Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Shanghai and Tbilisi

For one person, living is cheaper in Shanghai: $1,222 a month against $1,269 in Tbilisi, rent and utilities included – about $560 less a year. The total is higher in Tbilisi despite lower rent and utilities.

59

Cost of Living Index in Shanghai
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Shanghai Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in Tbilisi
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Tbilisi Living Index

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Shanghai

🇨🇳 China

$1,222

/mo nomad

Tbilisi

🇬🇪 Georgia

$1,269

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,222 in Shanghai versus $1,269 in Tbilisi.

Shanghai $1,222
Tbilisi $1,269

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,971 in Shanghai versus $2,016 in Tbilisi.

Shanghai $1,971
Tbilisi $2,016

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,720 in Shanghai versus $2,763 in Tbilisi.

Shanghai $2,720
Tbilisi $2,763

Living in Shanghai costs roughly 4% less than in Tbilisi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Shanghai 10% lower, Tbilisi 7% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.53 ¥30.11

$11.63 ₾30.07

-61.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.16 ¥201

$37.83 ₾97.8

-20.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.11 ¥34.04

$9.66 ₾24.98

-47.10%

Cappuccino

$3.41 ¥22.70

$3.57 ₾9.24

-4.48%

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

$0.58 ¥3.85

$1.08 ₾2.78

-46.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.35 ¥2.36

$0.56 ₾1.45

-37.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.23 ¥8.22

$2.62 ₾6.78

-53.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.31 ¥15.37

$3.04 ₾7.85

-24.01%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.88 ¥12.52

$2.17 ₾5.60

-13.36%

White Bread (500g)

$1.94 ¥12.88

$0.80 ₾2.06

142.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.98 ¥6.52

$1.74 ₾4.51

-43.68%

Eggs

$1.70 ¥11.31

$2.83 ₾7.31

-39.93%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.02 ¥113

$9.31 ₾24.07

82.81%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.22 ¥21.41

$6.52 ₾16.85

-50.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.93 ¥86.0

$12.95 ₾33.50

-0.15%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 ¥14.31

$1.68 ₾4.34

27.98%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 ¥11.48

$1.85 ₾4.79

-6.49%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 ¥13.51

$1.97 ₾5.10

3.05%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.73 ¥11.54

$2.42 ₾6.25

-28.51%

Potato (1kg)

$0.83 ¥5.51

$0.82 ₾2.11

1.22%

Onion (1kg)

$0.92 ¥6.13

$0.74 ₾1.91

24.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.67 ¥4.48

$1.34 ₾3.47

-50.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.59 ¥3.92

$0.77 ₾2.00

-23.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.77 ¥25.10

$3.57 ₾9.24

5.60%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.03 ¥73.4

$7.67 ₾19.83

43.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 ¥6.00

$1.70 ₾4.39

-47.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 ¥10.67

$2.40 ₾6.21

-33.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 ¥3.81

$0.40 ₾1.05

42.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.62 ¥197

$15.23 ₾39.38

94.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.14 ¥14.25

$1.14 ₾2.95

87.72%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 ¥3.10

$0.78 ₾2.02

-39.74%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.74 ¥58.2

$11.83 ₾30.58

-26.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 ¥8.93

$1.45 ₾3.75

-7.59%

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

$19.3K ¥128.1K

$24.6K ₾63.6K

-21.67%

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

$18.3K ¥121.7K

$22.3K ₾57.8K

-18.16%

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

$58.9 ¥392

$88.8 ₾230

-33.67%

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

$7.90 ¥52.5

$13.12 ₾33.93

-39.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.60 ¥70.5

$19.67 ₾50.9

-46.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.8 ¥431

$64.1 ₾166

1.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.47 ¥116

$19.04 ₾49.24

-8.25%

Cinema Ticket

$9.06 ¥60.3

$7.12 ₾18.42

27.25%

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

$1,587 ¥10.6K

$375 ₾971

322.65%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.2K ¥187.9K

$10.5K ₾27.1K

169.70%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.6 ¥363

$104 ₾268

-47.31%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.21 ¥248

$39.26 ₾102

-5.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.6 ¥496

$117 ₾303

-36.46%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$106 ¥707

$122 ₾315

-12.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,026 ¥6,826

$695 ₾1,798

47.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$559 ¥3,722

$451 ₾1,167

23.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,618 ¥17.4K

$1,355 ₾3,504

93.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,191 ¥7,926

$906 ₾2,343

31.45%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.4K ¥89.0K

$2,295 ₾5,934

482.71%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,527 ¥43.4K

$1,345 ₾3,478

385.35%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,712 ¥11.4K

$664 ₾1,718

157.75%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.36

12.62

-73.38%

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

Last update for Shanghai: 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

Shanghai

$559 45.8%

Tbilisi

$451 35.6% 19.3% $108

Groceries & Markets

Shanghai

$237 19.4%

Tbilisi

$234 18.4% 1.1% $2.6

Clothing & Footwear

Shanghai

$123 10%

Tbilisi

$172 13.5% 40.1% $49

Eating Out

Shanghai

$107 8.8%

Tbilisi

$191 15% 78.1% $84

Sport & Entertainment

Shanghai

$83 6.8%

Tbilisi

$78 6.2% 5.6% $4.6

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Shanghai

$77 6.3%

Tbilisi

$122 9.6% 57.1% $44

Getting Around

Shanghai

$36 3%

Tbilisi

$22 1.7% 39.8% $14

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,026 in Shanghai and $695 in Tbilisi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Shanghai pays about 2.6 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $30 in Shanghai vs $38 in Tbilisi. Groceries flip the comparison at $237 vs $234, with Tbilisi cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Shanghai

🇬🇪 Tbilisi

🕒 Local time

05:19 5:19 AM

01:19 1:19 AM

4 h behind Shanghai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

24,870,895

1,241,700 Capital

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Georgian Lari GEL ₾

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 EUR

1 GEL = 0.387 USD

1 GEL = 0.347 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GEL, USD, EUR to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 6.65 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.41 CNY (1 CNY = 0.135 EUR).

Georgian Lari exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 2.59 GEL (1 GEL = 0.387 USD). 1 EUR = 2.88 GEL (1 GEL = 0.347 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Shanghai Tbilisi 6,730 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Shanghai
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

Shanghai vs Tbilisi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,222 in Shanghai and $1,269 in Tbilisi, so Shanghai is about 4% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Shanghai is about 2.6 times higher, 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: $1,026 in Shanghai versus $695 in Tbilisi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Tbilisi runs roughly 49% less than in Shanghai. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

All in, you’ll spend $1,222 per month in Shanghai versus $1,269 in Tbilisi – Shanghai is about 4% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Shanghai 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.