistics office NSI, Bulgaria reached only 41% of the EU level, the lowest in the EU. Housing is most expensive in Ireland, at 190%.
Rents show the same picture. According to the portal Numbeo, whose data are based on user submissions (as of August 2026), a one-bedroom apartment in central Sofia costs about €676 a month, compared with about €1,277 in Berlin, nearly 89% more. Excluding rent, living costs in Berlin are 37% higher. Numbeo figures are approximations, not official statistics.
This article is for information only and is not legal, tax, financial or medical advice. Figures as of the date stated.