Internet and Mobile Plans in Bulgaria: Fast, Cheap, and How to Sign Up

Here is a sentence you will not write about many aspects of Bulgarian bureaucracy: this part is world-class. Bulgaria has ranked among the best countries on earth for internet speed per euro for two decades — a legacy of fierce competition among neighborhood LAN providers in the 2000s that matured into near-universal cheap fiber. Gigabit connections cost less than a takeaway lunch in London, 5G blankets the cities, and signing up takes minutes. This guide covers home internet, mobile plans, the prepaid-versus-contract question for newcomers, and where English support actually exists.

Home internet: what you get and what it costs

Fiber-to-the-building or fiber-to-the-home is the default in every city and most decent-sized towns. The national providers are A1, Vivacom, and Yettel (fixed via its Bulsatcom heritage and partnerships), joined by strong regional players — NetSurf and ComNet in the south and along the coast, Networx around Ruse, and dozens of city-level ISPs that are often the fastest and cheapest option in their patch.

Promotional first-year pricing is standard, as are 12- or 24-month contracts (shorter or no-commitment deals cost a couple of euros more — worth it if your plans are fluid). A router is included; installation is free or a token €10-20 and usually happens within days.

Two practical notes for apartment hunters: coverage is building-specific, so check which providers serve the building (each provider's site has an address checker, and the tangle of cables at the building entrance is its own honest documentation); and in rentals, internet is the one utility you will typically contract in your own name.

Reliability is excellent in cities. If you work remotely, Bulgaria is genuinely one of Europe's best bases for connectivity — symmetrical gigabit at these prices is why Sofia and Bansko keep appearing on nomad shortlists. Village coverage varies: many villages have fiber (rural rollout has been aggressive), others rely on fixed 4G/5G routers, so verify before renting a farmhouse.

Mobile: the three networks

Bulgaria has three mobile networks, all with strong 4G everywhere people live and 5G across cities and resorts:

• A1 Bulgaria (Austrian A1 Group) — largest, priciest, arguably the best data network.
• Yettel (formerly Telenor Bulgaria) — competitive plans, good network, popular with younger users.
• Vivacom (United Group) — the former state telecom; strongest rural voice coverage, aggressive bundles with its fiber and TV.

There is no meaningful coverage reason for an expat in a city to prefer one over another — choose on price and bundle. EU roaming rules apply: your Bulgarian SIM roams across the EU/EEA "like at home," which since Schengen and euro accession rounds out the frictionless-travel picture nicely.

Contract plans

Unlimited-data plans run €13-25/month; generous capped plans (30-100 GB with unlimited national calls) run €8-15. Two things the shop will not volunteer:

1. Annual indexation is real. All three operators raise contract prices yearly under CPI-indexation clauses — in 2026, A1 and Yettel applied 9.5% and Vivacom 4.5%. The advertised price is a starting price.
2. Contracts are 24 months by default with meaningful early-exit penalties. Ask explicitly for no-commitment (безсрочен) variants if you want flexibility.

Prepaid: the newcomer's friend

Prepaid SIMs cost €6-10 with 15-30 GB and national minutes included; top-ups work via ePay, EasyPay, supermarket vouchers, and the operators' apps. SIM registration against ID (passport is fine) is required by law — a five-minute shop visit. Since no LNCh, Bulgarian bank account, or address is needed, prepaid is the standard landing move: get a Bulgarian number on day one (you will need it for bank onboarding, delivery apps, and every verification SMS), then convert to a contract once your residence card exists. Operators convert prepaid numbers to contract plans keeping the same number, and number portability between operators is routine and free.

Contracts and foreigners

For a contract (with its subsidized-handset temptations), operators generally want ID plus a Bulgarian personal number — an LNCh for foreigners — and sometimes proof of address. EU citizens' registration certificates work too. Without residence documents you may be asked for a deposit or simply steered to prepaid. This is branch-discretionary, like much else in Bulgaria; a city-center store used to foreigners is your best bet.

eSIMs

All three operators support eSIM for contract customers, and increasingly for prepaid — A1 and Yettel issue prepaid eSIMs in-store, and travel eSIM marketplaces (Airalo and peers) cover Bulgaria for short stays. For a permanent move, a physical-to-eSIM swap at a store costs a token fee. US phones are fully compatible provided they are carrier-unlocked; Bulgarian networks use standard European GSM/LTE/5G bands.

English support reality

• Apps and websites: A1, Yettel, and Vivacom all offer English-language app and account interfaces; provider websites are partially translated (plan smallprint often remains Bulgarian-only — translate before signing).
• Stores: in Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna, Burgas, and the resort towns, younger staff speak workable-to-fluent English. Village shops, less so.
• Phone support: English-speaking agents exist on all three operators' lines, sometimes after a wait or a callback.
• Contracts are in Bulgarian. For anything with a 24-month commitment, run it through a translation app or bring a Bulgarian speaker — standard advice for every Bulgarian contract you will ever sign.

TV and streaming

Cable/IPTV bundles add €5-12 to a fiber bill and carry the international news and sports channels. Every major streaming service operates in Bulgaria normally; your home-country subscriptions mostly travel with you under EU portability rules if registered in the EU, while US accounts may need payment-method gymnastics. Between Bulgarian fiber speeds and low overall living costs, the couch economics here are excellent.

Setting up, step by step

1. Day 1: buy a prepaid SIM at any A1/Yettel/Vivacom store with your passport (€6-10). Skip airport kiosk markups; city stores are everywhere.
2. Week 1: once you have an address, check which fiber providers serve your building and order — installation typically inside a week. If the rental already has internet in the landlord's name, you can simply take over paying it, Bulgarian-style.
3. Month 1-3: with residence card and LNCh in hand, move to a contract plan if the economics tempt you — or stay prepaid; plenty of long-term expats never switch.
4. Set up payments via ePay/EasyPay or your bank's app so bills pay themselves — details in the utilities guide.

FAQ

Can I get home internet without a residence permit?

Usually yes — fixed-line ISPs are more relaxed than mobile operators; a passport and the installation address typically suffice, occasionally with a small deposit or prepayment for non-residents.

Should I keep my home-country number?

Keep it on an eSIM alongside your Bulgarian SIM (dual-SIM phones make this painless) — banks and government services back home cling to SMS verification. Move it to a cheap plan and let it idle.

How fast is the internet really?

Median fixed speeds in Bulgarian cities sit comfortably in the hundreds of Mbps, and paying for gigabit generally delivers gigabit — the constraint is more often your landlord's 2012 router than the line. Ask the ISP for the current-generation router when signing up.

Is there a cheap option for a second/holiday home?

Fixed-wireless 4G/5G home routers from any operator (€10-15/month, no cabling) suit coastal apartments used part of the year; some ISPs also offer seasonal pause options on fiber contracts.

Sources

• A1 Bulgaria
• Yettel Bulgaria
• Vivacom
• Novinite — 2026 mobile price indexation by A1, Vivacom, Yettel
• Speedtest Global Index — Bulgaria