Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tbilisi and Datong

For one person, living is cheaper in Datong: $709 a month against $1,269 in Tbilisi, rent and utilities included – about $6,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

61

Cost of Living Index in Tbilisi
Learn more

Tbilisi Living Index
34

Cost of Living Index in Datong
Learn more

Datong Living Index

Jump to prices

Tbilisi

🇬🇪 Georgia

$1,269

/mo nomad

Datong

🇨🇳 China

$709

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Tbilisi and in Datong

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,269 in Tbilisi versus $709 in Datong.

Tbilisi $1,269
Datong $709

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,016 in Tbilisi versus $1,127 in Datong.

Tbilisi $2,016
Datong $1,127

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,763 in Tbilisi versus $1,545 in Datong.

Tbilisi $2,763
Datong $1,545

Living in Tbilisi is roughly 79% more expensive than in Datong, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Tbilisi 7% lower, Datong 48% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.63 ₾30.07

$2.74 ¥18.23

324.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.83 ₾97.8

$21.65 ¥144

74.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.66 ₾24.98

$4.98 ¥33.15

93.98%

Cappuccino

$3.57 ₾9.24

$2.95 ¥19.65

21.02%

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

$1.08 ₾2.78

$0.46 ¥3.08

134.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₾1.45

$0.27 ¥1.77

107.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.62 ₾6.78

$0.88 ¥5.88

197.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.04 ₾7.85

$2.03 ¥13.50

49.75%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.17 ₾5.60

$1.80 ¥11.99

20.56%

White Bread (500g)

$0.80 ₾2.06

$1.55 ¥10.28

-48.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.74 ₾4.51

$0.96 ¥6.36

81.25%

Eggs

$2.83 ₾7.31

$1.61 ¥10.71

75.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.31 ₾24.07

$13.09 ¥87.1

-28.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.52 ₾16.85

$3.23 ¥21.48

101.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.95 ₾33.50

$10.09 ¥67.1

28.34%

Apples (1kg)

$1.68 ₾4.34

$1.81 ¥12.01

-7.18%

Banana (1kg)

$1.85 ₾4.79

$1.20 ¥8.01

54.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.97 ₾5.10

$1.50 ¥9.98

31.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.42 ₾6.25

$1.14 ¥7.57

112.28%

Potato (1kg)

$0.82 ₾2.11

$0.73 ¥4.87

12.33%

Onion (1kg)

$0.74 ₾1.91

$0.92 ¥6.12

-19.57%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.34 ₾3.47

$0.56 ¥3.70

139.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 ₾2.00

$0.51 ¥3.42

50.98%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.57 ₾9.24

$3.10 ¥20.62

15.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.67 ₾19.83

$10.40 ¥69.2

-26.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 ₾4.39

$0.76 ¥5.05

123.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.40 ₾6.21

$1.64 ¥10.91

46.34%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.40 ₾1.05

$0.27 ¥1.77

48.15%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$15.23 ₾39.38

$16.53 ¥110

-7.86%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.14 ₾2.95

$1.41 ¥9.35

-19.15%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 ₾2.02

$0.35 ¥2.35

122.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.83 ₾30.58

$6.70 ¥44.57

76.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ₾3.75

$1.17 ¥7.80

23.93%

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

$24.6K ₾63.6K

$19.4K ¥129.2K

26.63%

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

$22.3K ₾57.8K

$17.2K ¥114.2K

30.18%

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

$88.8 ₾230

$45.68 ¥304

94.40%

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

$13.12 ₾33.93

$9.63 ¥64.1

36.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.67 ₾50.9

$11.68 ¥77.8

68.41%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.1 ₾166

$41.21 ¥274

55.42%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.04 ₾49.24

$13.73 ¥91.4

38.67%

Cinema Ticket

$7.12 ₾18.42

$5.87 ¥39.05

21.29%

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

$375 ₾971

$337 ¥2,242

11.42%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.5K ₾27.1K

$17.0K ¥113.2K

-38.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 ₾268

$43.28 ¥288

139.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.26 ₾102

$30.52 ¥203

28.64%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 ₾303

$72.2 ¥480

62.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 ₾315

$72.7 ¥484

67.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$695 ₾1,798

$274 ¥1,821

154.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$451 ₾1,167

$189 ¥1,257

138.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 ₾3,504

$594 ¥3,955

127.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$906 ₾2,343

$358 ¥2,383

153.06%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,295 ₾5,934

$3,019 ¥20.1K

-24.00%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,345 ₾3,478

$2,019 ¥13.4K

-33.40%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$664 ₾1,718

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.62

3.89

224.42%

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

Last update for Tbilisi: October 27, 2026

Last update for Datong: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tbilisi

$451 35.6%

Datong

$189 26.6% 58.1% $262

Groceries & Markets

Tbilisi

$234 18.4%

Datong

$198 27.9% 15.5% $36

Eating Out

Tbilisi

$191 15%

Datong

$84 11.8% 56.1% $107

Clothing & Footwear

Tbilisi

$172 13.5%

Datong

$98 13.9% 42.7% $73

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tbilisi

$122 9.6%

Datong

$67 9.5% 44.9% $55

Sport & Entertainment

Tbilisi

$78 6.2%

Datong

$53 7.5% 32.4% $25

Getting Around

Tbilisi

$22 1.7%

Datong

$21 2.9% 5.2% $1.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $695 in Tbilisi and $274 in Datong. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $38 in Tbilisi vs $22 in Datong for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $234 vs $198 per month, with Datong cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇪 Tbilisi

🇨🇳 Datong

🕒 Local time

04:12 4:12 AM

08:12 8:12 AM

4 h ahead of Tbilisi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,241,700 Capital

3,318,057

💱 Currency

Georgian Lari GEL ₾

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 GEL = 0.387 USD

1 GEL = 0.347 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, USD, EUR to GEL – Georgian Lari Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇪 Georgian Lari (₾)

Georgian Lari exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 2.59 GEL (1 GEL = 0.387 USD). 1 EUR = 2.88 GEL (1 GEL = 0.347 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 6.65 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.41 CNY (1 CNY = 0.135 EUR).

USD to GEL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Tbilisi Datong 5,600 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Tbilisi
Datong

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 Datong: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Datong wins on cost – living expenses run 44% lower than in Tbilisi. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Datong the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $1,904 in Tbilisi and $1,064 in Datong 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $695 in Tbilisi versus $274 in Datong. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $375 in Tbilisi versus $337 in Datong. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 18% higher in Tbilisi. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $709 in Datong versus $1,269 in Tbilisi, a $800 budget is realistic in Datong but tight or insufficient in Tbilisi. The gap between the two cities makes Datong 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.