Bulgaria vs. Romania: Which Country to Choose?

The two neighboring countries, Romania and Bulgaria, are usually fighting for the last spot in EU’s charts: from minimum and average salary to corruption and quality of life, it’s becoming a habit to see these two countries at the bottom of all charts.

Fortunately, this doesn’t mean that either Bulgaria or Romania are countries that you should stay away from – either for a short-term holiday, or long-term living. On the contrary! These are both safe, beautiful, lower cost of living countries with friendly locals and delicious food.

BUT one might be better than the other and today I’m updating the article pitting them against each other, to help you decide which one’s better for you.

And if you just don’t feel like going through the entire article, let me give you a quick spoiler: they’re pretty much the same, in the end!

Fun test: check out the photos in today’s article and try to guess how many are from Bulgaria, and how many from Romania (and which, for bonus points). Results at the bottom of the article.

Which country to choose – Romania or Bulgaria?

You’re on the “Romania Experience” website, so you’d be tempted to believe that I’ll be biased. I guarantee that I’m doing my best to leave subjectivity behind – but keep in mind that I’ve been living in Romania for most my life.

I also visited Bulgaria extensively over the past several years – although most of that time was spent in their seaside resorts.

But based on my experience and chats I had with various friends (both Romanian and not) about the two countries, as well as some extra research I did, I’m sure that I have a clear, objective picture for today’s comparison. Let’s begin!

Quick Overview: Bulgaria vs. Romania

If you don’t want to read the entire article and see ALL the details, the table below sums up everything. If reading it on mobile, I recommend switching to horizontal/landscape mode.

Category	Bulgaria	Romania
Visa/Residency	Easier for retirees, pensioner & investor visas	Harder for retirees, easier for EU/nomads
Income Tax	Flat 10% (personal & corporate)	10% income + social contributions (total ~35% for employees); 1-3% for microbusiness
Cost of Living	Slightly lower, esp. in small towns/resorts	Slightly higher, big city prices rising
Property Market	More cheap options, especially at the seaside	Fewer bargains, prices rising quickly
Healthcare	Good private clinics, public hit-or-miss	Good private clinics, public hit-or-miss
Language	Bulgarian (Cyrillic), less English overall	Romanian (Latin script), more English spoken in cities
Internet	Fast/good, but Romania is world-class	Among the world’s fastest, super cheap
Roads/Highways	More highway miles, better Balkan road trips	Fewer highways, improving infrastructure
Business Setup	Simple, quick, low taxes, less paperwork	Possible, more red tape, but improving
Expat Community	Smaller, but growing in Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna	Larger in Bucharest, Cluj, Timișoara, growing in smaller cities
Climate	Four seasons, similar	Four seasons, similar
Tourism/Leisure	Great Black Sea resorts, winter skiing in Bansko	Rich history, castles, Transylvania, Carpathians
Education (Intl. Schools)	Decent, mostly in Sofia	More options in Bucharest, some in other big cities
Ease for Non-EU Citizens	Easier residency routes for retirees/investors	Harder, but digital nomad visa exists
“Westernization“	Feels more “Balkan” or “Mediterranean”	Feels more “Central European”

Cost of living in Bulgaria vs Romania

Things are evolving fast in this area, with both countries recording huge jumps in the estimated cost of living due to inflation and the entire situation in the world.

However, Bulgaria is dealing with some extra inflationary pressure due to the fact that, starting 2026, they will switch from using the local currency – the Bulgarian Leva – to Euros. And this has already started to bring a spike in costs.

Still, the cost of living in both countries remains similar. I have an article covering the one in Romania, but I went to Numbeo to compare it against Bulgaria’s. When it comes to the two capitals (Bucharest and Sofia), the former is a bit more expensive:

I ran a similar comparison back in 2022, and things were much different, as you can see in the image below. I’d still take this data above with a pinch of salt, as it still hasn’t managed to fully catch up with the recent spike of prices in Bulgaria.

But still, overall, it’s pretty much the same costs-wise, although there are differences. For example, food prices in Bulgarian Black Sea resorts are still lower than those in Romania if we’re making an apples to apples comparison.

You can find really cheap things in either place, but the general feeling that I had was that everything’s cheaper in Bulgaria.

