Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tbilisi and Bishkek

For one person, living is cheaper in Bishkek: $977 a month against $1,269 in Tbilisi, rent and utilities included – about $3,500 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

61

Cost of Living Index in Tbilisi
Learn more

Tbilisi Living Index
47

Cost of Living Index in Bishkek
Learn more

Bishkek Living Index

Jump to prices

Tbilisi

🇬🇪 Georgia

$1,269

/mo nomad

Bishkek

🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan

$977

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Tbilisi and in Bishkek

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 Bishkek actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,269 in Tbilisi versus $977 in Bishkek.

Tbilisi $1,269
Bishkek $977

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,016 in Tbilisi versus $1,505 in Bishkek.

Tbilisi $2,016
Bishkek $1,505

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,763 in Tbilisi versus $2,032 in Bishkek.

Tbilisi $2,763
Bishkek $2,032

Living in Tbilisi is roughly 30% more expensive than in Bishkek, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Tbilisi 7% lower, Bishkek 28% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.63 ₾30.07

$6.80 KGS 595

71.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.83 ₾97.8

$29.12 KGS 2,547

29.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.66 ₾24.98

$5.70 KGS 499

69.47%

Cappuccino

$3.57 ₾9.24

$2.45 KGS 215

45.71%

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

$1.08 ₾2.78

$0.75 KGS 65.8

44.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₾1.45

$0.41 KGS 35.69

36.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.62 ₾6.78

$1.39 KGS 121

88.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.04 ₾7.85

$1.92 KGS 168

58.33%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.17 ₾5.60

$1.03 KGS 89.9

110.68%

White Bread (500g)

$0.80 ₾2.06

$0.41 KGS 36.15

95.12%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.74 ₾4.51

$1.73 KGS 151

0.58%

Eggs

$2.83 ₾7.31

$1.76 KGS 154

60.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.31 ₾24.07

$7.73 KGS 676

20.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.52 ₾16.85

$4.62 KGS 404

41.13%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.95 ₾33.50

$8.74 KGS 764

48.17%

Apples (1kg)

$1.68 ₾4.33

$1.42 KGS 124

18.31%

Banana (1kg)

$1.85 ₾4.79

$1.83 KGS 160

1.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.97 ₾5.10

$2.01 KGS 176

-1.99%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.42 ₾6.25

$1.56 KGS 137

55.13%

Potato (1kg)

$0.82 ₾2.11

$0.61 KGS 53.4

34.43%

Onion (1kg)

$0.74 ₾1.91

$0.51 KGS 44.33

45.10%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.34 ₾3.47

$0.71 KGS 62.3

88.73%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 ₾2.00

$0.57 KGS 49.86

35.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.57 ₾9.24

$2.07 KGS 181

72.46%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.67 ₾19.83

$9.05 KGS 792

-15.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 ₾4.39

$1.37 KGS 120

24.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.40 ₾6.21

$1.93 KGS 169

24.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.40 ₾1.05

$0.24 KGS 21.01

66.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$15.23 ₾39.38

$11.55 KGS 1,010

31.86%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.14 ₾2.95

$0.89 KGS 78.2

28.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 ₾2.02

$0.44 KGS 38.34

77.27%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.83 ₾30.58

$5.56 KGS 486

112.77%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ₾3.75

$0.98 KGS 85.6

47.96%

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

$24.6K ₾63.6K

$29.8K KGS 2.6M

-17.55%

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

$22.3K ₾57.8K

$33.2K KGS 2.9M

-32.67%

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

$88.8 ₾230

$49.36 KGS 4,317

79.90%

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

$13.12 ₾33.93

$5.75 KGS 503

128.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.67 ₾50.9

$11.91 KGS 1,042

65.16%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.1 ₾166

$53.9 KGS 4,712

18.88%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.04 ₾49.24

$14.66 KGS 1,282

29.88%

Cinema Ticket

$7.12 ₾18.42

$5.59 KGS 489

27.37%

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

$375 ₾971

$217 KGS 19.0K

72.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.5K ₾27.1K

$7,810 KGS 683.1K

34.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 ₾268

$56.3 KGS 4,923

84.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.26 ₾102

$43.87 KGS 3,837

-10.51%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 ₾303

$91.8 KGS 8,026

27.88%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 ₾315

$89.9 KGS 7,861

35.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$695 ₾1,798

$599 KGS 52.4K

16.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$451 ₾1,167

$410 KGS 35.9K

10.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 ₾3,504

$1,030 KGS 90.0K

31.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$906 ₾2,343

$718 KGS 62.8K

26.27%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,295 ₾5,934

$1,811 KGS 158.4K

26.75%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,345 ₾3,478

$1,209 KGS 105.8K

11.21%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$664 ₾1,718

$498 KGS 43.5K

33.43%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.62

20.1

-37.21%

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

Last update for Tbilisi: October 27, 2026

Last update for Bishkek: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tbilisi

$451 35.6%

Bishkek

$410 42% 9.1% $41

Groceries & Markets

Tbilisi

$234 18.4%

Bishkek

$176 18% 24.7% $58

Eating Out

Tbilisi

$191 15%

Bishkek

$116 11.9% 38.9% $74

Clothing & Footwear

Tbilisi

$172 13.5%

Bishkek

$127 13% 26.2% $45

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tbilisi

$122 9.6%

Bishkek

$67 6.9% 44.9% $55

Sport & Entertainment

Tbilisi

$78 6.2%

Bishkek

$65 6.7% 16.9% $13

Getting Around

Tbilisi

$22 1.7%

Bishkek

$16 1.6% 28.8% $6.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $695 in Tbilisi and $599 in Bishkek. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Tbilisi pays 33% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $38 in Tbilisi vs $29 in Bishkek for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $234 vs $176 per month, with Bishkek cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇪 Tbilisi

🇰🇬 Bishkek

🕒 Local time

12:07 12:07 PM

14:07 2:07 PM

2 h ahead of Tbilisi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,241,700 Capital

1,012,500 Capital

💱 Currency

Georgian Lari GEL ₾

Kyrgyzstani Som KGS сом

📈 Exchange rate

1 GEL = 0.387 USD

1 GEL = 0.347 EUR

100 KGS = 1.14 USD

100 KGS = 1.02 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KGS, USD, EUR to GEL – Georgian Lari Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇪 Georgian Lari (₾)

Georgian Lari exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 2.59 GEL (1 GEL = 0.387 USD). 1 EUR = 2.89 GEL (1 GEL = 0.347 EUR).

Kyrgyzstani Som exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 87.46 KGS (100 KGS = 1.14 USD). 1 EUR = 97.6 KGS (100 KGS = 1.02 EUR).

USD to GEL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Tbilisi Bishkek 2,440 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Tbilisi
Bishkek

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 Bishkek: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bishkek is about 23% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 33% higher in Tbilisi, 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 $599 in Bishkek. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $375 in Tbilisi versus $217 in Bishkek. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 33% higher in Tbilisi. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

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

Expats usually find Bishkek gentler on the wallet – expenses run 23% less than in Tbilisi. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.