Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tbilisi and Jaco Beach

For one person, living is cheaper in Tbilisi: $1,269 a month against $1,445 in Jaco Beach, rent and utilities included – about $2,100 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
70

Cost of Living Index in Jaco Beach
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Jaco Beach Living Index

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Tbilisi

🇬🇪 Georgia

$1,269

/mo nomad

Jaco Beach

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,445

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Tbilisi and in Jaco Beach

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,269 in Tbilisi versus $1,445 in Jaco Beach.

Tbilisi $1,269
Jaco Beach $1,445

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,016 in Tbilisi versus $2,296 in Jaco Beach.

Tbilisi $2,016
Jaco Beach $2,296

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,763 in Tbilisi versus $3,147 in Jaco Beach.

Tbilisi $2,763
Jaco Beach $3,147

Living in Tbilisi costs roughly 12% less than in Jaco Beach, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Tbilisi is 7% below, Jaco Beach is 6% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.63 ₾30.07

$11.32 ₡5,106

2.74%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.83 ₾97.8

$43.14 ₡19.5K

-12.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.66 ₾24.98

$10.22 ₡4,612

-5.48%

Cappuccino

$3.57 ₾9.24

$3.99 ₡1,799

-10.53%

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

$1.08 ₾2.78

$2.40 ₡1,085

-55.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₾1.45

$1.87 ₡844

-70.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.62 ₾6.78

$3.19 ₡1,441

-17.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.04 ₾7.85

$4.33 ₡1,954

-29.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.17 ₾5.60

$1.98 ₡892

9.60%

White Bread (500g)

$0.80 ₾2.06

$2.19 ₡989

-63.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.74 ₾4.51

$2.39 ₡1,078

-27.20%

Eggs

$2.83 ₾7.31

$2.60 ₡1,175

8.85%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.31 ₾24.07

$10.78 ₡4,865

-13.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.52 ₾16.85

$8.88 ₡4,008

-26.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.95 ₾33.50

$12.11 ₡5,466

6.94%

Apples (1kg)

$1.68 ₾4.34

$4.95 ₡2,233

-66.06%

Banana (1kg)

$1.85 ₾4.79

$1.66 ₡748

11.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.97 ₾5.10

$4.75 ₡2,141

-58.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.42 ₾6.25

$3.42 ₡1,544

-29.24%

Potato (1kg)

$0.82 ₾2.11

$1.50 ₡676

-45.33%

Onion (1kg)

$0.74 ₾1.91

$1.42 ₡641

-47.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.34 ₾3.47

$0.99 ₡447

35.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 ₾2.00

$1.99 ₡900

-61.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.57 ₾9.24

$6.01 ₡2,711

-40.60%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.67 ₾19.83

$13.81 ₡6,231

-44.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 ₾4.39

$2.64 ₡1,192

-35.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.40 ₾6.21

$2.18 ₡985

10.09%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.40 ₾1.05

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$15.23 ₾39.38

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.14 ₾2.95

$2.49 ₡1,125

-54.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 ₾2.02

$1.63 ₡735

-52.15%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.83 ₾30.58

$8.53 ₡3,848

38.69%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ₾3.75

$1.57 ₡707

-7.64%

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

$24.6K ₾63.6K

$33.9K ₡15.3M

-27.48%

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

$22.3K ₾57.8K

$42.6K ₡19.2M

-47.59%

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

$88.8 ₾230

$79.6 ₡35.9K

11.63%

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

$13.12 ₾33.93

$23.88 ₡10.8K

-45.06%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.67 ₾50.9

$47.69 ₡21.5K

-58.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.1 ₾166

$52.0 ₡23.4K

23.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.04 ₾49.24

Cinema Ticket

$7.12 ₾18.42

$7.72 ₡3,483

-7.77%

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

$375 ₾971

$479 ₡216.3K

-21.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.5K ₾27.1K

$7,442 ₡3.4M

40.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 ₾268

$25.50 ₡11.5K

306.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.26 ₾102

$56.2 ₡25.4K

-30.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 ₾303

$127 ₡57.3K

-7.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 ₾315

$133 ₡59.8K

-8.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$695 ₾1,798

$748 ₡337.6K

-7.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$451 ₾1,167

$526 ₡237.2K

-14.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 ₾3,504

$1,984 ₡895.4K

-31.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$906 ₾2,343

$1,099 ₡495.8K

-17.54%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,295 ₾5,934

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,345 ₾3,478

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$664 ₾1,718

$402 ₡181.3K

65.36%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.62

8.62

46.40%

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

Last update for Tbilisi: October 27, 2026

Last update for Jaco Beach: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tbilisi

$451 35.6%

Jaco Beach

$526 36.4% 16.5% $74

Groceries & Markets

Tbilisi

$234 18.4%

Jaco Beach

$326 22.6% 39.3% $92

Eating Out

Tbilisi

$191 15%

Jaco Beach

$211 14.6% 10.6% $20

Clothing & Footwear

Tbilisi

$172 13.5%

Jaco Beach

$154 10.6% 10.7% $18

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tbilisi

$122 9.6%

Jaco Beach

$151 10.5% 24.3% $30

Sport & Entertainment

Tbilisi

$78 6.2%

Jaco Beach

$67 4.7% 13.9% $11

Getting Around

Tbilisi

$22 1.7%

Jaco Beach

$11 * 0.7% 51.4% $11

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 $695 in Tbilisi and $748 in Jaco Beach. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Tbilisi pays 65% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $38 in Tbilisi vs $43 in Jaco Beach for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $234 vs $326 per month, with Tbilisi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇪 Tbilisi

🇨🇷 Jaco Beach

🕒 Local time

00:28 12:28 AM

14:28 2:28 PM

10 h behind Tbilisi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,241,700 Capital

💱 Currency

Georgian Lari GEL ₾

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 GEL = 0.387 USD

1 GEL = 0.347 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 October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 2.59 GEL (1 GEL = 0.387 USD). 1 EUR = 2.88 GEL (1 GEL = 0.347 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 451 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 502 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR).

USD to GEL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Tbilisi Jaco Beach 12,330 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Tbilisi
Jaco Beach

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 Jaco Beach: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Tbilisi is about 12% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, utilities, and eating out. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 65% higher in Tbilisi, 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 $748 in Jaco Beach. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $375 in Tbilisi versus $479 in Jaco Beach. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Tbilisi – a meal for two runs $38 versus $43 in Jaco Beach. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Tbilisi gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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