This was one of the main reasons why I chose it as our summer holiday destination for three years in a row before 2020 (which would’ve been the 4th year we spent our summer holiday there… but you know what happened).

Bulgaria is not only cheaper, but the quality of service and that of the products is much higher than what you get even in the best Romanian beach resorts (but more on that later).

Bulgaria also really managed to up their game in terms of all inclusive offers and, even though they’re still far behind Turkey in my opinion, they’re doing much better than Romania does. You can take a look at the best All Inclusive resorts in Bulgaria here.

Also, after taking a look at some real estate websites, it appears that buying and renting in Bulgaria is cheaper than it is in Romania at the moment.

Prices in Sofia are similar to those in Bucharest (inflated, in my opinion), but in the “very cheap” range, it appears that you have more lower prices options in Bulgaria than you do in Romania, when looking at smaller towns and cities.

So when it comes to real estate, it’s not that Bulgaria is by default cheaper: just that you have a lot more to choose from compared to Romania.

If you want to get a bit more in depth with the Romanian side, you can check out my article sharing prices in Romania, or where to find good rentals.

Things to see and do

In this area, things are easier, in my opinion: both Romania and Bulgaria offer plenty of things to do: from the seaside resorts to the charming mountain towns, from unspoiled nature to extremely modern entertainment venues, you have all options available to you.

Each country has its major highlights and every city has more or fewer things to offer (depending on their size, mostly). But you have plenty to see no matter which one you choose.

Since these are neighboring countries, the natural beauty is pretty much the same, they share the same sea – the Black Sea – so again, it’s pretty much the same thing, and both countries still have plenty of the old communist apartment building blocks all over.

I can honestly say that if you were to be shown different photos from each country, without being told where each picture was taken, it would be impossible for you to guess if it’s Romania or Bulgaria, be it a city or natural beauty – as you will most likely see with the “photo quiz” I launched in the intro.

Safety, quality of life and local income

I did mix some things that are not really related – safety, quality of life and income – but somehow in my head they work well together.

When it comes to earnings, Bulgaria has the lowest salaries in the European Union, with Romania being around 200 Euros above in terms of average take-home wages.

And with numbers being so low, 200 Euros means a lot, especially since we saw that costs are similar in both countries.

Of course, this will rarely have a direct impact on a foreigner’s way of living, as they might not rely on local wages.

But they do have an impact over the quality of life and general safety. Automatically, everywhere in this world, lower income results in a poorer standard of living and more violence, usually petty crime.

However, both Bulgaria and Romania can be considered generally safe if you stick to the larger cities and stay away from their more dangerous areas (and even there, “dangerous” is a bit of an exaggeration).

While on vacation in Bulgaria, for example, we had absolutely no concerns leaving our valuables unattended on the beach, while we went to swim.

We did not have piles of gold on each sunbed – just phones and very little money hidden in our bags, but still there was absolutely no concern that somebody might be interested in them.

However, there are stories from fellow Romanians whose cars have been stolen (like the entire vehicle!) in Bulgaria, or broken into.

As well, there are similar stories about various people having similarly unpleasant experiences in Romania: a Romanian family that we met in Sunny Beach a few years ago said that they have decided against going to the Romanian seaside again after the villa they stayed in the previous year was broken into and everything they had was stolen.

Also, just a few days ago, while in Bucharest, I saw police around a car: its window was broken and the radio was stolen. My car’s mirror (and it’s a local Dacia) was also stolen once in the city I live in.

So things like this can happen anywhere, but fortunately on very rare occasions. This means that I consider both countries, as long as you use common sense and take all the regular precautions, safe. At least people are not casually carrying guns, so that’s a big win.

And finally, getting to the quality of life part, I would once again say that things should be pretty much similar in both countries.

Romania, having the higher earnings, probably gives locals a bit more in terms of quality of life, but generally this doesn’t apply to foreigners moving here or travelers who don’t really get to experience the local way of living.

Bulgaria does have a bit more to offer in terms of infrastructure (better roads and more miles of highways), but apart from that, I wouldn’t say that the two countries are much different.

Healthcare Options & Quality

You might have heard stories that made you worried about the healthcare system in both countries, and unfortunately some are true. Things are improving, though, and there are few differences between Romania and Bulgaria in this category.

