Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tbilisi and Dongguan

For one person, living is cheaper in Dongguan: $815 a month against $1,270 in Tbilisi, rent and utilities included – about $5,500 less a year. Rent and utilities 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 Dongguan
Learn more

Dongguan Living Index

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Tbilisi

🇬🇪 Georgia

$1,270

/mo nomad

Dongguan

🇨🇳 China

$815

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Tbilisi and in Dongguan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,270 in Tbilisi versus $815 in Dongguan.

Tbilisi $1,270
Dongguan $815

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,008 in Tbilisi versus $1,295 in Dongguan.

Tbilisi $2,008
Dongguan $1,295

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,745 in Tbilisi versus $1,775 in Dongguan.

Tbilisi $2,745
Dongguan $1,775

Living in Tbilisi is roughly 56% more expensive than in Dongguan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Tbilisi 6% lower, Dongguan 40% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.51 ₾29.79

$2.64 ¥17.64

335.98%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$38.27 ₾99.1

$22.83 ¥153

67.63%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.80 ₾25.36

$5.20 ¥34.75

88.46%

Cappuccino

$3.55 ₾9.19

$2.61 ¥17.44

36.02%

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

$1.06 ₾2.74

$0.48 ¥3.18

120.83%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.62 ₾1.60

$0.31 ¥2.09

100.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.76 ₾7.16

$0.88 ¥5.90

213.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.00 ₾7.77

$2.23 ¥14.88

34.53%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.16 ₾5.59

$1.59 ¥10.61

35.85%

White Bread (500g)

$0.76 ₾1.96

$1.63 ¥10.93

-53.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.74 ₾4.51

$0.97 ¥6.50

79.38%

Eggs

$2.79 ₾7.21

$1.59 ¥10.66

75.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.20 ₾23.83

$21.14 ¥141

-56.48%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.53 ₾16.89

$3.28 ¥21.96

99.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.81 ₾33.17

$14.27 ¥95.4

-10.23%

Apples (1kg)

$1.67 ₾4.31

$2.25 ¥15.03

-25.78%

Banana (1kg)

$1.85 ₾4.79

$1.56 ¥10.45

18.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.98 ₾5.13

$1.85 ¥12.39

7.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.51 ₾6.49

$1.49 ¥9.98

68.46%

Potato (1kg)

$0.87 ₾2.26

$1.04 ¥6.95

-16.35%

Onion (1kg)

$0.73 ₾1.89

$1.24 ¥8.30

-41.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.42 ₾3.67

$0.56 ¥3.75

153.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 ₾1.88

$0.58 ¥3.90

24.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.38 ₾8.74

$4.45 ¥29.79

-24.04%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.84 ₾20.31

$12.18 ¥81.5

-35.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.62 ₾4.19

$0.92 ¥6.17

76.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.38 ₾6.15

$1.76 ¥11.74

35.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.37 ₾0.96

$0.35 ¥2.37

5.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$15.52 ₾40.16

$22.38 ¥150

-30.65%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.14 ₾2.94

$1.18 ¥7.86

-3.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.79 ₾2.05

$0.41 ¥2.75

92.68%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.57 ₾29.96

$4.44 ¥29.68

160.59%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.50 ₾3.87

$1.31 ¥8.77

14.50%

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

$24.6K ₾63.7K

$19.3K ¥129.0K

27.60%

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

$22.4K ₾57.9K

$17.6K ¥117.9K

26.80%

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

$88.3 ₾228

$63.1 ¥422

39.97%

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

$13.08 ₾33.86

$9.11 ¥60.9

43.58%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.53 ₾50.6

$12.96 ¥86.7

50.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.2 ₾166

$51.6 ¥345

24.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.18 ₾49.66

$16.09 ¥108

19.20%

Cinema Ticket

$6.99 ₾18.10

$7.53 ¥50.3

-7.17%

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

$373 ₾966

$531 ¥3,550

-29.73%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.7K ₾27.7K

$24.3K ¥162.8K

-56.09%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$103 ₾266

$46.78 ¥313

119.47%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.48 ₾105

$40.30 ¥269

0.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 ₾301

$72.5 ¥485

60.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 ₾316

$39.04 ¥261

212.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$677 ₾1,753

$380 ¥2,538

78.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$454 ₾1,176

$219 ¥1,461

107.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,277 ₾3,305

$662 ¥4,423

93.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$890 ₾2,304

$431 ¥2,884

106.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 ₾6,238

$5,650 ¥37.8K

-57.35%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,418 ₾3,670

$3,075 ¥20.6K

-53.91%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$703 ₾1,819

$856 ¥5,725

-17.92%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.62

3.35

276.72%

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

Last update for Tbilisi: October 17, 2026

Last update for Dongguan: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tbilisi

$454 35.8%

Dongguan

$219 26.8% 51.9% $236

Groceries & Markets

Tbilisi

$233 18.3%

Dongguan

$248 30.4% 6.5% $15

Eating Out

Tbilisi

$191 15%

Dongguan

$80 9.8% 58% $111

Clothing & Footwear

Tbilisi

$172 13.5%

Dongguan

$89 11% 47.9% $82

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tbilisi

$121 9.5%

Dongguan

$85 10.5% 29.6% $36

Sport & Entertainment

Tbilisi

$78 6.2%

Dongguan

$67 8.2% 14.7% $11

Getting Around

Tbilisi

$22 1.7%

Dongguan

$27 3.3% 22.4% $4.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $677 in Tbilisi and $380 in Dongguan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dongguan pays 22% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $38.00 in Tbilisi vs $23.00 in Dongguan. Groceries flip the comparison at $233 vs $248, with Tbilisi cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇪 Tbilisi

🇨🇳 Dongguan

🕒 Local time

18:18 6:18 PM

22:18 10:18 PM

4 h ahead of Tbilisi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,241,700 Capital

8,254,100

💱 Currency

Georgian Lari GEL ₾

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 GEL = 0.386 USD

1 GEL = 0.344 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 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 20, 2026: 1 USD = 2.59 GEL (1 GEL = 0.386 USD). 1 EUR = 2.91 GEL (1 GEL = 0.344 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to GEL in detail →

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Between locations

Tbilisi Dongguan 6,620 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Tbilisi
Dongguan

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 Dongguan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dongguan is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, clothing, and leisure. The 56% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 22% lower in Dongguan. 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: $677 in Tbilisi versus $380 in Dongguan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Dongguan runs roughly 44% less than in Tbilisi. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $373 in Tbilisi versus $531 in Dongguan. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $815 in Dongguan versus $1,270 in Tbilisi, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Dongguan but tight or insufficient in Tbilisi. The gap between the two cities makes Dongguan the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Dongguan is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Tbilisi, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Tbilisi and Dongguan 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 Dongguan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 56% less than in Tbilisi. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.