Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tbilisi and Addis Ababa

For one person, living costs are similar in Tbilisi and in Addis Ababa: $1,269 and $1,300 a month, rent and utilities included.

61

Cost of Living Index in Tbilisi
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Tbilisi Living Index
63

Cost of Living Index in Addis Ababa
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Addis Ababa Living Index

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Tbilisi

🇬🇪 Georgia

$1,269

/mo nomad

Addis Ababa

🇪🇹 Ethiopia

$1,300

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Tbilisi and in Addis Ababa

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Tbilisi and in Addis Ababa actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,269 in Tbilisi versus $1,300 in Addis Ababa.

Tbilisi $1,269
Addis Ababa $1,300

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,016 in Tbilisi versus $1,914 in Addis Ababa.

Tbilisi $2,016
Addis Ababa $1,914

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,763 in Tbilisi versus $2,528 in Addis Ababa.

Tbilisi $2,763
Addis Ababa $2,528

Monthly costs are close between Tbilisi and Addis Ababa; which city is cheaper depends on the spending category.

Both cities sit below the global median: Tbilisi 7% lower, Addis Ababa 4% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.63 ₾30.07

$4.07 ETB 655

185.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.83 ₾97.8

$42.77 ETB 6,885

-11.55%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.66 ₾24.98

$6.63 ETB 1,068

45.70%

Cappuccino

$3.57 ₾9.24

$0.88 ETB 141

305.68%

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

$1.08 ₾2.78

$0.58 ETB 93.8

86.21%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₾1.45

$0.64 ETB 103

-12.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.62 ₾6.78

$0.77 ETB 124

240.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.04 ₾7.85

$2.23 ETB 359

36.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.17 ₾5.60

$1.07 ETB 172

102.80%

White Bread (500g)

$0.80 ₾2.06

$1.16 ETB 187

-31.03%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.74 ₾4.51

$2.17 ETB 349

-19.82%

Eggs

$2.83 ₾7.31

$1.79 ETB 287

58.10%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.31 ₾24.07

$7.51 ETB 1,210

23.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.52 ₾16.85

$10.28 ETB 1,655

-36.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.95 ₾33.50

$9.49 ETB 1,528

36.46%

Apples (1kg)

$1.68 ₾4.34

$5.25 ETB 845

-68.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.85 ₾4.79

$0.64 ETB 102

189.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.97 ₾5.10

$2.12 ETB 341

-7.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.42 ₾6.25

$0.65 ETB 105

272.31%

Potato (1kg)

$0.82 ₾2.11

$0.50 ETB 81.1

64.00%

Onion (1kg)

$0.74 ₾1.91

$1.08 ETB 174

-31.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.34 ₾3.47

$0.69 ETB 111

94.20%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 ₾2.00

$0.58 ETB 92.8

32.76%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.57 ₾9.24

$8.01 ETB 1,290

-55.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.67 ₾19.83

$5.68 ETB 915

35.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 ₾4.39

$0.67 ETB 108

153.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.40 ₾6.21

$1.22 ETB 196

96.72%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.40 ₾1.05

$0.51 ETB 82.7

-21.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$15.23 ₾39.38

$21.05 ETB 3,390

-27.65%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.14 ₾2.95

$1.29 ETB 208

-11.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 ₾2.02

$0.29 ETB 47.31

168.97%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.83 ₾30.58

$1.96 ETB 315

503.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ₾3.75

$0.96 ETB 155

51.04%

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

$24.6K ₾63.6K

$55.7K ETB 9.0M

-55.85%

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

$22.3K ₾57.8K

$56.1K ETB 9.0M

-60.20%

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

$88.8 ₾230

$202 ETB 32.5K

-56.07%

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

$13.12 ₾33.93

$7.50 ETB 1,207

74.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.67 ₾50.9

$213 ETB 34.3K

-90.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.1 ₾166

$44.97 ETB 7,240

42.43%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.04 ₾49.24

$36.87 ETB 5,936

-48.36%

Cinema Ticket

$7.12 ₾18.42

$3.77 ETB 607

88.86%

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

$375 ₾971

$633 ETB 102.0K

-40.72%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.5K ₾27.1K

$30.5K ETB 4.9M

-65.70%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 ₾268

$32.81 ETB 5,282

215.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.26 ₾102

$69.5 ETB 11.2K

-43.51%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 ₾303

$77.5 ETB 12.5K

51.53%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 ₾315

$82.9 ETB 13.3K

46.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$695 ₾1,798

$707 ETB 113.9K

-1.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$451 ₾1,167

$392 ETB 63.1K

15.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 ₾3,504

$2,299 ETB 370.1K

-41.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$906 ₾2,343

$774 ETB 124.6K

17.09%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,295 ₾5,934

$1,976 ETB 318.2K

16.11%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,345 ₾3,478

$1,025 ETB 165.1K

31.18%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$664 ₾1,718

$200 ETB 32.2K

231.73%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.62

18.5

-31.78%

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

Last update for Tbilisi: October 27, 2026

Last update for Addis Ababa: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tbilisi

$451 35.6%

Addis Ababa

$392 30.1% 13.2% $59

Groceries & Markets

Tbilisi

$234 18.4%

Addis Ababa

$213 16.4% 9.1% $21

Eating Out

Tbilisi

$191 15%

Addis Ababa

$76 5.9% 60% $114

Clothing & Footwear

Tbilisi

$172 13.5%

Addis Ababa

$118 9.1% 31.2% $54

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tbilisi

$122 9.6%

Addis Ababa

$423 32.5% 248% $301

Sport & Entertainment

Tbilisi

$78 6.2%

Addis Ababa

$53 4% 32.9% $26

Getting Around

Tbilisi

$22 1.7%

Addis Ababa

$26 2% 18.1% $4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $695 in Tbilisi and $707 in Addis Ababa. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Tbilisi pays about 3.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $38 in Tbilisi vs $43 in Addis Ababa. Groceries flip the comparison at $234 vs $213, with Addis Ababa cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇪 Tbilisi

🇪🇹 Addis Ababa

🕒 Local time

12:59 12:59 PM

11:59 11:59 AM

1 h behind Tbilisi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,241,700 Capital

3,500,000 Capital

💱 Currency

Georgian Lari GEL ₾

Ethiopian Birr ETB Br

📈 Exchange rate

1 GEL = 0.387 USD

1 GEL = 0.347 EUR

1,000 ETB = 6.21 USD

1,000 ETB = 5.57 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ETB, USD, EUR to GEL – Georgian Lari Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇪 Georgian Lari (₾)

Georgian Lari exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 2.59 GEL (1 GEL = 0.387 USD). 1 EUR = 2.89 GEL (1 GEL = 0.347 EUR).

Ethiopian Birr exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 161 ETB (1,000 ETB = 6.21 USD). 1 EUR = 180 ETB (1,000 ETB = 5.57 EUR).

USD to GEL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Tbilisi Addis Ababa 3,680 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Tbilisi
Addis Ababa

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

Tbilisi vs Addis Ababa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Average pay in Tbilisi is about 3.3 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: $695 in Tbilisi versus $707 in Addis Ababa. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Tbilisi runs roughly 28% less than in Addis Ababa. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Shoppers in Addis Ababa pay roughly 9% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

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.