Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mbarara and Tbilisi

For one person, living is cheaper in Mbarara: $488 a month against $1,269 in Tbilisi, rent and utilities included – about $9,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

23

Cost of Living Index in Mbarara
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Mbarara Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in Tbilisi
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Tbilisi Living Index

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Mbarara

🇺🇬 Uganda

$488

/mo nomad

Tbilisi

🇬🇪 Georgia

$1,269

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $488 per month in Mbarara vs $1,269 in Tbilisi, rent included.

Mbarara $488
Tbilisi $1,269

A couple spends around $776 per month in Mbarara vs $2,016 in Tbilisi, rent included.

Mbarara $776
Tbilisi $2,016

A family of three spends $1,063 per month in Mbarara vs $2,763 in Tbilisi, rent included.

Mbarara $1,063
Tbilisi $2,763

Mbarara is about 62% cheaper than Tbilisi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both Mbarara and Tbilisi are more affordable than the global median – Mbarara 64% lower, Tbilisi 7% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.35 UGX 10.3K

$11.63 ₾30.07

-79.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.42 UGX 107.0K

$37.83 ₾97.8

-35.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.07 UGX 31.0K

$9.66 ₾24.98

-26.81%

Cappuccino

$2.43 UGX 10.6K

$3.57 ₾9.24

-31.93%

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

$0.34 UGX 1,502

$1.08 ₾2.78

-68.52%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 UGX 1,190

$0.56 ₾1.45

-51.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.22 UGX 5,332

$2.62 ₾6.78

-53.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.83 UGX 8,018

$3.04 ₾7.85

-39.80%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.50 UGX 2,177

$2.17 ₾5.60

-76.96%

White Bread (500g)

$0.93 UGX 4,083

$0.80 ₾2.06

16.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.17 UGX 5,130

$1.74 ₾4.51

-32.76%

Eggs

$1.53 UGX 6,682

$2.83 ₾7.31

-45.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.23 UGX 18.5K

$9.31 ₾24.07

-54.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.51 UGX 19.7K

$6.52 ₾16.85

-30.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$3.46 UGX 15.1K

$12.95 ₾33.50

-73.28%

Apples (1kg)

$2.00 UGX 8,780

$1.68 ₾4.34

19.05%

Banana (1kg)

$1.24 UGX 5,434

$1.85 ₾4.79

-32.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.30 UGX 5,706

$1.97 ₾5.10

-34.01%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.19 UGX 5,199

$2.42 ₾6.25

-50.83%

Potato (1kg)

$1.23 UGX 5,389

$0.82 ₾2.11

50.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.17 UGX 5,125

$0.74 ₾1.91

58.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.72 UGX 3,158

$1.34 ₾3.47

-46.27%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 UGX 2,218

$0.77 ₾2.00

-33.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.43 UGX 10.6K

$3.57 ₾9.24

-31.93%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.39 UGX 32.4K

$7.67 ₾19.83

-3.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.08 UGX 4,730

$1.70 ₾4.39

-36.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.81 UGX 7,949

$2.40 ₾6.21

-24.58%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.70 UGX 3,056

$0.40 ₾1.05

75.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$15.23 ₾39.38

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.46 UGX 2,035

$1.14 ₾2.95

-59.65%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.29 UGX 1,266

$0.78 ₾2.02

-62.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.03 UGX 13.3K

$11.83 ₾30.58

-74.39%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.37 UGX 5,981

$1.45 ₾3.75

-5.52%

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

$7,154 UGX 31.3M

$24.6K ₾63.6K

-70.89%

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

$7,202 UGX 31.5M

$22.3K ₾57.8K

-67.75%

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

$69.2 UGX 302.9K

$88.8 ₾230

-22.13%

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

$11.20 UGX 49.1K

$13.12 ₾33.93

-14.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.55 UGX 146.9K

$19.67 ₾50.9

70.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$17.82 UGX 78.0K

$64.1 ₾166

-72.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.04 ₾49.24

Cinema Ticket

$7.15 UGX 31.3K

$7.12 ₾18.42

0.42%

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

$247 UGX 1.1M

$375 ₾971

-34.23%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,140 UGX 35.7M

$10.5K ₾27.1K

-22.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$13.66 UGX 59.8K

$104 ₾268

-86.82%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$12.69 UGX 55.6K

$39.26 ₾102

-67.68%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$31.67 UGX 138.7K

$117 ₾303

-73.01%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$42.04 UGX 184.2K

$122 ₾315

-65.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$83.7 UGX 366.4K

$695 ₾1,798

-87.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$73.0 UGX 319.5K

$451 ₾1,167

-83.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$231 UGX 1.0M

$1,355 ₾3,504

-82.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$171 UGX 749.8K

$906 ₾2,343

-81.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,295 ₾5,934

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,345 ₾3,478

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$664 ₾1,718

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

20.75

12.62

64.42%

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

Last update for Mbarara: October 25, 2026

Last update for Tbilisi: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Mbarara

$138 28.3%

Tbilisi

$234 18.4% 69.4% $96

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mbarara

$114 23.3%

Tbilisi

$122 9.6% 6.8% $7.7

Eating Out

Mbarara

$81 16.7%

Tbilisi

$191 15% 134% $109

Accommodation & Living

Mbarara

$73 14.9%

Tbilisi

$451 35.6% 518% $378

Clothing & Footwear

Mbarara

$45 9.2%

Tbilisi

$172 13.5% 282% $127

Sport & Entertainment

Mbarara

$32 6.6%

Tbilisi

$78 6.2% 144% $46

Getting Around

Mbarara

$4.7 * 1%

Tbilisi

$22 1.7% 366% $17

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $84 in Mbarara versus $695 in Tbilisi. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $24 in Mbarara versus $38 in Tbilisi. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $138 vs $234 – making Mbarara the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇺🇬 Mbarara

🇬🇪 Tbilisi

🕒 Local time

06:08 6:08 AM

07:08 7:08 AM

1 h ahead of Mbarara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

195,013

1,241,700 Capital

💱 Currency

Ugandan Shilling UGX Sh

Georgian Lari GEL ₾

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 UGX = 2.28 USD

10,000 UGX = 2.05 EUR

1 GEL = 0.387 USD

1 GEL = 0.347 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GEL, USD, EUR to UGX – Ugandan Shilling Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇺🇬 Ugandan Shilling (Sh)

Ugandan Shilling exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 4,380 UGX (10,000 UGX = 2.28 USD). 1 EUR = 4,876 UGX (10,000 UGX = 2.05 EUR).

Georgian Lari exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 2.59 GEL (1 GEL = 0.387 USD). 1 EUR = 2.88 GEL (1 GEL = 0.347 EUR).

USD to UGX in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Mbarara Tbilisi 4,910 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Mbarara
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

Mbarara vs Tbilisi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Tbilisi is pricier by about 160%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $732 per month in Mbarara and $1,904 in Tbilisi. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Mbarara, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $84 there versus $695 in Tbilisi.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $24 in Mbarara and $38 in Tbilisi. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 69% more in Tbilisi, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Mbarara, where all-in costs run around $488, than in Tbilisi at $1,269. In Mbarara it covers expenses comfortably, while in Tbilisi it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Mbarara – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.