Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tbilisi and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Tbilisi: $1,269 a month against $1,354 in Bucharest, rent and utilities included – about $1,000 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Bucharest outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

61

Cost of Living Index in Tbilisi
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Tbilisi Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index

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Tbilisi

🇬🇪 Georgia

$1,269

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,354

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Tbilisi and in Bucharest

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,269 in Tbilisi versus $1,354 in Bucharest.

Tbilisi $1,269
Bucharest $1,354

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,016 in Tbilisi versus $2,043 in Bucharest.

Tbilisi $2,016
Bucharest $2,043

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,763 in Tbilisi versus $2,733 in Bucharest.

Tbilisi $2,763
Bucharest $2,733

Living in Tbilisi costs roughly 6% less than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.63 ₾30.07

$14.66 RON 70.1

-20.67%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.83 ₾97.8

$57.7 RON 276

-34.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.66 ₾24.98

$7.52 RON 35.92

28.46%

Cappuccino

$3.57 ₾9.24

$3.56 RON 16.99

0.28%

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

$1.08 ₾2.78

$2.47 RON 11.81

-56.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₾1.45

$2.18 RON 10.44

-74.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.62 ₾6.78

$3.69 RON 17.62

-29.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.04 ₾7.85

$4.28 RON 20.45

-28.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.17 ₾5.60

$1.67 RON 7.99

29.94%

White Bread (500g)

$0.80 ₾2.06

$1.35 RON 6.45

-40.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.74 ₾4.51

$1.78 RON 8.48

-2.25%

Eggs

$2.83 ₾7.31

$3.56 RON 17.02

-20.51%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.31 ₾24.07

$9.12 RON 43.60

2.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.52 ₾16.85

$6.82 RON 32.58

-4.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.95 ₾33.50

$12.13 RON 58.0

6.76%

Apples (1kg)

$1.68 ₾4.33

$1.26 RON 6.04

33.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.85 ₾4.79

$1.62 RON 7.76

14.20%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.97 ₾5.10

$1.56 RON 7.45

26.28%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.42 ₾6.25

$2.54 RON 12.14

-4.72%

Potato (1kg)

$0.82 ₾2.11

$0.78 RON 3.74

5.13%

Onion (1kg)

$0.74 ₾1.91

$0.77 RON 3.70

-3.90%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.34 ₾3.47

$0.89 RON 4.24

50.56%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 ₾2.00

$0.90 RON 4.30

-14.44%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.57 ₾9.24

$6.55 RON 31.30

-45.50%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.67 ₾19.83

$6.37 RON 30.42

20.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 ₾4.39

$1.24 RON 5.94

37.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.40 ₾6.21

$1.62 RON 7.75

48.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.40 ₾1.05

$0.85 RON 4.08

-52.94%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$15.23 ₾39.38

$20.71 RON 99.0

-26.46%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.14 ₾2.95

$0.61 RON 2.93

86.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 ₾2.02

$0.61 RON 2.93

27.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.83 ₾30.58

$6.16 RON 29.45

92.05%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ₾3.75

$2.00 RON 9.55

-27.50%

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

$24.6K ₾63.6K

$27.9K RON 133.5K

-12.05%

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

$22.3K ₾57.8K

$25.3K RON 121.0K

-11.80%

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

$88.8 ₾230

$192 RON 918

-53.77%

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

$13.12 ₾33.93

$7.92 RON 37.83

65.66%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.67 ₾50.9

$8.96 RON 42.81

119.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.1 ₾166

$49.99 RON 239

28.13%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.04 ₾49.24

$24.81 RON 119

-23.26%

Cinema Ticket

$7.12 ₾18.42

$8.51 RON 40.65

-16.33%

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

$375 ₾971

$686 RON 3,278

-45.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.5K ₾27.1K

$14.4K RON 68.9K

-27.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 ₾268

$90.2 RON 431

14.86%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.26 ₾102

$38.74 RON 185

1.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 ₾303

$78.9 RON 377

48.73%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 ₾315

$92.1 RON 440

32.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$695 ₾1,798

$711 RON 3,398

-2.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$451 ₾1,167

$462 RON 2,207

-2.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 ₾3,504

$1,053 RON 5,034

28.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$906 ₾2,343

$723 RON 3,453

25.40%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,295 ₾5,934

$3,634 RON 17.4K

-36.85%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,345 ₾3,478

$2,173 RON 10.4K

-38.10%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$664 ₾1,718

$1,354 RON 6,470

-50.93%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.62

6.75

86.96%

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

Last update for Tbilisi: October 27, 2026

Last update for Bucharest: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tbilisi

$451 35.6%

Bucharest

$462 34.1% 2.4% $11

Groceries & Markets

Tbilisi

$234 18.4%

Bucharest

$225 16.6% 3.9% $9.1

Eating Out

Tbilisi

$191 15%

Bucharest

$228 16.9% 19.7% $38

Clothing & Footwear

Tbilisi

$172 13.5%

Bucharest

$135 10% 21.5% $37

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tbilisi

$122 9.6%

Bucharest

$209 15.4% 71.8% $87

Sport & Entertainment

Tbilisi

$78 6.2%

Bucharest

$67 5% 14.4% $11

Getting Around

Tbilisi

$22 1.7%

Bucharest

$28 2.1% 27% $5.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $695 in Tbilisi and $711 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bucharest pays about 2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $38 in Tbilisi vs $58 in Bucharest. Groceries flip the comparison at $234 vs $225, with Bucharest cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇪 Tbilisi

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

02:32 2:32 AM

00:32 12:32 AM

2 h behind Tbilisi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,241,700 Capital

1,883,425 Capital

💱 Currency

Georgian Lari GEL ₾

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 GEL = 0.387 USD

1 GEL = 0.346 EUR

1 RON = 0.209 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to GEL – Georgian Lari Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇪 Georgian Lari (₾)

Georgian Lari exchange rates as of October 31, 2026: 1 USD = 2.59 GEL (1 GEL = 0.387 USD). 1 EUR = 2.89 GEL (1 GEL = 0.346 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 31, 2026: 1 USD = 4.78 RON (1 RON = 0.209 USD). 1 EUR = 5.34 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

USD to GEL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Tbilisi Bucharest 1,550 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Tbilisi
Bucharest

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 Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,269 in Tbilisi and $1,354 in Bucharest, so Tbilisi is about 6% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 51% lower in Tbilisi. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $695 in Tbilisi versus $711 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,269 per month in Tbilisi versus $1,354 in Bucharest – Tbilisi is about 6% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Tbilisi runs roughly 26% less than in Bucharest. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

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 work as nomad bases, but Tbilisi delivers better value at $1,269 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Tbilisi hard to pass up.

It comes down to priorities – Tbilisi wins on affordability, Bucharest on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.