Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tbilisi and Butare

For one person, living is cheaper in Butare: $368 a month against $1,242 in Tbilisi, rent and utilities included – about $10,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

61

Cost of Living Index in Tbilisi
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Tbilisi Living Index
18

Cost of Living Index in Butare
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Butare Living Index

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Tbilisi

🇬🇪 Georgia

$1,242

/mo nomad

Butare

🇷🇼 Rwanda

$368

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Tbilisi and in Butare

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,242 in Tbilisi versus $368 in Butare.

Tbilisi $1,242
Butare $368

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,962 in Tbilisi versus $581 in Butare.

Tbilisi $1,962
Butare $581

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,682 in Tbilisi versus $795 in Butare.

Tbilisi $2,682
Butare $795

Living in Tbilisi is roughly 238% more expensive than in Butare, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Tbilisi 7% lower, Butare 73% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.98 ₾28.46

$2.73 RWF 4,020

302.20%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$38.21 ₾99.0

$30.92 RWF 45.5K

23.58%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.58 ₾24.84

$6.65 RWF 9,779

44.06%

Cappuccino

$3.59 ₾9.31

$2.45 RWF 3,594

46.53%

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

$1.03 ₾2.66

$0.76 RWF 1,112

35.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₾1.64

$0.58 RWF 850

8.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.74 ₾7.10

$1.04 RWF 1,532

163.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.17 ₾8.22

$2.38 RWF 3,505

33.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.13 ₾5.53

$0.33 RWF 485

545.45%

White Bread (500g)

$0.74 ₾1.91

$0.82 RWF 1,208

-9.76%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 ₾4.46

$0.92 RWF 1,357

86.96%

Eggs

$2.78 ₾7.21

$1.66 RWF 2,438

67.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.48 ₾24.56

$1.65 RWF 2,420

474.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.45 ₾16.71

$2.35 RWF 3,455

174.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.02 ₾33.76

$3.01 RWF 4,421

332.56%

Apples (1kg)

$1.69 ₾4.37

$2.08 RWF 3,059

-18.75%

Banana (1kg)

$1.84 ₾4.76

$0.81 RWF 1,196

127.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.89 ₾4.90

$1.17 RWF 1,726

61.54%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.40 ₾6.22

$0.79 RWF 1,155

203.80%

Potato (1kg)

$0.84 ₾2.17

$0.43 RWF 630

95.35%

Onion (1kg)

$0.68 ₾1.75

$0.26 RWF 378

161.54%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.42 ₾3.68

$0.12 RWF 179

1083.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 ₾2.01

$0.82 RWF 1,201

-6.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.56 ₾9.22

$1.99 RWF 2,923

78.89%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.48 ₾19.39

$10.21 RWF 15.0K

-26.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.71 ₾4.43

$1.03 RWF 1,515

66.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.29 ₾5.94

$1.57 RWF 2,314

45.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.40 ₾1.04

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$15.15 ₾39.27

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.19 ₾3.08

$2.69 RWF 3,958

-55.76%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 ₾2.03

$2.00 RWF 2,936

-61.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.77 ₾30.50

$3.34 RWF 4,911

252.40%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.41 ₾3.65

$1.81 RWF 2,663

-22.10%

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

$24.3K ₾62.9K

$26.6K RWF 39.0M

-8.66%

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

$21.7K ₾56.3K

$29.2K RWF 43.0M

-25.67%

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

$87.6 ₾227

$82.4 RWF 121.1K

6.33%

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

$13.33 ₾34.55

$7.20 RWF 10.6K

85.14%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.51 ₾50.6

$20.81 RWF 30.6K

-6.25%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.7 ₾168

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.85 ₾48.86

Cinema Ticket

$6.55 ₾16.97

$3.43 RWF 5,036

90.96%

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

$377 ₾978

$113 RWF 166.0K

233.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.6K ₾27.5K

$9,518 RWF 14.0M

11.66%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 ₾265

$17.04 RWF 25.1K

499.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.36 ₾105

$15.65 RWF 23.0K

157.89%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 ₾302

$22.66 RWF 33.3K

414.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 ₾314

$34.40 RWF 50.6K

252.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$675 ₾1,749

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$451 ₾1,170

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,275 ₾3,305

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$883 ₾2,288

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,415 ₾6,259

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,404 ₾3,640

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$706 ₾1,830

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.62

16.2

-22.10%

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

Last update for Tbilisi: October 4, 2026

Last update for Butare: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tbilisi

$451 35.8%

Butare

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Tbilisi

$232 18.4%

Butare

$112 30.4% 51.7% $120

Eating Out

Tbilisi

$186 14.8%

Butare

$86 23.4% 53.6% $100

Clothing & Footwear

Tbilisi

$171 13.6%

Butare

$40 10.9% 76.4% $131

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tbilisi

$120 9.6%

Butare

$110 29.9% 8.4% $10

Sport & Entertainment

Tbilisi

$78 6.2%

Butare

$6.9 * 1.9% 91.2% $71

Getting Around

Tbilisi

$22 1.7%

Butare

$13 * 3.4% 42% $9.2

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $38.00 in Tbilisi vs $31.00 in Butare for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $232 vs $112 per month, with Butare cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇪 Tbilisi

🇷🇼 Butare

🕒 Local time

07:26 7:26 AM

05:26 5:26 AM

2 h behind Tbilisi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,241,700 Capital

62,823

💱 Currency

Georgian Lari GEL ₾

Rwandan Franc RWF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

1 GEL = 0.386 USD

1 GEL = 0.344 EUR

10,000 RWF = 6.8 USD

10,000 RWF = 6.07 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RWF, USD, EUR to GEL – Georgian Lari Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇪 Georgian Lari (₾)

Georgian Lari exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 2.59 GEL (1 GEL = 0.386 USD). 1 EUR = 2.91 GEL (1 GEL = 0.344 EUR).

Rwandan Franc exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1,470 RWF (10,000 RWF = 6.8 USD). 1 EUR = 1,649 RWF (10,000 RWF = 6.07 EUR).

USD to GEL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Tbilisi Butare 5,160 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Tbilisi
Butare

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 Butare: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Butare wins on cost – living expenses run 238% lower than in Tbilisi. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Butare the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $1,863 in Tbilisi and $552 in Butare to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Supermarket bills run roughly 107% higher in Tbilisi. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,242 per month in Tbilisi versus $368 in Butare – a 238% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $368 in Butare versus $1,242 in Tbilisi, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Butare but tight or insufficient in Tbilisi. The gap between the two cities makes Butare the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Butare delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $368 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Butare hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Tbilisi and Butare 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 Butare gentler on the wallet – expenses run 238% less than in Tbilisi. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.