Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tbilisi and Mechelen

For one person, living is cheaper in Tbilisi: $1,269 a month against $2,074 in Mechelen, rent and utilities included – about $9,700 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
100

Cost of Living Index in Mechelen
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Mechelen Living Index

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Tbilisi

🇬🇪 Georgia

$1,269

/mo nomad

Mechelen

🇧🇪 Belgium

$2,074

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Tbilisi and in Mechelen

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,269 in Tbilisi versus $2,074 in Mechelen.

Tbilisi $1,269
Mechelen $2,074

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,016 in Tbilisi versus $3,188 in Mechelen.

Tbilisi $2,016
Mechelen $3,188

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,763 in Tbilisi versus $4,302 in Mechelen.

Tbilisi $2,763
Mechelen $4,302

Living in Tbilisi costs roughly 39% less than in Mechelen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Tbilisi is 7% below, Mechelen is 52% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.63 ₾30.07

$22.32 €19.99

-47.89%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.83 ₾97.8

$107 €95.8

-64.65%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.66 ₾24.98

$13.53 €12.12

-28.60%

Cappuccino

$3.57 ₾9.24

$4.34 €3.89

-17.74%

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

$1.08 ₾2.78

$3.39 €3.03

-68.14%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₾1.45

$2.91 €2.61

-80.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.62 ₾6.78

$5.55 €4.97

-52.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.04 ₾7.85

$5.60 €5.02

-45.71%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.17 ₾5.60

$1.20 €1.08

80.83%

White Bread (500g)

$0.80 ₾2.06

$2.76 €2.47

-71.01%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.74 ₾4.51

$2.13 €1.91

-18.31%

Eggs

$2.83 ₾7.31

$3.83 €3.43

-26.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.31 ₾24.07

$16.26 €14.56

-42.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.52 ₾16.85

$11.87 €10.63

-45.07%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.95 ₾33.50

$19.65 €17.59

-34.10%

Apples (1kg)

$1.68 ₾4.33

$2.72 €2.44

-38.24%

Banana (1kg)

$1.85 ₾4.79

$2.35 €2.11

-21.28%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.97 ₾5.10

$2.61 €2.34

-24.52%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.42 ₾6.25

$2.89 €2.59

-16.26%

Potato (1kg)

$0.82 ₾2.11

$2.12 €1.89

-61.32%

Onion (1kg)

$0.74 ₾1.91

$1.85 €1.66

-60.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.34 ₾3.47

$1.30 €1.16

3.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 ₾2.00

$1.06 €0.95

-27.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.57 ₾9.24

$13.01 €11.65

-72.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.67 ₾19.83

$9.02 €8.08

-14.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 ₾4.39

$1.83 €1.64

-7.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.40 ₾6.21

$2.21 €1.98

8.60%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.40 ₾1.05

$3.32 €2.98

-87.95%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$15.23 ₾39.38

$54.8 €49.11

-72.23%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.14 ₾2.95

$5.53 €4.95

-79.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 ₾2.02

$2.71 €2.43

-71.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.83 ₾30.58

$45.54 €40.79

-74.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ₾3.75

$2.10 €1.88

-30.95%

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

$24.6K ₾63.6K

$35.2K €31.5K

-30.19%

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

$22.3K ₾57.8K

$36.2K €32.4K

-38.28%

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

$88.8 ₾230

$210 €188

-57.66%

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

$13.12 ₾33.93

$22.19 €19.87

-40.87%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.67 ₾50.9

$46.71 €41.83

-57.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.1 ₾166

$29.40 €26.33

117.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.04 ₾49.24

$13.54 €12.13

40.62%

Cinema Ticket

$7.12 ₾18.42

$15.83 €14.18

-55.02%

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

$375 ₾971

$565 €506

-33.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.5K ₾27.1K

$21.1K €18.9K

-50.48%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 ₾268

$108 €96.7

-4.02%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.26 ₾102

$49.50 €44.33

-20.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 ₾303

$106 €95.2

10.46%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 ₾315

$148 €132

-17.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$695 ₾1,798

$929 €832

-25.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$451 ₾1,167

$783 €702

-42.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 ₾3,504

$1,446 €1,295

-6.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$906 ₾2,343

$1,254 €1,123

-27.72%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,295 ₾5,934

$4,968 €4,449

-53.81%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,345 ₾3,478

$3,626 €3,247

-62.91%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$664 ₾1,718

$2,178 €1,951

-69.50%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.62

3.53

257.51%

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

Last update for Tbilisi: October 27, 2026

Last update for Mechelen: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tbilisi

$451 35.6%

Mechelen

$783 37.8% 73.7% $332

Groceries & Markets

Tbilisi

$234 18.4%

Mechelen

$343 16.5% 46.5% $109

Eating Out

Tbilisi

$191 15%

Mechelen

$335 16.2% 76% $145

Clothing & Footwear

Tbilisi

$172 13.5%

Mechelen

$185 8.9% 7.7% $13

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tbilisi

$122 9.6%

Mechelen

$279 13.4% 129% $157

Sport & Entertainment

Tbilisi

$78 6.2%

Mechelen

$61 2.9% 22% $17

Getting Around

Tbilisi

$22 1.7%

Mechelen

$87 4.2% 298% $65

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $695 in Tbilisi and $929 in Mechelen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mechelen pays about 3.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $38 in Tbilisi vs $107 in Mechelen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $234 vs $343 per month, with Tbilisi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇪 Tbilisi

🇧🇪 Mechelen

🕒 Local time

12:49 12:49 PM

09:49 9:49 AM

3 h behind Tbilisi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,241,700 Capital

80,000

💱 Currency

Georgian Lari GEL ₾

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 GEL = 0.387 USD

1 GEL = 0.347 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to GEL – Georgian Lari Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇪 Georgian Lari (₾)

Georgian Lari exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 2.59 GEL (1 GEL = 0.387 USD). 1 EUR = 2.89 GEL (1 GEL = 0.347 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to GEL in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Tbilisi Mechelen 3,220 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Tbilisi
Mechelen

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 Mechelen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Tbilisi is about 39% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 70% 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 $929 in Mechelen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Tbilisi runs roughly 72% less than in Mechelen. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $375 in Tbilisi versus $565 in Mechelen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,269 in Tbilisi versus $2,074 in Mechelen, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Tbilisi but tight or insufficient in Mechelen. 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 Mechelen are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Tbilisi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 39% less than in Mechelen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.