Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Karaj and Tbilisi

For one person, living is cheaper in Karaj: $823 a month against $1,269 in Tbilisi, rent and utilities included – about $5,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

40

Cost of Living Index in Karaj
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Karaj Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in Tbilisi
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Tbilisi Living Index

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Karaj

🇮🇷 Iran

$823

/mo nomad

Tbilisi

🇬🇪 Georgia

$1,269

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $823 in Karaj versus $1,269 in Tbilisi.

Karaj $823
Tbilisi $1,269

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,058 in Karaj versus $2,016 in Tbilisi.

Karaj $1,058
Tbilisi $2,016

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,293 in Karaj versus $2,763 in Tbilisi.

Karaj $1,293
Tbilisi $2,763

Living in Karaj costs roughly 35% less than in Tbilisi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Karaj 40% lower, Tbilisi 7% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.54 $3.54

$11.63 ₾30.07

-69.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$16.19 $16.19

$37.83 ₾97.8

-57.20%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.97 $3.97

$9.66 ₾24.98

-58.90%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.48 $0.48

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.06 $1.06

Cappuccino

$1.06 $1.06

$3.57 ₾9.24

-70.31%

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

$0.43 $0.43

$1.08 ₾2.78

-60.19%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.65 $1.65

$0.56 ₾1.45

194.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.62 ₾6.78

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.04 ₾7.85

Milk (1 liter)

$0.70 $0.70

$2.17 ₾5.60

-67.74%

White Bread (500g)

$0.52 $0.52

$0.80 ₾2.06

-35.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.07 $2.07

$1.74 ₾4.51

18.97%

Eggs

$1.03 $1.03

$2.83 ₾7.31

-63.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.48 $4.48

$9.31 ₾24.07

-51.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.33 $3.33

$6.52 ₾16.85

-48.93%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.43 $10.43

$12.95 ₾33.50

-19.46%

Apples (1kg)

$0.89 $0.89

$1.68 ₾4.33

-47.02%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 $1.70

$1.85 ₾4.79

-8.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.80 $0.80

$1.97 ₾5.10

-59.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.49 $0.49

$2.42 ₾6.25

-79.75%

Potato (1kg)

$0.46 $0.46

$0.82 ₾2.11

-43.90%

Onion (1kg)

$0.47 $0.47

$0.74 ₾1.91

-36.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.54 $0.54

$1.34 ₾3.47

-59.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.21 $0.21

$0.77 ₾2.00

-72.73%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$0.83 $0.83

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 $0.51

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.34 $1.34

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.48 $2.48

$3.57 ₾9.24

-30.53%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.67 ₾19.83

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 ₾4.39

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.40 ₾6.21

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.20 $0.20

$0.40 ₾1.05

-50.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$13.11 $13.11

$15.23 ₾39.38

-13.92%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.29 $0.29

$1.14 ₾2.95

-74.56%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.31 $0.31

$0.78 ₾2.02

-60.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.64 $2.64

$11.83 ₾30.58

-77.68%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.08 $0.08

$1.45 ₾3.75

-94.48%

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

$49.5K $49.5K

$24.6K ₾63.6K

101.20%

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

$45.6K $45.6K

$22.3K ₾57.8K

104.23%

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

$13.24 $13.24

$88.8 ₾230

-85.09%

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

$1.54 $1.54

$13.12 ₾33.93

-88.26%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$3.81 $3.81

$19.67 ₾50.9

-80.63%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$23.04 $23.04

$64.1 ₾166

-64.03%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.08 $10.08

$19.04 ₾49.24

-47.06%

Cinema Ticket

$1.06 $1.06

$7.12 ₾18.42

-85.11%

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

$108 $108

$375 ₾971

-71.33%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$839 $839

$10.5K ₾27.1K

-91.99%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$25.32 $25.32

$104 ₾268

-75.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$27.83 $27.83

$39.26 ₾102

-29.11%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$97.8 $97.8

$117 ₾303

-16.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$73.3 $73.3

$122 ₾315

-39.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$298 $298

$695 ₾1,798

-57.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$488 $488

$451 ₾1,167

8.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$798 $798

$1,355 ₾3,504

-41.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$476 $476

$906 ₾2,343

-47.52%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,274 $1,274

$2,295 ₾5,934

-44.46%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$527 $527

$1,345 ₾3,478

-60.80%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$239 $239

$664 ₾1,718

-63.99%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.62

82.25%

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

Last update for Karaj: October 25, 2026

Last update for Tbilisi: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Karaj

$488 59.3%

Tbilisi

$451 35.6% 7.5% $37

Groceries & Markets

Karaj

$113 13.8%

Tbilisi

$234 18.4% 107% $121

Clothing & Footwear

Karaj

$101 12.3%

Tbilisi

$172 13.5% 70.3% $71

Eating Out

Karaj

$61 7.5%

Tbilisi

$191 15% 211% $129

Sport & Entertainment

Karaj

$25 3.1%

Tbilisi

$78 6.2% 211% $53

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Karaj

$19 2.3%

Tbilisi

$122 9.6% 554% $103

Getting Around

Karaj

$16 1.9%

Tbilisi

$22 1.7% 38.8% $6.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $298 in Karaj and $695 in Tbilisi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Tbilisi pays about 2.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $16 in Karaj vs $38 in Tbilisi for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $113 vs $234 per month, with Karaj cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇷 Karaj

🇬🇪 Tbilisi

🕒 Local time

05:53 5:53 AM

06:23 6:23 AM

30 min ahead of Karaj

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,712,000

1,241,700 Capital

💱 Currency

USD USD

Georgian Lari GEL ₾

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.896 EUR

1 GEL = 0.387 USD

1 GEL = 0.346 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GEL, EUR to USD – USD Converter

🇬🇪 Georgian Lari (₾)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

USD exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.896 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 = 0.346 EUR).

GEL to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Karaj Tbilisi 840 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Karaj
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

Karaj vs Tbilisi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $823 in Karaj and $1,269 in Tbilisi, so Karaj is about 35% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 64% lower in Karaj. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $298 in Karaj versus $695 in Tbilisi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 107% higher in Tbilisi. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Karaj – a meal for two runs $16 versus $38 in Tbilisi. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $823 in Karaj versus $1,269 in Tbilisi, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Karaj but tight or insufficient in Tbilisi. The gap between the two cities makes Karaj the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

Safety-wise, Karaj and Tbilisi are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Karaj gentler on the wallet – expenses run 35% less than in Tbilisi. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.