Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Richards Bay and Tbilisi

For one person, living is cheaper in Richards Bay: $1,022 a month against $1,266 in Tbilisi, rent and utilities included – about $2,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

50

Cost of Living Index in Richards Bay
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Richards Bay Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Tbilisi
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Tbilisi Living Index

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Richards Bay

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,022

/mo nomad

Tbilisi

🇬🇪 Georgia

$1,266

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,022 in Richards Bay versus $1,266 in Tbilisi.

Richards Bay $1,022
Tbilisi $1,266

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,612 in Richards Bay versus $2,007 in Tbilisi.

Richards Bay $1,612
Tbilisi $2,007

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,202 in Richards Bay versus $2,749 in Tbilisi.

Richards Bay $2,202
Tbilisi $2,749

Living in Richards Bay costs roughly 19% less than in Tbilisi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Richards Bay 24% lower, Tbilisi 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.76 R 128

$11.34 ₾29.35

-31.57%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$38.73 R 638

$39.05 ₾101

-0.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.60 R 92.2

$9.63 ₾24.92

-41.85%

Cappuccino

$2.07 R 34.13

$3.46 ₾8.95

-40.17%

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

$1.09 R 18.04

$1.09 ₾2.82

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.90 R 14.79

$0.63 ₾1.62

42.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.54 R 25.33

$2.77 ₾7.17

-44.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.79 R 29.42

$3.10 ₾8.04

-42.26%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.18 R 19.50

$2.25 ₾5.81

-47.56%

White Bread (500g)

$0.93 R 15.26

$0.80 ₾2.07

16.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 R 24.87

$1.76 ₾4.55

-14.20%

Eggs

$2.39 R 39.40

$2.75 ₾7.11

-13.09%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.57 R 108

$9.39 ₾24.32

-30.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.48 R 73.9

$6.66 ₾17.23

-32.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.69 R 110

$12.92 ₾33.45

-48.22%

Apples (1kg)

$2.01 R 33.03

$1.67 ₾4.31

20.36%

Banana (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.27

$1.80 ₾4.65

-7.78%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.88 R 30.97

$1.92 ₾4.97

-2.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.70 R 28.04

$2.41 ₾6.24

-29.46%

Potato (1kg)

$0.94 R 15.46

$0.86 ₾2.23

9.30%

Onion (1kg)

$1.18 R 19.43

$0.69 ₾1.80

71.01%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.22 R 20.05

$1.40 ₾3.62

-12.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R 19.52

$0.71 ₾1.85

67.61%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.48 R 40.85

$3.51 ₾9.08

-29.34%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.80 R 79.1

$7.61 ₾19.69

-36.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.46 R 24.06

$1.63 ₾4.21

-10.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.84 R 30.24

$2.31 ₾5.98

-20.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.37 ₾0.96

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$104 R 1,711

$15.67 ₾40.57

562.67%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.43 R 7.09

$1.14 ₾2.95

-62.28%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.69 R 11.44

$0.79 ₾2.05

-12.66%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.60 R 125

$11.86 ₾30.70

-35.92%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 R 23.75

$1.40 ₾3.62

2.86%

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

$20.9K R 344.3K

$24.8K ₾64.2K

-15.69%

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

$29.0K R 478.6K

$21.9K ₾56.6K

32.91%

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

$133 R 2,186

$89.1 ₾231

48.86%

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

$30.59 R 504

$13.21 ₾34.19

131.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.50 R 651

$19.76 ₾51.1

99.90%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.64 R 587

$64.9 ₾168

-45.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.02 ₾49.24

Cinema Ticket

$7.30 R 120

$6.57 ₾17.02

11.11%

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

$106 R 1,754

$377 ₾975

-71.74%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,678 R 44.1K

$10.8K ₾27.9K

-75.19%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$50.4 R 831

$102 ₾265

-50.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$18.53 R 305

$39.70 ₾103

-53.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.1 R 1,237

$118 ₾305

-36.28%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$84.2 R 1,387

$123 ₾320

-31.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$365 R 6,015

$666 ₾1,724

-45.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$256 R 4,213

$449 ₾1,163

-43.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$680 R 11.2K

$1,284 ₾3,324

-47.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$567 R 9,347

$890 ₾2,303

-36.23%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$344 R 5,661

$2,425 ₾6,276

-85.83%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$518 R 8,532

$1,380 ₾3,573

-62.48%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,225 R 20.2K

$680 ₾1,760

80.24%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.5

12.62

-40.57%

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

Last update for Richards Bay: October 12, 2026

Last update for Tbilisi: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Richards Bay

$256 25%

Tbilisi

$449 35.5% 75.7% $194

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Richards Bay

$203 19.8%

Tbilisi

$122 9.7% 39.8% $81

Groceries & Markets

Richards Bay

$180 17.6%

Tbilisi

$234 18.5% 30% $54

Eating Out

Richards Bay

$123 12%

Tbilisi

$188 14.9% 52.9% $65

Getting Around

Richards Bay

$108 * 10.5%

Tbilisi

$22 1.8% 79.3% $85

Clothing & Footwear

Richards Bay

$103 10.1%

Tbilisi

$172 13.6% 67.9% $70

Sport & Entertainment

Richards Bay

$50 4.9%

Tbilisi

$78 6.2% 55.4% $28

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 $365 in Richards Bay and $666 in Tbilisi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Richards Bay pays 80% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $39.00 in Richards Bay vs $39.00 in Tbilisi for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $180 vs $234 per month, with Richards Bay cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Richards Bay

🇬🇪 Tbilisi

🕒 Local time

11:20 11:20 AM

13:20 1:20 PM

2 h ahead of Richards Bay

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

57,387

1,241,700 Capital

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Georgian Lari GEL ₾

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1 GEL = 0.386 USD

1 GEL = 0.344 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GEL, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Georgian Lari exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 2.59 GEL (1 GEL = 0.386 USD). 1 EUR = 2.91 GEL (1 GEL = 0.344 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Richards Bay Tbilisi 7,940 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Richards Bay
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

Richards Bay vs Tbilisi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Richards Bay is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 24% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 80% higher in Richards Bay, 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: $365 in Richards Bay versus $666 in Tbilisi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 30% higher in Tbilisi. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Richards Bay – a meal for two runs $39.00 versus $39.00 in Tbilisi. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,022 in Richards Bay versus $1,266 in Tbilisi, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Richards Bay but tight or insufficient in Tbilisi. The gap between the two cities makes Richards Bay the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Richards Bay is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Tbilisi, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Richards Bay 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 Richards Bay gentler on the wallet – expenses run 24% less than in Tbilisi. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.