Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Juan, Costa Rica and Tbilisi

For one person, living is cheaper in Tbilisi: $1,278 a month against $1,723 in San Juan, rent and utilities included – about $5,300 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

83

Cost of Living Index in San Juan
Learn more

San Juan Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in Tbilisi
Learn more

Tbilisi Living Index

Jump to prices

San Juan

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,723

/mo nomad

Tbilisi

🇬🇪 Georgia

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,723 in San Juan versus $1,278 in Tbilisi.

San Juan $1,723
Tbilisi $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,746 in San Juan versus $2,017 in Tbilisi.

San Juan $2,746
Tbilisi $2,017

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,770 in San Juan versus $2,755 in Tbilisi.

San Juan $3,770
Tbilisi $2,755

Living in San Juan is roughly 35% more expensive than in Tbilisi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: San Juan is 27% above, Tbilisi is 5% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.46 ₡5,602

$11.62 ₾30.10

7.23%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.8 ₡27.4K

$38.41 ₾99.5

58.40%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.85 ₡5,331

$9.74 ₾25.22

21.66%

Cappuccino

$4.35 ₡1,956

$3.56 ₾9.22

22.19%

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

$2.75 ₡1,238

$1.08 ₾2.80

154.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 ₡855

$0.56 ₾1.46

239.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.34 ₡1,502

$2.73 ₾7.06

22.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.52 ₡2,035

$3.13 ₾8.09

44.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.33 ₡1,047

$2.14 ₾5.55

8.88%

White Bread (500g)

$3.11 ₡1,400

$0.75 ₾1.95

314.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.44 ₡1,096

$1.80 ₾4.66

35.56%

Eggs

$3.48 ₡1,565

$2.80 ₾7.26

24.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.66 ₡4,794

$9.43 ₾24.43

13.04%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.52 ₡4,731

$7.00 ₾18.12

50.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 ₡6,291

$12.69 ₾32.86

10.24%

Apples (1kg)

$5.03 ₡2,264

$1.63 ₾4.22

208.59%

Banana (1kg)

$1.59 ₡715

$1.84 ₾4.78

-13.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.78 ₡2,149

$1.97 ₾5.09

142.64%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.81 ₡1,713

$2.47 ₾6.39

54.25%

Potato (1kg)

$3.89 ₡1,748

$0.75 ₾1.95

418.67%

Onion (1kg)

$3.76 ₡1,690

$0.67 ₾1.74

461.19%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 ₡504

$1.41 ₾3.66

-20.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$3.10 ₡1,393

$0.72 ₾1.86

330.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.86 ₡2,635

$3.51 ₾9.09

66.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.61 ₡8,820

$7.89 ₾20.42

148.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.86 ₡1,287

$1.70 ₾4.41

68.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.59 ₡1,613

$2.37 ₾6.13

51.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.35 ₡605

$0.38 ₾0.98

255.26%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$15.29 ₾39.60

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 ₡1,087

$1.19 ₾3.08

103.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.56 ₡699

$0.74 ₾1.91

110.81%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.62 ₡3,877

$11.89 ₾30.79

-27.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 ₡711

$1.46 ₾3.78

8.22%

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

$34.4K ₡15.5M

$25.0K ₾64.7K

37.70%

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

$41.3K ₡18.6M

$22.8K ₾59.1K

80.93%

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

$95.5 ₡43.0K

$88.1 ₾228

8.41%

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

$35.02 ₡15.7K

$12.71 ₾32.90

175.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$60.1 ₡27.0K

$19.79 ₾51.2

203.74%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.0 ₡30.1K

$64.3 ₾166

4.26%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.17 ₾49.63

Cinema Ticket

$7.71 ₡3,469

$6.65 ₾17.21

15.94%

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

$980 ₡440.7K

$371 ₾961

163.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.2K ₡7.7M

$9,163 ₾23.7K

87.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.1 ₡32.4K

$102 ₾265

-29.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.2 ₡25.3K

$39.65 ₾103

41.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$129 ₡58.2K

$118 ₾306

9.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$134 ₡60.1K

$120 ₾310

11.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$798 ₡358.8K

$690 ₾1,786

15.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$627 ₡282.1K

$461 ₾1,194

36.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,922 ₡864.2K

$1,362 ₾3,526

41.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,287 ₡578.7K

$897 ₾2,323

43.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,277 ₾5,896

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,378 ₾3,567

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$710 ₾1,838

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

12.53

-31.21%

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

Last update for San Juan: November 1, 2026

Last update for Tbilisi: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

San Juan

$627 36.4%

Tbilisi

$461 36.1% 26.5% $166

Groceries & Markets

San Juan

$399 23.2%

Tbilisi

$235 18.4% 41.1% $164

Eating Out

San Juan

$232 13.5%

Tbilisi

$191 15% 17.4% $40

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Juan

$191 11.1%

Tbilisi

$121 9.4% 36.7% $70

Clothing & Footwear

San Juan

$176 10.2%

Tbilisi

$171 13.4% 3% $5.3

Sport & Entertainment

San Juan

$82 4.8%

Tbilisi

$78 6.1% 5.9% $4.9

Getting Around

San Juan

$16 * 0.9%

Tbilisi

$22 1.7% 39.2% $6.1

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 $798 in San Juan and $690 in Tbilisi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $61 in San Juan vs $38 in Tbilisi for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $399 vs $235 per month, with Tbilisi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇷 San Juan

🇬🇪 Tbilisi

🕒 Local time

13:10 1:10 PM

23:10 11:10 PM

10 h ahead of San Juan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

27,000

1,241,700 Capital

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Georgian Lari GEL ₾

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR

1 GEL = 0.386 USD

1 GEL = 0.345 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GEL, USD, EUR to CRC – Costa Rican Colón Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 450 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 503 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR).

Georgian Lari exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 2.59 GEL (1 GEL = 0.386 USD). 1 EUR = 2.9 GEL (1 GEL = 0.345 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

San Juan Tbilisi 12,260 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

San Juan
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

San Juan vs Tbilisi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,723 in San Juan and $1,278 in Tbilisi, so Tbilisi is about 26% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $2,584 in San Juan and $1,918 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: $798 in San Juan versus $690 in Tbilisi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $980 in San Juan versus $371 in Tbilisi. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Tbilisi – a meal for two runs $38 versus $61 in San Juan. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Tbilisi gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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, San Juan and Tbilisi are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.