Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tbilisi and Cartago, Costa Rica

For one person, living is cheaper in Tbilisi: $1,269 a month against $1,733 in Cartago, rent and utilities included – about $5,600 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
79

Cost of Living Index in Cartago
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Cartago Living Index

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Tbilisi

🇬🇪 Georgia

$1,269

/mo nomad

Cartago

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,733

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Tbilisi and in Cartago

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,269 in Tbilisi versus $1,733 in Cartago.

Tbilisi $1,269
Cartago $1,733

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,016 in Tbilisi versus $2,363 in Cartago.

Tbilisi $2,016
Cartago $2,363

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,763 in Tbilisi versus $2,993 in Cartago.

Tbilisi $2,763
Cartago $2,993

Living in Tbilisi costs roughly 27% less than in Cartago, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Tbilisi is 7% below, Cartago is 27% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.63 ₾30.07

$8.61 ₡3,886

35.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.83 ₾97.8

$35.63 ₡16.1K

6.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.66 ₾24.98

$9.75 ₡4,400

-0.92%

Cappuccino

$3.57 ₾9.24

$4.55 ₡2,056

-21.54%

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

$1.08 ₾2.78

$2.24 ₡1,013

-51.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₾1.45

$1.37 ₡618

-59.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.62 ₾6.78

$2.15 ₡972

21.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.04 ₾7.85

$4.20 ₡1,896

-27.62%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.17 ₾5.60

$2.39 ₡1,079

-9.21%

White Bread (500g)

$0.80 ₾2.06

$2.48 ₡1,118

-67.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.74 ₾4.51

$2.42 ₡1,093

-28.10%

Eggs

$2.83 ₾7.31

$3.59 ₡1,622

-21.17%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.31 ₾24.07

$8.73 ₡3,940

6.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.52 ₾16.85

$10.61 ₡4,788

-38.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.95 ₾33.50

$13.93 ₡6,288

-7.04%

Apples (1kg)

$1.68 ₾4.33

$5.05 ₡2,279

-66.73%

Banana (1kg)

$1.85 ₾4.79

$1.33 ₡601

39.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.97 ₾5.10

$4.37 ₡1,975

-54.92%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.42 ₾6.25

$2.99 ₡1,350

-19.06%

Potato (1kg)

$0.82 ₾2.11

$2.16 ₡977

-62.04%

Onion (1kg)

$0.74 ₾1.91

$2.25 ₡1,015

-67.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.34 ₾3.47

$1.07 ₡484

25.23%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 ₾2.00

$2.18 ₡985

-64.68%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.57 ₾9.24

$5.98 ₡2,700

-40.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.67 ₾19.83

$15.61 ₡7,047

-50.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 ₾4.39

$2.85 ₡1,286

-40.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.40 ₾6.21

$2.02 ₡911

18.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.40 ₾1.05

$1.27 ₡571

-68.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$15.23 ₾39.38

$74.1 ₡33.5K

-79.45%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.14 ₾2.95

$1.31 ₡591

-12.98%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 ₾2.02

$1.57 ₡711

-50.32%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.83 ₾30.58

$8.73 ₡3,941

35.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ₾3.75

$1.50 ₡675

-3.33%

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

$24.6K ₾63.6K

$34.7K ₡15.7M

-29.15%

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

$22.3K ₾57.8K

$42.3K ₡19.1M

-47.17%

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

$88.8 ₾230

$53.0 ₡23.9K

67.55%

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

$13.12 ₾33.93

$36.31 ₡16.4K

-63.87%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.67 ₾50.9

$60.0 ₡27.1K

-67.22%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.1 ₾166

$68.0 ₡30.7K

-5.78%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.04 ₾49.24

$77.5 ₡35.0K

-75.44%

Cinema Ticket

$7.12 ₾18.42

$7.16 ₡3,234

-0.56%

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

$375 ₾971

$559 ₡252.2K

-32.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.5K ₾27.1K

$7,872 ₡3.6M

33.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 ₾268

$72.8 ₡32.9K

42.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.26 ₾102

$56.8 ₡25.7K

-30.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 ₾303

$121 ₡54.8K

-3.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 ₾315

$87.1 ₡39.3K

39.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$695 ₾1,798

$733 ₡331.0K

-5.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$451 ₾1,167

$725 ₡327.1K

-37.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 ₾3,504

$1,920 ₡866.9K

-29.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$906 ₾2,343

$702 ₡316.8K

29.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,295 ₾5,934

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,345 ₾3,478

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$664 ₾1,718

$1,305 ₡589.0K

-49.08%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.62

8.62

46.40%

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

Last update for Tbilisi: October 27, 2026

Last update for Cartago: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tbilisi

$451 35.6%

Cartago

$725 41.8% 60.6% $273

Groceries & Markets

Tbilisi

$234 18.4%

Cartago

$350 20.2% 49.7% $116

Eating Out

Tbilisi

$191 15%

Cartago

$186 10.8% 2.2% $4.2

Clothing & Footwear

Tbilisi

$172 13.5%

Cartago

$152 8.8% 11.5% $20

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tbilisi

$122 9.6%

Cartago

$149 8.6% 22.8% $28

Sport & Entertainment

Tbilisi

$78 6.2%

Cartago

$82 4.8% 5.1% $4

Getting Around

Tbilisi

$22 1.7%

Cartago

$88 5.1% 304% $66

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $695 in Tbilisi and $733 in Cartago. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cartago pays 96% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $38 in Tbilisi vs $36 in Cartago. Groceries flip the comparison at $234 vs $350, with Tbilisi cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇪 Tbilisi

🇨🇷 Cartago

🕒 Local time

12:07 12:07 PM

02:07 2:07 AM

10 h behind Tbilisi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,241,700 Capital

110,000

💱 Currency

Georgian Lari GEL ₾

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 GEL = 0.387 USD

1 GEL = 0.347 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, 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).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 451 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to GEL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Tbilisi Cartago 12,260 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Tbilisi
Cartago

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 Cartago: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Tbilisi is about 27% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, transport, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 49% 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 $733 in Cartago. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Tbilisi runs roughly 79% less than in Cartago. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $375 in Tbilisi versus $559 in Cartago. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

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.

Safety-wise, Tbilisi and Cartago are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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