Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tbilisi and Maseru

For one person, living is cheaper in Maseru: $669 a month against $1,270 in Tbilisi, rent and utilities included – about $7,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

61

Cost of Living Index in Tbilisi
Learn more

Tbilisi Living Index
33

Cost of Living Index in Maseru
Learn more

Maseru Living Index

Jump to prices

Tbilisi

🇬🇪 Georgia

$1,270

/mo nomad

Maseru

🇱🇸 Lesotho

$669

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Tbilisi and in Maseru

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,270 in Tbilisi versus $669 in Maseru.

Tbilisi $1,270
Maseru $669

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,008 in Tbilisi versus $1,123 in Maseru.

Tbilisi $2,008
Maseru $1,123

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,745 in Tbilisi versus $1,576 in Maseru.

Tbilisi $2,745
Maseru $1,576

Living in Tbilisi is roughly 90% more expensive than in Maseru, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities sit below the global median: Tbilisi 6% lower, Maseru 51% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.51 ₾29.79

$8.87 LSL 146

29.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$38.27 ₾99.1

$23.91 LSL 395

60.06%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.80 ₾25.36

$8.34 LSL 138

17.51%

Cappuccino

$3.55 ₾9.19

$1.99 LSL 32.92

78.39%

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

$1.06 ₾2.74

$1.11 LSL 18.32

-4.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.62 ₾1.60

$0.88 LSL 14.55

-29.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.76 ₾7.16

$1.79 LSL 29.49

54.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.00 ₾7.77

$2.46 LSL 40.51

21.95%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.16 ₾5.59

$1.18 LSL 19.50

83.05%

White Bread (500g)

$0.76 ₾1.96

$0.87 LSL 14.42

-12.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.74 ₾4.51

$1.80 LSL 29.75

-3.33%

Eggs

$2.79 ₾7.21

$1.53 LSL 25.27

82.35%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.20 ₾23.83

$6.55 LSL 108

40.46%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.53 ₾16.89

$6.15 LSL 101

6.18%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.81 ₾33.17

$6.31 LSL 104

103.01%

Apples (1kg)

$1.67 ₾4.31

$1.94 LSL 31.96

-13.92%

Banana (1kg)

$1.85 ₾4.79

$2.29 LSL 37.85

-19.21%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.98 ₾5.13

$2.77 LSL 45.67

-28.52%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.51 ₾6.49

$2.39 LSL 39.48

5.02%

Potato (1kg)

$0.87 ₾2.26

$1.55 LSL 25.62

-43.87%

Onion (1kg)

$0.73 ₾1.89

$1.67 LSL 27.53

-56.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.42 ₾3.67

$1.55 LSL 25.50

-8.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 ₾1.88

$0.80 LSL 13.13

-10.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.38 ₾8.74

$5.08 LSL 83.9

-33.46%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.84 ₾20.31

$7.24 LSL 119

8.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.62 ₾4.19

$1.04 LSL 17.18

55.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.38 ₾6.15

$1.53 LSL 25.30

55.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.37 ₾0.96

$0.82 LSL 13.55

-54.88%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$15.52 ₾40.16

$30.08 LSL 496

-48.40%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.14 ₾2.94

$0.75 LSL 12.43

52.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.79 ₾2.05

$0.70 LSL 11.52

12.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.57 ₾29.96

$3.69 LSL 60.9

213.55%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.50 ₾3.87

$1.32 LSL 21.71

13.64%

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

$24.6K ₾63.7K

$21.2K LSL 349.9K

16.14%

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

$22.4K ₾57.9K

$16.6K LSL 274.0K

34.68%

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

$88.3 ₾228

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

$13.08 ₾33.86

$14.55 LSL 240

-10.10%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.53 ₾50.6

$38.75 LSL 639

-49.60%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.2 ₾166

$23.08 LSL 381

178.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.18 ₾49.66

Cinema Ticket

$6.99 ₾18.10

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

$373 ₾966

$52.7 LSL 870

607.53%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.7K ₾27.7K

$1,219 LSL 20.1K

776.90%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$103 ₾266

$45.86 LSL 757

123.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.48 ₾105

$57.2 LSL 944

-29.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 ₾301

$104 LSL 1,714

12.00%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 ₾316

$150 LSL 2,478

-18.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$677 ₾1,753

$92.8 LSL 1,531

629.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$454 ₾1,176

$56.7 LSL 935

701.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,277 ₾3,305

$444 LSL 7,330

187.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$890 ₾2,304

$170 LSL 2,800

424.40%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 ₾6,238

$391 LSL 6,453

516.06%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,418 ₾3,670

$527 LSL 8,696

168.97%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$703 ₾1,819

$622 LSL 10.3K

13.00%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.62

8.5

48.47%

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

Last update for Tbilisi: October 17, 2026

Last update for Maseru: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tbilisi

$454 35.8%

Maseru

$57 8.5% 87.5% $398

Groceries & Markets

Tbilisi

$233 18.3%

Maseru

$196 29.3% 15.7% $37

Eating Out

Tbilisi

$191 15%

Maseru

$142 21.2% 25.6% $49

Clothing & Footwear

Tbilisi

$172 13.5%

Maseru

$161 24% 6.4% $11

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tbilisi

$121 9.5%

Maseru

$53 * 8% 55.9% $68

Sport & Entertainment

Tbilisi

$78 6.2%

Maseru

$23 * 3.5% 70.5% $55

Getting Around

Tbilisi

$22 1.7%

Maseru

$38 5.6% 70.2% $16

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 $677 in Tbilisi and $92.8 in Maseru. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Tbilisi pays 13% 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 $24.00 in Maseru for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $233 vs $196 per month, with Maseru cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇪 Tbilisi

🇱🇸 Maseru

🕒 Local time

15:37 3:37 PM

13:37 1:37 PM

2 h behind Tbilisi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,241,700 Capital

227,880 Capital

💱 Currency

Georgian Lari GEL ₾

Lesotho Loti LSL L

📈 Exchange rate

1 GEL = 0.386 USD

1 GEL = 0.344 EUR

100 LSL = 6.06 USD

100 LSL = 5.39 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LSL, 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).

Lesotho Loti exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 16.5 LSL (100 LSL = 6.06 USD). 1 EUR = 18.55 LSL (100 LSL = 5.39 EUR).

USD to GEL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Tbilisi Maseru 8,090 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Tbilisi
Maseru

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 Maseru: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Tbilisi and Maseru differ by about 90% in total monthly costs ($1,270 vs $669 including rent). Maseru is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 13% 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: $677 in Tbilisi versus $92.8 in Maseru. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Maseru – a meal for two runs $24.00 versus $38.00 in Tbilisi. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,270 per month in Tbilisi versus $669 in Maseru – a 90% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $669 in Maseru versus $1,270 in Tbilisi, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Maseru but tight or insufficient in Tbilisi. The gap between the two cities makes Maseru 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 Maseru 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 Maseru gentler on the wallet – expenses run 90% less than in Tbilisi. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.