Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tbilisi and Elgin

For one person, living is cheaper in Tbilisi: $1,270 a month against $1,803 in Elgin, rent and utilities included – about $6,400 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
88

Cost of Living Index in Elgin
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Elgin Living Index

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Tbilisi

🇬🇪 Georgia

$1,270

/mo nomad

Elgin

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$1,803

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Tbilisi and in Elgin

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,270 in Tbilisi versus $1,803 in Elgin.

Tbilisi $1,270
Elgin $1,803

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,008 in Tbilisi versus $2,850 in Elgin.

Tbilisi $2,008
Elgin $2,850

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,745 in Tbilisi versus $3,896 in Elgin.

Tbilisi $2,745
Elgin $3,896

Living in Tbilisi costs roughly 30% less than in Elgin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Tbilisi is 6% below, Elgin is 33% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.51 ₾29.79

$21.57 £16.19

-46.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$38.27 ₾99.1

$71.8 £53.9

-46.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.80 ₾25.36

$10.25 £7.69

-4.39%

Cappuccino

$3.55 ₾9.19

$4.55 £3.41

-21.98%

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

$1.06 ₾2.74

$1.97 £1.48

-46.19%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.62 ₾1.60

$1.29 £0.97

-51.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.76 ₾7.16

$4.42 £3.32

-37.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.00 ₾7.77

$6.01 £4.51

-50.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.16 ₾5.59

$1.67 £1.25

29.34%

White Bread (500g)

$0.76 ₾1.96

$1.64 £1.23

-53.66%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.74 ₾4.51

$2.07 £1.55

-15.94%

Eggs

$2.79 ₾7.21

$3.84 £2.88

-27.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.20 ₾23.83

$9.22 £6.91

-0.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.53 ₾16.89

$9.29 £6.97

-29.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.81 ₾33.17

$17.24 £12.94

-25.70%

Apples (1kg)

$1.67 ₾4.31

$3.27 £2.45

-48.93%

Banana (1kg)

$1.85 ₾4.79

$1.57 £1.18

17.83%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.98 ₾5.13

$2.99 £2.25

-33.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.51 ₾6.49

$3.31 £2.48

-24.17%

Potato (1kg)

$0.87 ₾2.26

$1.91 £1.43

-54.45%

Onion (1kg)

$0.73 ₾1.89

$1.60 £1.20

-54.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.42 ₾3.67

$1.20 £0.90

18.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 ₾1.88

$1.63 £1.22

-55.83%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.38 ₾8.74

$23.90 £17.93

-85.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.84 ₾20.31

$11.15 £8.37

-29.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.62 ₾4.19

$3.35 £2.51

-51.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.38 ₾6.15

$3.34 £2.51

-28.74%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.37 ₾0.96

$3.56 £2.67

-89.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$15.52 ₾40.16

$122 £91.3

-87.24%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.14 ₾2.94

$5.69 £4.27

-79.96%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.79 ₾2.05

$1.18 £0.89

-33.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.57 ₾29.96

$26.07 £19.56

-55.62%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.50 ₾3.87

$2.18 £1.63

-31.19%

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

$24.6K ₾63.7K

$38.1K £28.6K

-35.32%

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

$22.4K ₾57.9K

$40.8K £30.6K

-45.12%

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

$88.3 ₾228

$200 £150

-55.87%

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

$13.08 ₾33.86

$20.02 £15.02

-34.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.53 ₾50.6

$40.17 £30.14

-51.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.2 ₾166

$37.00 £27.76

73.46%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.18 ₾49.66

$5.47 £4.10

250.64%

Cinema Ticket

$6.99 ₾18.10

$11.09 £8.32

-36.97%

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

$373 ₾966

$937 £703

-60.16%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.7K ₾27.7K

$22.0K £16.5K

-51.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$103 ₾266

$36.15 £27.12

184.01%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.48 ₾105

$45.40 £34.06

-10.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 ₾301

$106 £79.8

9.36%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 ₾316

$91.0 £68.3

34.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$677 ₾1,753

$908 £681

-25.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$454 ₾1,176

$590 £443

-22.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,277 ₾3,305

$1,784 £1,339

-28.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$890 ₾2,304

$1,199 £900

-25.80%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 ₾6,238

$5,068 £3,802

-52.45%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,418 ₾3,670

$3,862 £2,897

-63.29%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$703 ₾1,819

$2,018 £1,514

-65.17%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.62

4.79

163.47%

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

Last update for Tbilisi: October 17, 2026

Last update for Elgin: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tbilisi

$454 35.8%

Elgin

$590 32.7% 29.9% $136

Groceries & Markets

Tbilisi

$233 18.3%

Elgin

$316 17.5% 35.6% $83

Eating Out

Tbilisi

$191 15%

Elgin

$305 16.9% 60.1% $115

Clothing & Footwear

Tbilisi

$172 13.5%

Elgin

$126 7% 26.9% $46

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tbilisi

$121 9.5%

Elgin

$260 14.4% 115% $139

Sport & Entertainment

Tbilisi

$78 6.2%

Elgin

$59 3.3% 24.3% $19

Getting Around

Tbilisi

$22 1.7%

Elgin

$148 8.2% 568% $125

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $677 in Tbilisi and $908 in Elgin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Elgin pays 187% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $38.00 in Tbilisi vs $72.0 in Elgin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $233 vs $316 per month, with Tbilisi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇪 Tbilisi

🇬🇧 Elgin

🕒 Local time

21:12 9:12 PM

18:12 6:12 PM

3 h behind Tbilisi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,241,700 Capital

25,040

💱 Currency

Georgian Lari GEL ₾

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 GEL = 0.386 USD

1 GEL = 0.344 EUR

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GBP, USD, EUR to GEL – Georgian Lari Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇪 Georgian Lari (₾)

Georgian Lari exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 2.59 GEL (1 GEL = 0.386 USD). 1 EUR = 2.91 GEL (1 GEL = 0.344 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

USD to GEL in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Tbilisi Elgin 3,780 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Tbilisi
Elgin

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 Elgin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Tbilisi and Elgin differ by about 42% in total monthly costs ($1,270 vs $1,803 including rent). Tbilisi is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 187% lower in Elgin. 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 $908 in Elgin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Tbilisi runs roughly 684% less than in Elgin. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $373 in Tbilisi versus $937 in Elgin. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,270 in Tbilisi versus $1,803 in Elgin, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Tbilisi but tight or insufficient in Elgin. The gap between the two cities makes Tbilisi 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.

Safety-wise, Tbilisi and Elgin 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 Tbilisi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 42% less than in Elgin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.