Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Tbilisi

For one person, living is cheaper in Tbilisi: $1,269 a month against $1,354 in Bucharest, rent and utilities included – about $1,000 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Bucharest outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in Tbilisi
Learn more

Tbilisi Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,354

/mo nomad

Tbilisi

🇬🇪 Georgia

$1,269

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Tbilisi

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Bucharest and in Tbilisi actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,354 in Bucharest versus $1,269 in Tbilisi.

Bucharest $1,354
Tbilisi $1,269

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,043 in Bucharest versus $2,016 in Tbilisi.

Bucharest $2,043
Tbilisi $2,016

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,733 in Bucharest versus $2,763 in Tbilisi.

Bucharest $2,733
Tbilisi $2,763

Living in Bucharest is roughly 7% more expensive than in Tbilisi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.66 RON 70.1

$11.63 ₾30.07

26.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$57.7 RON 276

$37.83 ₾97.8

52.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.52 RON 35.92

$9.66 ₾24.98

-22.15%

Cappuccino

$3.56 RON 16.99

$3.57 ₾9.24

-0.28%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.47 RON 11.81

$1.08 ₾2.78

128.70%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 RON 10.44

$0.56 ₾1.45

289.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.69 RON 17.62

$2.62 ₾6.78

40.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.28 RON 20.45

$3.04 ₾7.85

40.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 RON 7.99

$2.17 ₾5.60

-23.04%

White Bread (500g)

$1.35 RON 6.45

$0.80 ₾2.06

68.75%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.78 RON 8.48

$1.74 ₾4.51

2.30%

Eggs

$3.56 RON 17.02

$2.83 ₾7.31

25.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.12 RON 43.60

$9.31 ₾24.07

-2.04%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.82 RON 32.58

$6.52 ₾16.85

4.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.13 RON 58.0

$12.95 ₾33.50

-6.33%

Apples (1kg)

$1.26 RON 6.04

$1.68 ₾4.33

-25.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.62 RON 7.76

$1.85 ₾4.79

-12.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.56 RON 7.45

$1.97 ₾5.10

-20.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 RON 12.14

$2.42 ₾6.25

4.96%

Potato (1kg)

$0.78 RON 3.74

$0.82 ₾2.11

-4.88%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 RON 3.70

$0.74 ₾1.91

4.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.89 RON 4.24

$1.34 ₾3.47

-33.58%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 RON 4.30

$0.77 ₾2.00

16.88%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.55 RON 31.30

$3.57 ₾9.24

83.47%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.37 RON 30.42

$7.67 ₾19.83

-16.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 RON 5.94

$1.70 ₾4.39

-27.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.62 RON 7.75

$2.40 ₾6.21

-32.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.85 RON 4.08

$0.40 ₾1.05

112.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$20.71 RON 99.0

$15.23 ₾39.38

35.98%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.61 RON 2.93

$1.14 ₾2.95

-46.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.61 RON 2.93

$0.78 ₾2.02

-21.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.16 RON 29.45

$11.83 ₾30.58

-47.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.00 RON 9.55

$1.45 ₾3.75

37.93%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$27.9K RON 133.5K

$24.6K ₾63.6K

13.71%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$25.3K RON 121.0K

$22.3K ₾57.8K

13.38%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$192 RON 918

$88.8 ₾230

116.30%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$7.92 RON 37.83

$13.12 ₾33.93

-39.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$8.96 RON 42.81

$19.67 ₾50.9

-54.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.99 RON 239

$64.1 ₾166

-21.95%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.81 RON 119

$19.04 ₾49.24

30.30%

Cinema Ticket

$8.51 RON 40.65

$7.12 ₾18.42

19.52%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$686 RON 3,278

$375 ₾971

82.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.4K RON 68.9K

$10.5K ₾27.1K

37.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.2 RON 431

$104 ₾268

-12.94%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.74 RON 185

$39.26 ₾102

-1.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.9 RON 377

$117 ₾303

-32.76%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$92.1 RON 440

$122 ₾315

-24.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$711 RON 3,398

$695 ₾1,798

2.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$462 RON 2,207

$451 ₾1,167

2.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,053 RON 5,034

$1,355 ₾3,504

-22.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$723 RON 3,453

$906 ₾2,343

-20.26%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,634 RON 17.4K

$2,295 ₾5,934

58.36%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,173 RON 10.4K

$1,345 ₾3,478

61.55%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,354 RON 6,470

$664 ₾1,718

103.81%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

12.62

-46.51%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Bucharest: October 26, 2026

Last update for Tbilisi: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$462 34.1%

Tbilisi

$451 35.6% 2.3% $11

Eating Out

Bucharest

$228 16.9%

Tbilisi

$191 15% 16.4% $38

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.6%

Tbilisi

$234 18.4% 4.1% $9.1

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$209 15.4%

Tbilisi

$122 9.6% 41.8% $87

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$135 10%

Tbilisi

$172 13.5% 27.4% $37

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Tbilisi

$78 6.2% 16.8% $11

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Tbilisi

$22 1.7% 21.3% $5.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $711 in Bucharest and $695 in Tbilisi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bucharest pays about 2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $58 in Bucharest vs $38 in Tbilisi. Groceries flip the comparison at $225 vs $234, with Bucharest cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇬🇪 Tbilisi

🕒 Local time

04:41 4:41 AM

06:41 6:41 AM

2 h ahead of Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

1,241,700 Capital

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Georgian Lari GEL ₾

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.209 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

1 GEL = 0.387 USD

1 GEL = 0.346 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GEL, USD, EUR to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 4.78 RON (1 RON = 0.209 USD). 1 EUR = 5.34 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

Georgian Lari exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 2.59 GEL (1 GEL = 0.387 USD). 1 EUR = 2.89 GEL (1 GEL = 0.346 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Bucharest Tbilisi 1,550 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Tbilisi

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Bucharest vs Tbilisi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,354 in Bucharest and $1,269 in Tbilisi, so Tbilisi is about 6% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Bucharest is about 2 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $711 in Bucharest versus $695 in Tbilisi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,354 per month in Bucharest versus $1,269 in Tbilisi – Tbilisi is about 6% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Tbilisi runs roughly 26% less than in Bucharest. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Tbilisi gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

Both work as nomad bases, but Tbilisi delivers better value at $1,269 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Tbilisi hard to pass up.

It comes down to priorities – Tbilisi wins on affordability, Bucharest on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.