Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nuku'alofa and Tbilisi

For one person, living is cheaper in Nuku'alofa: $1,019 a month against $1,242 in Tbilisi, rent and utilities included – about $2,700 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Tbilisi outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

49

Cost of Living Index in Nuku'alofa
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Nuku'alofa Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in Tbilisi
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Tbilisi Living Index

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Nuku'alofa

🇹🇴 Tonga

$1,019

/mo nomad

Tbilisi

🇬🇪 Georgia

$1,242

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,019 in Nuku'alofa versus $1,242 in Tbilisi.

Nuku'alofa $1,019
Tbilisi $1,242

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,886 in Nuku'alofa versus $1,962 in Tbilisi.

Nuku'alofa $1,886
Tbilisi $1,962

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,752 in Nuku'alofa versus $2,682 in Tbilisi.

Nuku'alofa $2,752
Tbilisi $2,682

Living in Nuku'alofa costs roughly 18% less than in Tbilisi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Nuku'alofa 24% lower, Tbilisi 7% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.52 TOP 20.43

$10.98 ₾28.46

-22.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.8 TOP 148

$38.21 ₾99.0

61.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.32 TOP 24.74

$9.58 ₾24.84

7.72%

Cappuccino

$2.93 TOP 7.02

$3.59 ₾9.31

-18.38%

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

$2.82 TOP 6.75

$1.03 ₾2.66

173.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 TOP 6.03

$0.63 ₾1.64

300.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.38 TOP 8.09

$2.74 ₾7.10

23.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.03 TOP 12.07

$3.17 ₾8.22

58.68%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.52 TOP 3.64

$2.13 ₾5.53

-28.64%

White Bread (500g)

$1.07 TOP 2.56

$0.74 ₾1.91

44.59%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.11 TOP 5.07

$1.72 ₾4.46

22.67%

Eggs

$4.97 TOP 11.91

$2.78 ₾7.21

78.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.75 TOP 20.98

$9.48 ₾24.56

-7.70%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.91 TOP 14.16

$6.45 ₾16.71

-8.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.82 TOP 18.75

$13.02 ₾33.76

-39.94%

Apples (1kg)

$2.79 TOP 6.69

$1.69 ₾4.37

65.09%

Banana (1kg)

$2.71 TOP 6.49

$1.84 ₾4.76

47.28%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.87 TOP 6.87

$1.89 ₾4.90

51.85%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.68 TOP 8.82

$2.40 ₾6.22

53.33%

Potato (1kg)

$3.16 TOP 7.57

$0.84 ₾2.17

276.19%

Onion (1kg)

