Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tbilisi and Escazu

For one person, living is cheaper in Tbilisi: $1,278 a month against $1,934 in Escazu, rent and utilities included – about $7,900 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
93

Cost of Living Index in Escazu
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Escazu Living Index

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Tbilisi

🇬🇪 Georgia

$1,278

/mo nomad

Escazu

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,934

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Tbilisi and in Escazu

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Tbilisi versus $1,934 in Escazu.

Tbilisi $1,278
Escazu $1,934

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,017 in Tbilisi versus $2,959 in Escazu.

Tbilisi $2,017
Escazu $2,959

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,755 in Tbilisi versus $3,984 in Escazu.

Tbilisi $2,755
Escazu $3,984

Living in Tbilisi costs roughly 34% less than in Escazu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Tbilisi is 5% below, Escazu is 43% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.62 ₾30.07

$12.06 ₡5,425

-3.65%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$38.41 ₾99.4

$61.8 ₡27.8K

-37.89%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.74 ₾25.20

$11.76 ₡5,290

-17.18%

Cappuccino

$3.56 ₾9.21

$4.49 ₡2,021

-20.71%

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

$1.08 ₾2.80

$2.66 ₡1,195

-59.40%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₾1.46

$1.91 ₡860

-70.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.73 ₾7.05

$3.35 ₡1,505

-18.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.13 ₾8.09

$4.34 ₡1,953

-27.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.14 ₾5.55

$2.45 ₡1,101

-12.65%

White Bread (500g)

$0.75 ₾1.95

$3.09 ₡1,389

-75.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.80 ₾4.66

$2.50 ₡1,124

-28.00%

Eggs

$2.80 ₾7.25

$3.45 ₡1,551

-18.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.43 ₾24.41

$10.68 ₡4,805

-11.70%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.00 ₾18.10

$10.28 ₡4,623

-31.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 ₾32.84

$14.14 ₡6,360

-10.25%

Apples (1kg)

$1.63 ₾4.22

$5.16 ₡2,323

-68.41%

Banana (1kg)

$1.84 ₾4.77

$1.57 ₡704

17.20%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.97 ₾5.09

$3.23 ₡1,453

-39.01%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.47 ₾6.39

$3.00 ₡1,351

-17.67%

Potato (1kg)

$0.75 ₾1.95

$3.79 ₡1,702

-80.21%

Onion (1kg)

$0.67 ₾1.74

$3.73 ₡1,676

-82.04%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.41 ₾3.66

$0.99 ₡447

42.42%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 ₾1.86

$1.68 ₡755

-57.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.51 ₾9.09

$5.48 ₡2,463

-35.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 ₾20.40

$18.92 ₡8,509

-58.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 ₾4.41

$1.68 ₡754

1.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.37 ₾6.12

$2.77 ₡1,246

-14.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.38 ₾0.98

$1.05 ₡472

-63.81%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$15.29 ₾39.57

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.19 ₾3.08

$2.05 ₡922

-41.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.74 ₾1.91

$1.86 ₡835

-60.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.89 ₾30.76

$8.09 ₡3,638

46.97%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.46 ₾3.77

$1.48 ₡664

-1.35%

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

$25.0K ₾64.6K

$28.0K ₡12.6M

-10.61%

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

$22.8K ₾59.1K

$36.6K ₡16.4M

-37.58%

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

$88.1 ₾228

$94.5 ₡42.5K

-6.77%

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

$12.71 ₾32.87

$29.94 ₡13.5K

-57.55%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.79 ₾51.2

$58.6 ₡26.4K

-66.23%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.3 ₾166

$105 ₡47.3K

-38.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.17 ₾49.60

$9.81 ₡4,413

95.41%

Cinema Ticket

$6.65 ₾17.20

$7.66 ₡3,446

-13.19%

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

$371 ₾961

$458 ₡206.1K

-18.99%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,163 ₾23.7K

$17.2K ₡7.7M

-46.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 ₾264

$71.8 ₡32.3K

42.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.65 ₾103

$54.9 ₡24.7K

-27.83%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 ₾306

$128 ₡57.4K

-7.42%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 ₾310

$133 ₡59.6K

-9.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$690 ₾1,785

$866 ₡389.3K

-20.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$461 ₾1,193

$848 ₡381.4K

-45.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,362 ₾3,524

$1,929 ₡867.3K

-29.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$897 ₾2,321

$1,501 ₡675.0K

-40.23%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,277 ₾5,892

$1,404 ₡631.2K

62.25%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,378 ₾3,565

$969 ₡436.0K

42.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$710 ₾1,837

$1,792 ₡805.8K

-60.38%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.53

8.62

45.36%

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

Last update for Tbilisi: November 2, 2026

Last update for Escazu: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tbilisi

$461 36.1%

Escazu

$848 43.9% 83.9% $387

Groceries & Markets

Tbilisi

$235 18.4%

Escazu

$363 18.8% 54.4% $128

Eating Out

Tbilisi

$191 15%

Escazu

$229 11.9% 19.9% $38

Clothing & Footwear

Tbilisi

$171 13.4%

Escazu

$174 9% 1.9% $3.2

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tbilisi

$121 9.4%

Escazu

$183 9.5% 51.8% $62

Sport & Entertainment

Tbilisi

$78 6.1%

Escazu

$121 6.2% 55.4% $43

Getting Around

Tbilisi

$22 1.7%

Escazu

$16 * 0.8% 28.4% $6.2

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $690 in Tbilisi and $866 in Escazu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Escazu pays about 2.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $38 in Tbilisi vs $62 in Escazu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $235 vs $363 per month, with Tbilisi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇪 Tbilisi

🇨🇷 Escazu

🕒 Local time

22:28 10:28 PM

12:28 12:28 PM

10 h behind Tbilisi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,241,700 Capital

11,984

💱 Currency

Georgian Lari GEL ₾

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 GEL = 0.387 USD

1 GEL = 0.345 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.99 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 3, 2026: 1 USD = 2.59 GEL (1 GEL = 0.387 USD). 1 EUR = 2.9 GEL (1 GEL = 0.345 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 450 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 503 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR).

USD to GEL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Tbilisi Escazu 12,270 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Tbilisi
Escazu

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 Escazu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Tbilisi is about 34% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, utilities, and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 60% 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: $690 in Tbilisi versus $866 in Escazu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 54% higher in Escazu. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,278 per month in Tbilisi versus $1,934 in Escazu – Tbilisi is about 34% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

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

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

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