When it comes to Public Healthcare, both countries offer a universal public system, but the quality is hit-or-miss.

Public hospitals can be outdated, with long wait times, lack of available medicine, and with English rarely spoken outside major hospitals in big cities.

However, things change when you look at Private Healthcare options. Private clinics and hospitals are very popular in both Romania and Bulgaria. They’re usually modern, extremely affordable (by Western standards), and you have better chances of finding doctors who speak at least decent English.

For routine needs, private care is usually the best option, and expats overwhelmingly prefer it.

Service quality in Bulgaria vs Romania

Based on my personal experience, I would say that customer service is better in Bulgaria, without it being over the top and unbelievably good. Just better.

Whenever I was in Bulgaria, I rarely had reasons to be disappointed by the customer service, even though on some occasions the staff I was interacting with had something more important to do (like browsing on their phone or talking to somebody who was not a customer).

How easy is it to retire or move in Bulgaria vs Romania

If you plan to live in a country, it’s really important how easy it is to legally stay there.

Here, things are simple: it’s a lot easier to retire in Bulgaria than it is in Romania for non-EU citizens.

Romania has no retirement visa and you have to get creative if you want to retire here, while Bulgaria offers a simple and straightforward pensioner visa.

If you come here with a job offer, it’s just as easy in both countries and usually the company hiring you will handle the visa work.

There is also a “digital nomad visa in Romania,” but it requires you to make around 3,000 Euros per month which is a bit overkill in my opinion…

Also, if you have a bit more money in the bank and want to live in the EU, Bulgaria has a “real estate investment visa” that allows you to live in the country as long as you buy property worth around 312,000 Euros.

That is a ton of money indeed, but at least you know you have your options…

Have in mind that except for that property investment visa, none of the countries offer self sufficient individuals an easy way to get a visa and a residence permit. But if you are retired, it’s a lot easier to live in Bulgaria.

IMPORTANT: If you are an EU citizen, living long-term is equally easy in both countries, no matter if you are retired or not, due to the rules in all European Union countries.

Who Should Choose Which Country?

At the end of the day, as you can see from my analysis above, both Bulgaria and Romania offer very similar lifestyles for foreigners.

But, depending on your situation and priorities, one might have a slight edge over the other. So, to summarize everything we’ve talked about above, here are my thoughts:

You’ll probably prefer Bulgaria if…

• You’re retired, not from the EU, and want an easy, straightforward pensioner/residency visa.
• You’re looking for lower, flat personal income and corporate tax rates (especially as a freelancer or business owner).
• You plan to buy or rent property in a seaside or resort area – Bulgaria has more inventory and better prices for houses and apartments, including holiday properties.
• You don’t mind the Cyrillic alphabet and are comfortable navigating in a language you might not speak (or are ready to use Google Translate often).
• You’re after better roads/highway connections for road trips or travel within the Balkans.

You’ll probably prefer Romania if…

• You want ultra-fast, cheap internet and great mobile coverage (Romania is world-class in this area – check out my article about the internet speed here).
• You feel more comfortable in a Latin-based language and alphabet.
• You want to live in a bigger city with a growing tech or expat scene – Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Brasov or Timișoara have solid international communities (which are also growing in smaller cities).
• You’re a student or academic – Romania’s universities (especially for medicine/dentistry) are very popular with foreign students, and there are more English/French programs, while the cost of living remains affordable (read about living costs for students here).
• You prefer a more “Central European” vibe in culture, architecture, and lifestyle (although Romania is, undoubtedly, Eastern-European).
• You’re sensitive to language barriers – there’s generally more English spoken, especially among young people and in urban areas.
• You want to live in Transylvania (for that storybook vibe and vampire hunting), or prefer mountain towns over beaches.

If you’re still undecided, a coin toss can be the perfect way to choose one. The differences are minimal, at the end of the day, and for most people, it comes down to visa requirements, language/alphabet comfort, and a gut feeling for which country “calls” to you more.

If you never visited either, I recommend spending at least a couple of weeks in each and see which one resonates with you better.

(Photo test results: I challenged you at the beginning of the article to try to guess how many of the photos are from Bulgaria and how many from Romania. Except for the obvious screenshots from Numbeo, ALL the photos in this article are taken in Bulgaria. Yup, exactly what you’d expect to see in Romania!)