Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tbilisi and Kobe

For one person, living is cheaper in Tbilisi: $1,269 a month against $1,392 in Kobe, rent and utilities included – about $1,500 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
67

Cost of Living Index in Kobe
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Kobe Living Index

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Tbilisi

🇬🇪 Georgia

$1,269

/mo nomad

Kobe

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,392

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Tbilisi and in Kobe

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,269 in Tbilisi versus $1,392 in Kobe.

Tbilisi $1,269
Kobe $1,392

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,016 in Tbilisi versus $2,067 in Kobe.

Tbilisi $2,016
Kobe $2,067

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,763 in Tbilisi versus $2,742 in Kobe.

Tbilisi $2,763
Kobe $2,742

Living in Tbilisi costs roughly 9% less than in Kobe, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Tbilisi is 7% below, Kobe is 2% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.63 ₾30.07

$7.70 ¥1,216

51.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.83 ₾97.8

$31.86 ¥5,031

18.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.66 ₾24.98

$4.91 ¥776

96.74%

Cappuccino

$3.57 ₾9.24

$2.37 ¥375

50.63%

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

$1.08 ₾2.78

$1.19 ¥188

-9.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₾1.45

$0.57 ¥90.0

-1.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.62 ₾6.78

$2.12 ¥335

23.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.04 ₾7.85

$2.30 ¥363

32.17%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.17 ₾5.60

$1.57 ¥248

38.22%

White Bread (500g)

$0.80 ₾2.06

$1.34 ¥211

-40.30%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.74 ₾4.51

$4.17 ¥658

-58.27%

Eggs

$2.83 ₾7.31

$2.04 ¥322

38.73%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.31 ₾24.07

$12.61 ¥1,990

-26.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.52 ₾16.85

$6.78 ¥1,070

-3.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.95 ₾33.50

$17.06 ¥2,694

-24.09%

Apples (1kg)

$1.68 ₾4.34

$7.70 ¥1,216

-78.18%

Banana (1kg)

$1.85 ₾4.79

$3.06 ¥484

-39.54%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.97 ₾5.10

$4.97 ¥784

-60.36%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.42 ₾6.25

$7.71 ¥1,217

-68.61%

Potato (1kg)

$0.82 ₾2.11

$3.84 ¥606

-78.65%

Onion (1kg)

$0.74 ₾1.91

$3.45 ¥545

-78.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.34 ₾3.47

$1.13 ¥179

18.58%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 ₾2.00

$0.94 ¥148

-18.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.57 ₾9.24

$3.48 ¥549

2.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.67 ₾19.83

$8.05 ¥1,271

-4.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 ₾4.39

$1.96 ¥310

-13.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.40 ₾6.21

$1.45 ¥229

65.52%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.40 ₾1.05

$1.45 ¥229

-72.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$15.23 ₾39.38

$62.4 ¥9,856

-75.60%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.14 ₾2.95

$3.11 ¥491

-63.34%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 ₾2.02

$3.24 ¥511

-75.93%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.83 ₾30.58

$26.72 ¥4,218

-55.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ₾3.75

$1.06 ¥168

36.79%

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

$24.6K ₾63.6K

$19.9K ¥3.1M

23.52%

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

$22.3K ₾57.8K

$15.4K ¥2.4M

44.66%

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

$88.8 ₾230

$148 ¥23.3K

-39.91%

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

$13.12 ₾33.93

$23.26 ¥3,672

-43.59%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.67 ₾50.9

$31.25 ¥4,933

-37.06%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.1 ₾166

$46.90 ¥7,405

36.57%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.04 ₾49.24

$11.83 ¥1,868

60.95%

Cinema Ticket

$7.12 ₾18.42

$12.86 ¥2,031

-44.63%

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

$375 ₾971

$321 ¥50.6K

17.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.5K ₾27.1K

$6,141 ¥969.5K

70.50%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 ₾268

$50.6 ¥7,990

104.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.26 ₾102

$25.01 ¥3,949

56.98%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 ₾303

$45.98 ¥7,260

155.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 ₾315

$65.6 ¥10.4K

85.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$695 ₾1,798

$691 ¥109.0K

0.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$451 ₾1,167

$463 ¥73.1K

-2.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 ₾3,504

$1,100 ¥173.7K

23.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$906 ₾2,343

$737 ¥116.4K

22.95%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,295 ₾5,934

$4,325 ¥682.9K

-46.94%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,345 ₾3,478

$2,894 ¥456.9K

-53.53%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$664 ₾1,718

$1,975 ¥311.8K

-66.37%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.62

2.02

524.75%

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

Last update for Tbilisi: October 27, 2026

Last update for Kobe: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tbilisi

$451 35.6%

Kobe

$463 33.3% 2.6% $12

Groceries & Markets

Tbilisi

$234 18.4%

Kobe

$355 25.5% 51.8% $121

Eating Out

Tbilisi

$191 15%

Kobe

$127 9.1% 33.3% $64

Clothing & Footwear

Tbilisi

$172 13.5%

Kobe

$84 6.1% 51% $88

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tbilisi

$122 9.6%

Kobe

$202 14.5% 66.4% $81

Sport & Entertainment

Tbilisi

$78 6.2%

Kobe

$73 5.2% 7.3% $5.7

Getting Around

Tbilisi

$22 1.7%

Kobe

$88 6.3% 300% $66

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $695 in Tbilisi and $691 in Kobe. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kobe pays about 3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $38 in Tbilisi vs $32 in Kobe. Groceries flip the comparison at $234 vs $355, with Tbilisi cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇪 Tbilisi

🇯🇵 Kobe

🕒 Local time

01:19 1:19 AM

06:19 6:19 AM

5 h ahead of Tbilisi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,241,700 Capital

1,537,272

💱 Currency

Georgian Lari GEL ₾

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 GEL = 0.387 USD

1 GEL = 0.347 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.69 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JPY, 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).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.69 EUR).

USD to GEL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Tbilisi Kobe 7,560 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Tbilisi
Kobe

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 Kobe: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Tbilisi wins on cost – living expenses run 9% lower than in Kobe. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Tbilisi the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 66% 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: $695 in Tbilisi versus $691 in Kobe. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Tbilisi runs roughly 76% less than in Kobe. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $375 in Tbilisi versus $321 in Kobe. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

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.

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 Kobe are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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