Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tbilisi and Colombo

For one person, living is cheaper in Colombo: $804 a month against $1,269 in Tbilisi, rent and utilities included – about $5,600 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

61

Cost of Living Index in Tbilisi
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Tbilisi Living Index
39

Cost of Living Index in Colombo
Learn more

Colombo Living Index

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Tbilisi

🇬🇪 Georgia

$1,269

/mo nomad

Colombo

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$804

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Tbilisi and in Colombo

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,269 in Tbilisi versus $804 in Colombo.

Tbilisi $1,269
Colombo $804

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,016 in Tbilisi versus $1,240 in Colombo.

Tbilisi $2,016
Colombo $1,240

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,763 in Tbilisi versus $1,675 in Colombo.

Tbilisi $2,763
Colombo $1,675

Living in Tbilisi is roughly 58% more expensive than in Colombo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Tbilisi 7% lower, Colombo 41% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.63 ₾30.07

$3.74 LKR 1,243

210.96%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.83 ₾97.8

$24.72 LKR 8,219

53.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.66 ₾24.98

$7.60 LKR 2,529

27.11%

Cappuccino

$3.57 ₾9.24

$2.45 LKR 814

45.71%

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

$1.08 ₾2.78

$0.68 LKR 227

58.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₾1.45

$0.27 LKR 89.9

107.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.62 ₾6.78

$2.22 LKR 739

18.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.04 ₾7.85

$3.07 LKR 1,020

-0.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.17 ₾5.60

$1.57 LKR 521

38.22%

White Bread (500g)

$0.80 ₾2.06

$0.54 LKR 178

48.15%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.74 ₾4.51

$0.80 LKR 266

117.50%

Eggs

$2.83 ₾7.31

$1.71 LKR 568

65.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.31 ₾24.07

$13.92 LKR 4,628

-33.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.52 ₾16.85

$4.78 LKR 1,591

36.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.95 ₾33.50

$7.46 LKR 2,481

73.59%

Apples (1kg)

$1.68 ₾4.33

$6.40 LKR 2,127

-73.75%

Banana (1kg)

$1.85 ₾4.79

$0.85 LKR 284

117.65%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.97 ₾5.10

$4.26 LKR 1,416

-53.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.42 ₾6.25

$1.33 LKR 443

81.95%

Potato (1kg)

$0.82 ₾2.11

$1.00 LKR 334

-18.00%

Onion (1kg)

$0.74 ₾1.91

$0.81 LKR 270

-8.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.34 ₾3.47

$0.93 LKR 308

44.09%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 ₾2.00

$0.45 LKR 151

71.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.57 ₾9.24

$10.33 LKR 3,436

-65.44%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.67 ₾19.83

$12.87 LKR 4,280

-40.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 ₾4.39

$1.93 LKR 642

-11.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.40 ₾6.21

$3.00 LKR 999

-20.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.40 ₾1.05

$0.18 LKR 59.4

122.22%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$15.23 ₾39.38

$5.96 LKR 1,983

155.54%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.14 ₾2.95

$0.40 LKR 134

185.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 ₾2.02

$0.35 LKR 116

122.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.83 ₾30.58

$0.94 LKR 312

1158.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ₾3.75

$1.32 LKR 438

9.85%

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

$24.6K ₾63.6K

$43.4K LKR 14.4M

-43.39%

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

$22.3K ₾57.8K

$39.7K LKR 13.2M

-43.71%

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

$88.8 ₾230

$58.9 LKR 19.6K

50.89%

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

$13.12 ₾33.93

$4.20 LKR 1,397

212.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.67 ₾50.9

$20.61 LKR 6,855

-4.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.1 ₾166

$19.88 LKR 6,613

222.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.04 ₾49.24

$5.81 LKR 1,933

227.71%

Cinema Ticket

$7.12 ₾18.42

$4.42 LKR 1,469

61.09%

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

$375 ₾971

$38.13 LKR 12.7K

884.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.5K ₾27.1K

$1,214 LKR 403.6K

762.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 ₾268

$17.77 LKR 5,909

483.23%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.26 ₾102

$16.62 LKR 5,527

136.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 ₾303

$77.8 LKR 25.9K

50.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 ₾315

$42.22 LKR 14.0K

188.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$695 ₾1,798

$586 LKR 194.8K

18.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$451 ₾1,167

$275 LKR 91.5K

64.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 ₾3,504

$1,677 LKR 557.7K

-19.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$906 ₾2,343

$490 LKR 163.0K

84.82%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,295 ₾5,934

$3,636 LKR 1.2M

-36.88%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,345 ₾3,478

$1,158 LKR 385.1K

16.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$664 ₾1,718

$259 LKR 86.0K

156.84%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.62

12.69

-0.55%

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

Last update for Tbilisi: October 27, 2026

Last update for Colombo: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tbilisi

$451 35.6%

Colombo

$275 34.2% 39% $176

Groceries & Markets

Tbilisi

$234 18.4%

Colombo

$235 29.2% 0.5% $1.1

Eating Out

Tbilisi

$191 15%

Colombo

$103 12.8% 45.9% $87

Clothing & Footwear

Tbilisi

$172 13.5%

Colombo

$69 8.6% 59.6% $102

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tbilisi

$122 9.6%

Colombo

$84 10.4% 31.2% $38

Sport & Entertainment

Tbilisi

$78 6.2%

Colombo

$29 3.6% 63.3% $50

Getting Around

Tbilisi

$22 1.7%

Colombo

$8.8 1.1% 59.7% $13

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $695 in Tbilisi and $586 in Colombo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Tbilisi pays about 2.6 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $38 in Tbilisi vs $25 in Colombo. Groceries flip the comparison at $234 vs $235, with Tbilisi cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇪 Tbilisi

🇱🇰 Colombo

🕒 Local time

08:30 8:30 AM

10:00 10:00 AM

1 h 30 min ahead of Tbilisi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,241,700 Capital

753,000

💱 Currency

Georgian Lari GEL ₾

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

📈 Exchange rate

1 GEL = 0.387 USD

1 GEL = 0.346 EUR

1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LKR, 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 = 0.346 EUR).

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 333 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD). 1 EUR = 371 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR).

USD to GEL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Tbilisi Colombo 5,180 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Tbilisi
Colombo

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 Colombo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Colombo wins on cost – living expenses run 37% lower than in Tbilisi. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Colombo the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Tbilisi is about 2.6 times higher, 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 $586 in Colombo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $375 in Tbilisi versus $38 in Colombo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Colombo – a meal for two runs $25 versus $38 in Tbilisi. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Colombo is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

Both work as nomad bases, but Colombo delivers better value at $804 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Colombo hard to pass up.

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