Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Irkutsk and Tbilisi

For one person, living is cheaper in Irkutsk: $1,168 a month against $1,269 in Tbilisi, rent and utilities included – about $1,200 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Irkutsk
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Irkutsk Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in Tbilisi
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Tbilisi Living Index

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Irkutsk

🇷🇺 Russia

$1,168

/mo nomad

Tbilisi

🇬🇪 Georgia

$1,269

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Irkutsk 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 Irkutsk and in Tbilisi actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,168 in Irkutsk versus $1,269 in Tbilisi.

Irkutsk $1,168
Tbilisi $1,269

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,712 in Irkutsk versus $2,016 in Tbilisi.

Irkutsk $1,712
Tbilisi $2,016

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,256 in Irkutsk versus $2,763 in Tbilisi.

Irkutsk $2,256
Tbilisi $2,763

Living in Irkutsk costs roughly 8% less than in Tbilisi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Irkutsk 14% lower, Tbilisi 7% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.23 ₽744

$11.63 ₾30.07

-20.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$36.50 ₽2,940

$37.83 ₾97.8

-3.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.13 ₽494

$9.66 ₾24.98

-36.54%

Cappuccino

$3.09 ₽249

$3.57 ₾9.24

-13.45%

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

$1.62 ₽130

$1.08 ₾2.78

50.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.65 ₽52.5

$0.56 ₾1.45

16.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.41 ₽194

$2.62 ₾6.78

-8.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.73 ₽300

$3.04 ₾7.85

22.70%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 ₽100

$2.17 ₾5.60

-42.40%

White Bread (500g)

$0.64 ₽51.2

$0.80 ₾2.06

-20.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.54 ₽124

$1.74 ₾4.51

-11.49%

Eggs

$1.67 ₽134

$2.83 ₾7.31

-40.99%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.87 ₽956

$9.31 ₾24.07

27.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.44 ₽599

$6.52 ₾16.85

14.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.70 ₽1,023

$12.95 ₾33.50

-1.93%

Apples (1kg)

$2.20 ₽177

$1.68 ₾4.33

30.95%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 ₽159

$1.85 ₾4.79

7.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.69 ₽136

$1.97 ₾5.10

-14.21%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.51 ₽282

$2.42 ₾6.25

45.04%

Potato (1kg)

$0.71 ₽56.9

$0.82 ₾2.11

-13.41%

Onion (1kg)

$0.72 ₽58.0

$0.74 ₾1.91

-2.70%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 ₽122

$1.34 ₾3.47

13.43%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 ₽54.1

$0.77 ₾2.00

-12.99%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.31 ₽266

$3.57 ₾9.24

-7.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 ₽636

$7.67 ₾19.83

2.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.03 ₽83.3

$1.70 ₾4.39

-39.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 ₽163

$2.40 ₾6.21

-15.42%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 ₽43.06

$0.40 ₾1.05

32.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.42 ₽1,564

$15.23 ₾39.38

27.51%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.26 ₽102

$1.14 ₾2.95

10.53%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.18 ₽14.45

$0.78 ₾2.02

-76.92%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.22 ₽742

$11.83 ₾30.58

-22.06%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.84 ₽67.6

$1.45 ₾3.75

-42.07%

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

$54.6K ₽4.4M

$24.6K ₾63.6K

122.25%

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

$41.8K ₽3.4M

$22.3K ₾57.8K

87.33%

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

$124 ₽9,963

$88.8 ₾230

39.31%

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

$6.10 ₽491

$13.12 ₾33.93

-53.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.77 ₽948

$19.67 ₾50.9

-40.16%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.9 ₽5,790

$64.1 ₾166

12.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.96 ₽1,768

$19.04 ₾49.24

15.34%

Cinema Ticket

$6.82 ₽549

$7.12 ₾18.42

-4.21%

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

$403 ₽32.5K

$375 ₾971

7.33%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,288 ₽264.8K

$10.5K ₾27.1K

-68.60%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.5 ₽6,324

$104 ₾268

-24.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.13 ₽2,024

$39.26 ₾102

-35.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 ₽8,420

$117 ₾303

-10.92%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$118 ₽9,531

$122 ₾315

-2.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$535 ₽43.1K

$695 ₾1,798

-23.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$380 ₽30.6K

$451 ₾1,167

-15.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$791 ₽63.7K

$1,355 ₾3,504

-41.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$497 ₽40.0K

$906 ₾2,343

-45.20%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,799 ₽225.4K

$2,295 ₾5,934

21.97%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,886 ₽151.9K

$1,345 ₾3,478

40.21%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$683 ₽55.0K

$664 ₾1,718

2.87%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

24.57

12.62

94.69%

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

Last update for Irkutsk: October 27, 2026

Last update for Tbilisi: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Irkutsk

$380 32.5%

Tbilisi

$451 35.6% 18.7% $71

Groceries & Markets

Irkutsk

$232 19.9%

Tbilisi

$234 18.4% 0.7% $1.6

Eating Out

Irkutsk

$158 13.5%

Tbilisi

$191 15% 20.7% $33

Clothing & Footwear

Irkutsk

$147 12.6%

Tbilisi

$172 13.5% 17% $25

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Irkutsk

$142 12.1%

Tbilisi

$122 9.6% 14.1% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Irkutsk

$86 7.3%

Tbilisi

$78 6.2% 8.5% $7.2

Getting Around

Irkutsk

$24 2%

Tbilisi

$22 1.7% 7.7% $1.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $535 in Irkutsk and $695 in Tbilisi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Irkutsk pays 3% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $37 in Irkutsk vs $38 in Tbilisi for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $232 vs $234 per month, with Irkutsk cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇺 Irkutsk

🇬🇪 Tbilisi

🕒 Local time

18:18 6:18 PM

14:18 2:18 PM

4 h behind Irkutsk

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

617,515

1,241,700 Capital

💱 Currency

Russian Ruble RUB ₽

Georgian Lari GEL ₾

📈 Exchange rate

100 RUB = 1.24 USD

100 RUB = 1.11 EUR

1 GEL = 0.387 USD

1 GEL = 0.347 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GEL, USD, EUR to RUB – Russian Ruble Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇺 Russian Ruble (₽)

Russian Ruble exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 80.53 RUB (100 RUB = 1.24 USD). 1 EUR = 89.87 RUB (100 RUB = 1.11 EUR).

Georgian Lari exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 2.59 GEL (1 GEL = 0.387 USD). 1 EUR = 2.89 GEL (1 GEL = 0.347 EUR).

USD to RUB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Irkutsk Tbilisi 4,530 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Irkutsk
Tbilisi

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

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated March 2026)

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

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Irkutsk vs Tbilisi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Irkutsk wins on cost – living expenses run 8% lower than in Tbilisi. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Irkutsk the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $1,752 in Irkutsk and $1,904 in Tbilisi to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $535 in Irkutsk versus $695 in Tbilisi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Tbilisi runs roughly 22% less than in Irkutsk. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

All in, you’ll spend $1,168 per month in Irkutsk versus $1,269 in Tbilisi – Irkutsk is about 8% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Irkutsk is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.