$2.65 TOP 6.34

$0.68 ₾1.75

289.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.28 TOP 5.46

$1.42 ₾3.68

60.56%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 TOP 3.40

$0.77 ₾2.01

84.42%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.24 TOP 24.54

$3.56 ₾9.22

187.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.36 TOP 41.62

$7.48 ₾19.39

132.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.14 TOP 7.51

$1.71 ₾4.43

83.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.41 TOP 8.18

$2.29 ₾5.94

48.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.14 TOP 5.12

$0.40 ₾1.04

435.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$41.65 TOP 99.8

$15.15 ₾39.27

174.92%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.05 TOP 4.92

$1.19 ₾3.08

72.27%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.07 TOP 4.96

$0.78 ₾2.03

165.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$41.16 TOP 98.7

$11.77 ₾30.50

249.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 TOP 3.53

$1.41 ₾3.65

4.26%

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

$5,817 TOP 13.9K

$24.3K ₾62.9K

-76.01%

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

$8,461 TOP 20.3K

$21.7K ₾56.3K

-61.08%

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

$188 TOP 450

$87.6 ₾227

114.12%

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

$22.27 TOP 53.4

$13.33 ₾34.55

67.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$123 TOP 294

$19.51 ₾50.6

527.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.62 TOP 75.8

$64.7 ₾168

-51.13%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$40.72 TOP 97.6

$18.85 ₾48.86

116.02%

Cinema Ticket

$40.75 TOP 97.7

$6.55 ₾16.97

522.14%

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

$157 TOP 376

$377 ₾978

-58.42%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$248 TOP 593

$10.6K ₾27.5K

-97.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$14.35 TOP 34.38

$102 ₾265

-85.96%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$17.98 TOP 43.09

$40.36 ₾105

-55.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$20.42 TOP 48.93

$117 ₾302

-82.49%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$29.28 TOP 70.2

$121 ₾314

-75.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$619 TOP 1,484

$675 ₾1,749

-8.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$451 ₾1,170

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$831 TOP 1,992

$1,275 ₾3,305

-34.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$560 TOP 1,342

$883 ₾2,288

-36.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$418 TOP 1,001

$2,415 ₾6,259

-82.71%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$252 TOP 603

$1,404 ₾3,640

-82.07%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$680 TOP 1,630

$706 ₾1,830

-3.69%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.62

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

Last update for Nuku'alofa: October 3, 2026

Last update for Tbilisi: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nuku'alofa

$332 32.6%

Tbilisi

$120 9.6% 63.8% $212

Groceries & Markets

Nuku'alofa

$292 28.6%

Tbilisi

$232 18.4% 20.3% $59

Eating Out

Nuku'alofa

$183 17.9%

Tbilisi

$186 14.8% 2.1% $3.8

Sport & Entertainment

Nuku'alofa

$113 11.1%

Tbilisi

$78 6.2% 31.2% $35

Getting Around

Nuku'alofa

$63 6.1%

Tbilisi

$22 1.7% 65.1% $41

Clothing & Footwear

Nuku'alofa

$37 3.6%

Tbilisi

$171 13.6% 364% $134

Accommodation & Living

Nuku'alofa

- * 0%

Tbilisi

$451 35.8%

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $619 in Nuku'alofa and $675 in Tbilisi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Tbilisi pays 4% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $62.0 in Nuku'alofa vs $38.00 in Tbilisi for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $292 vs $232 per month, with Tbilisi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇴 Nuku'alofa

🇬🇪 Tbilisi

🕒 Local time

14:13 2:13 PM

05:13 5:13 AM

9 h behind Nuku'alofa

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

24,500 Capital

1,241,700 Capital

💱 Currency

Tongan Paʻanga TOP T$

Georgian Lari GEL ₾

📈 Exchange rate

1 TOP = 0.417 USD

1 TOP = 0.372 EUR

1 GEL = 0.386 USD

1 GEL = 0.344 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GEL, USD, EUR to TOP – Tongan Paʻanga Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇴 Tongan Paʻanga (T$)

Tongan Paʻanga exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 2.4 TOP (1 TOP = 0.417 USD). 1 EUR = 2.69 TOP (1 TOP = 0.372 EUR).

Georgian Lari exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 2.59 GEL (1 GEL = 0.386 USD). 1 EUR = 2.91 GEL (1 GEL = 0.344 EUR).

USD to TOP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Nuku'alofa Tbilisi 15,640 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

Nuku'alofa
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

Nuku'alofa vs Tbilisi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Nuku'alofa and Tbilisi differ by about 22% in total monthly costs ($1,019 vs $1,242 including rent). Nuku'alofa is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 4% lower in Tbilisi. 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: $619 in Nuku'alofa versus $675 in Tbilisi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Nuku'alofa – a meal for two runs $62.0 versus $38.00 in Tbilisi. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,019 per month in Nuku'alofa versus $1,242 in Tbilisi – a 22% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,019 in Nuku'alofa versus $1,242 in Tbilisi, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Nuku'alofa but tight or insufficient in Tbilisi. The gap between the two cities makes Nuku'alofa 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, Nuku'alofa and Tbilisi are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Nuku'alofa gentler on the wallet – expenses run 22% less than in Tbilisi. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.