From the 1st January 2026 Bulgaria has officially adopted the EURO.
As of the 1st January 2026 Bulgaria’s official currency is the EURO. During the transitional period both Bulgarian Leva and EURO will be accepted throughout January 2026. After this period, banks will exchange Leva notes and coins at the official exchange rate.
Prior to 2026, the official currency was the Bulgarian Lev. Read more about the lev below and see how the prices used to compare “back in the day”!
The Bulgarian Lev and historical prices from when Eat Stay Love Bulgaria first published this information:
You may hear many people (including us) refer to Bulgarian prices in Euro but it’s important to remember that the local currency is the lev. In archaic Bulgarian the word “lev” meant “lion” and as you can see lions are all over Bulgaria in various forms (sculptures, monuments, etc.) representing the braveness of the Bulgarian nation.
There are many change bureaus in the cities who will give you a good exchange rate if you haven’t managed to change any cash before you arrive. Most large hotels, restaurants and shops accept cards however smaller places are likely to ask for cash only so be prepared.
Here’s some more information on Bulgarian currency, including some pictures you will hopefully find useful:
1 Bulgarian Lev
1 Lev
1 Bulgarian Lev equals approximately € 0.50 and $ 0.52 and this will remain so until Bulgaria accepts Euros as national currency.
If you come to Bulgaria, try to keep your Bulgarian coins separate from your Euro coins, as they are quite similar and you might end up giving out Euros when you didn’t mean to.
1 Lev can buy you:
- 1 coffee from a kiosk;
- a pack of chewing gum;
- an ice cream in most supermarkets;
- a loaf of bread;
- “zakuska”- sweet or sour snack from one of the multiple kiosks around Bulgaria.
2 Bulgarian leva banknote
2 Leva (the plural of lev= leva)
The 2 leva note is basically equal to one euro but you can get a lot more for it than you could get for a euro in most European countries. Here is a list of some of the items you can get for 2 leva:
- 1 way ticket for the public transport (2.60 lev – regardless of destination and length of journey, as long as you don’t change the means of transportation). You can also use it on the metro from one end of Sofia to the other;
- 1 litre of beer from a supermarket;
- a slice of pizza;
- a kilogram of apples.
5 Bulgarian leva banknote
5 Leva
This is what a 5 leva note looks like in Bulgaria. And here’s a list of items you could get for 5 leva:
- 200 gr of yellow cheese;
- 0.500 gr of pork meat;
- 2 kg of sugar;
- a salad in a local restaurant;
- an alcoholic drink;
- an ice cream.
10, 20, 50 and 100 Leva
And here are the notes of 10, 20, 50 and 100 leva.
