Data Centers in Sofia

Sofia – Strategic Hub for Southeast Europe

Executive Summary

Sofia is the primary data center market for Bulgaria and a strategic digital gateway to the Balkans. It is an excellent choice for companies needing to deliver low-latency services to Southeast Europe, offering highly competitive power costs and a low-risk operational environment. This combination allows businesses to improve application performance for a growing regional user base while carefully managing their total cost of ownership.

Sofia: At A Glance

Network & Connectivity Ecosystem

Sofia's connectivity ecosystem is well-developed for its size, providing a solid foundation for regional digital services. The market features 19 data centers and over 10 network service providers, as of September 2025, with several carrier-neutral facilities available for interconnection.

Carrier Density & Carrier Neutrality: The market includes a mix of local, regional, and international carriers. While not as dense as primary European hubs, the presence of multiple carrier-neutral data centers ensures competitive options for transit, transport, and peering.

Direct Cloud On-Ramps: Sofia has no direct cloud on-ramps and zero in-country cloud regions, as of September 2025. Secure, high-performance connections to cloud providers like AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure are established through private network extensions to major hubs such as Vienna and Frankfurt.

Internet Exchange Points (IXPs): The Bulgarian Internet Exchange (BIX.BG) is the primary peering point in the country. It is essential for localizing traffic, reducing latency between Bulgarian networks, and improving end-user experience nationwide.

Bare Metal: Bare metal server options are readily available in Sofia from various providers. Companies like OVHcloud and Leaseweb offer dedicated server solutions for workloads requiring direct hardware access without a virtualization layer.

Power Analysis

Bulgaria offers some of the most competitive power pricing in Europe, making it an attractive location for high-density deployments.

Average Cost Of Power: Industrial power costs average around €0.09/kWh, as of August 2025. This favorable rate significantly reduces the ongoing operational expenses associated with running critical IT infrastructure.

Power Grid Reliability: The national grid is stable, benefiting from a diverse energy mix that is 43% nuclear. Data centers in Sofia are typically served by redundant power feeds from multiple utility substations, ensuring high levels of uptime for mission-critical operations.

Market Access, Business & Tax Climate

Sofia provides a strategic base of operations with a business-friendly climate and excellent access to developing markets.

Proximity To Key Business Districts: Data centers in Sofia are located near the city's main business parks and commercial zones. This proximity provides low-latency connectivity for the country's thriving IT outsourcing, software development, and financial services industries.

Regional Market Reach: A deployment in Sofia effectively serves users across the Balkan peninsula, including Romania, Greece, Serbia, and North Macedonia. It offers a significant latency advantage over facilities located in Western European hubs.

Tax Advantage For Data Centers: While there are no specific tax incentives for data centers, Bulgaria has one of the most favorable corporate tax environments in the European Union. The country's flat 10% corporate income tax rate offers a significant financial benefit for businesses establishing a local presence.

Natural Disaster Risk

Bulgaria has a Low overall natural disaster risk profile, with an INFORM Risk score of 2.6 out of 10, as of September 2025. Site selection should still account for the most relevant regional hazards.

The primary environmental risks for infrastructure in the Sofia region are:

• Earthquake: The area has a moderate seismic risk (6.2/10).
• River Flood: Some parts of the region are exposed to river flooding (5.1/10).

Modern data centers in Sofia are constructed to current seismic engineering standards. Diligent facility selection should focus on providers located outside of designated flood zones and built to withstand local seismic activity.