Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tbilisi and Blantyre

For one person, living is cheaper in Blantyre: $602 a month against $1,270 in Tbilisi, rent and utilities included – about $8,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

61

Cost of Living Index in Tbilisi
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Tbilisi Living Index
29

Cost of Living Index in Blantyre
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Blantyre Living Index

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Tbilisi

🇬🇪 Georgia

$1,270

/mo nomad

Blantyre

🇲🇼 Malawi

$602

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Tbilisi and in Blantyre

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,270 in Tbilisi versus $602 in Blantyre.

Tbilisi $1,270
Blantyre $602

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,008 in Tbilisi versus $1,046 in Blantyre.

Tbilisi $2,008
Blantyre $1,046

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,745 in Tbilisi versus $1,489 in Blantyre.

Tbilisi $2,745
Blantyre $1,489

Living in Tbilisi is roughly 111% more expensive than in Blantyre, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Tbilisi 6% lower, Blantyre 56% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.51 ₾29.79

$3.90 MWK 6,698

195.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$38.27 ₾99.1

$13.39 MWK 23.0K

185.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.80 ₾25.36

$7.08 MWK 12.2K

38.42%

Cappuccino

$3.55 ₾9.19

$2.79 MWK 4,791

27.24%

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

$1.06 ₾2.74

$0.85 MWK 1,465

24.71%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.62 ₾1.60

$0.45 MWK 772

37.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.76 ₾7.16

$1.05 MWK 1,802

162.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.00 ₾7.77

$1.74 MWK 2,987

72.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.16 ₾5.59

$1.06 MWK 1,817

103.77%

White Bread (500g)

$0.76 ₾1.96

$1.35 MWK 2,318

-43.70%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.74 ₾4.51

$2.03 MWK 3,480

-14.29%

Eggs

$2.79 ₾7.21

$1.74 MWK 2,993

60.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.20 ₾23.83

$3.65 MWK 6,268

152.05%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.53 ₾16.89

$5.51 MWK 9,455

18.51%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.81 ₾33.17

$6.62 MWK 11.4K

93.50%

Apples (1kg)

$1.67 ₾4.31

$2.27 MWK 3,893

-26.43%

Banana (1kg)

$1.85 ₾4.79

$2.36 MWK 4,059

-21.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.98 ₾5.13

$2.39 MWK 4,108

-17.15%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.51 ₾6.49

$1.11 MWK 1,903

126.13%

Potato (1kg)

$0.87 ₾2.26

$1.32 MWK 2,263

-34.09%

Onion (1kg)

$0.73 ₾1.89

$1.35 MWK 2,326

-45.93%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.42 ₾3.67

$0.31 MWK 530

358.06%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 ₾1.88

$0.79 MWK 1,349

-8.86%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.38 ₾8.74

$2.40 MWK 4,121

40.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.84 ₾20.31

$13.63 MWK 23.4K

-42.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.62 ₾4.19

$0.92 MWK 1,578

76.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.38 ₾6.15

$1.64 MWK 2,819

45.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.37 ₾0.96

$0.52 MWK 891

-28.85%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$15.52 ₾40.16

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.14 ₾2.94

$0.61 MWK 1,051

86.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.79 ₾2.05

$1.48 MWK 2,544

-46.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.57 ₾29.96

$3.92 MWK 6,727

195.15%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.50 ₾3.87

$1.51 MWK 2,588

-0.66%

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

$24.6K ₾63.7K

$34.7K MWK 59.6M

-29.10%

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

$22.4K ₾57.9K

$39.2K MWK 67.4M

-43.01%

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

$88.3 ₾228

$26.58 MWK 45.6K

232.02%

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

$13.08 ₾33.86

$7.89 MWK 13.6K

65.78%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.53 ₾50.6

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.2 ₾166

$59.8 MWK 102.6K

7.41%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.18 ₾49.66

$15.14 MWK 26.0K

26.68%

Cinema Ticket

$6.99 ₾18.10

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

$373 ₾966

$385 MWK 660.7K

-3.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.7K ₾27.7K

$603 MWK 1.0M

1671.73%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$103 ₾266

$43.33 MWK 74.4K

136.95%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.48 ₾105

$40.24 MWK 69.1K

0.60%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 ₾301

$48.11 MWK 82.6K

141.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 ₾316

$71.1 MWK 122.0K

71.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$677 ₾1,753

$225 MWK 386.5K

200.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$454 ₾1,176

$116 MWK 199.7K

290.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,277 ₾3,305

$595 MWK 1.0M

114.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$890 ₾2,304

$394 MWK 676.6K

125.82%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 ₾6,238

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,418 ₾3,670

$400 MWK 686.0K

254.80%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$703 ₾1,819

$336 MWK 576.4K

109.35%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.62

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

Last update for Tbilisi: October 17, 2026

Last update for Blantyre: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tbilisi

$454 35.8%

Blantyre

$116 19.3% 74.4% $338

Groceries & Markets

Tbilisi

$233 18.3%

Blantyre

$191 31.6% 18.1% $42

Eating Out

Tbilisi

$191 15%

Blantyre

$100 16.6% 47.6% $91

Clothing & Footwear

Tbilisi

$172 13.5%

Blantyre

$91 15.2% 46.8% $80

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tbilisi

$121 9.5%

Blantyre

$34 * 5.7% 71.5% $86

Sport & Entertainment

Tbilisi

$78 6.2%

Blantyre

$60 * 9.9% 23.6% $18

Getting Around

Tbilisi

$22 1.7%

Blantyre

$10 * 1.7% 54.3% $12

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 $677 in Tbilisi and $225 in Blantyre. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Tbilisi pays 109% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $38.00 in Tbilisi vs $13.00 in Blantyre for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $233 vs $191 per month, with Blantyre cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇪 Tbilisi

🇲🇼 Blantyre

🕒 Local time

17:19 5:19 PM

15:19 3:19 PM

2 h behind Tbilisi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,241,700 Capital

994,500

💱 Currency

Georgian Lari GEL ₾

Malawian Kwacha MWK MK

📈 Exchange rate

1 GEL = 0.386 USD

1 GEL = 0.344 EUR

10,000 MWK = 5.82 USD

10,000 MWK = 5.18 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MWK, USD, EUR to GEL – Georgian Lari Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇪 Georgian Lari (₾)

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).

Malawian Kwacha exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 1,717 MWK (10,000 MWK = 5.82 USD). 1 EUR = 1,930 MWK (10,000 MWK = 5.18 EUR).

USD to GEL in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Tbilisi Blantyre 6,470 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Tbilisi
Blantyre

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 Blantyre: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Tbilisi and Blantyre differ by about 111% in total monthly costs ($1,270 vs $602 including rent). Blantyre is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 109% 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: $677 in Tbilisi versus $225 in Blantyre. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 22% higher in Tbilisi. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,270 per month in Tbilisi versus $602 in Blantyre – a 111% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $602 in Blantyre versus $1,270 in Tbilisi, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Blantyre but tight or insufficient in Tbilisi. The gap between the two cities makes Blantyre the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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, Tbilisi and Blantyre 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 Blantyre gentler on the wallet – expenses run 111% less than in Tbilisi. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.