Bulgaria continues to rank as the lowest-priced country in the European Union in terms of overall household consumption in 2025, according to Eurostat’s latest flash estimates cited by the National Statistical Institute. The country’s price level stands at 63% of the EU average, placing it at the bottom of the bloc in terms of general affordability.
Romania follows with 65% of the EU average, while Poland reaches 73%. At the opposite end of the scale are Denmark at 140%, Ireland at 136%, and Luxembourg at 132%, reflecting the highest price levels across the EU.
However, broader regional comparisons show that Bulgaria is not the cheapest country in Europe overall. Outside the EU, North Macedonia records a lower level at 55%, followed by Bosnia and Herzegovina at 59% and Turkey at 60%. Meanwhile, Albania (73%), Serbia (68%), and Montenegro (66%) all remain more expensive than Bulgaria despite staying well below the EU average.
A key detail in the data concerns food and non-alcoholic beverages, where Bulgaria does not rank among the cheapest EU countries. Prices in this category reach 93% of the EU average, placing the country significantly above several EU peers.
Cheaper food prices are recorded in Romania (80%), Slovakia (83%), and both Poland and the Czech Republic (90%). This means that although Bulgaria offers the lowest overall cost of living in the EU, grocery prices remain relatively close to the European average.
