Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tbilisi and Midrand

For one person, living is cheaper in Midrand: $1,085 a month against $1,266 in Tbilisi, rent and utilities included – about $2,200 less a year. The total is higher in Tbilisi despite lower rent and utilities.

62

Cost of Living Index in Tbilisi
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Tbilisi Living Index
53

Cost of Living Index in Midrand
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Midrand Living Index

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Tbilisi

🇬🇪 Georgia

$1,266

/mo nomad

Midrand

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,085

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Tbilisi and in Midrand

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,266 in Tbilisi versus $1,085 in Midrand.

Tbilisi $1,266
Midrand $1,085

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,007 in Tbilisi versus $1,611 in Midrand.

Tbilisi $2,007
Midrand $1,611

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,749 in Tbilisi versus $2,138 in Midrand.

Tbilisi $2,749
Midrand $2,138

Living in Tbilisi is roughly 17% more expensive than in Midrand, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Tbilisi 6% lower, Midrand 20% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.34 ₾29.35

$5.84 R 96.2

94.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$39.05 ₾101

$29.52 R 486

32.28%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.63 ₾24.92

$2.96 R 48.74

225.34%

Cappuccino

$3.46 ₾8.95

$1.83 R 30.09

89.07%

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

$1.09 ₾2.82

$1.21 R 19.94

-9.92%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₾1.62

$0.86 R 14.16

-26.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.77 ₾7.17

$2.21 R 36.44

25.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.10 ₾8.04

$2.36 R 38.89

31.36%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.25 ₾5.81

$1.28 R 21.12

75.78%

White Bread (500g)

$0.80 ₾2.07

$1.16 R 19.10

-31.03%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.76 ₾4.55

$1.29 R 21.27

36.43%

Eggs

$2.75 ₾7.11

$2.71 R 44.72

1.48%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.39 ₾24.32

$8.41 R 139

11.65%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.66 ₾17.23

$5.53 R 91.2

20.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.92 ₾33.45

$8.75 R 144

47.66%

Apples (1kg)

$1.67 ₾4.31

$2.02 R 33.32

-17.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.80 ₾4.65

$1.10 R 18.14

63.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.92 ₾4.97

$1.77 R 29.21

8.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.41 ₾6.24

$1.53 R 25.24

57.52%

Potato (1kg)

$0.86 ₾2.23

$1.70 R 27.94

-49.41%

Onion (1kg)

$0.69 ₾1.80

$1.79 R 29.52

-61.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.40 ₾3.62

$1.23 R 20.22

13.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.71 ₾1.85

$1.26 R 20.77

-43.65%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.51 ₾9.08

$3.24 R 53.4

8.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.61 ₾19.69

$5.34 R 87.9

42.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 ₾4.21

$0.89 R 14.73

83.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.31 ₾5.98

$1.17 R 19.34

97.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.37 ₾0.96

$1.52 R 25.03

-75.66%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$15.67 ₾40.57

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.14 ₾2.95

$0.87 R 14.39

31.03%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.79 ₾2.05

$0.58 R 9.57

36.21%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.86 ₾30.70

$14.32 R 236

-17.18%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 ₾3.62

$1.38 R 22.67

1.45%

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

$24.8K ₾64.2K

$33.5K R 552.3K

-26.05%

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

$21.9K ₾56.6K

$30.0K R 493.5K

-27.04%

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

$89.1 ₾231

$105 R 1,738

-15.52%

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

$13.21 ₾34.19

$23.81 R 392

-44.52%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.76 ₾51.1

$36.03 R 594

-45.16%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.9 ₾168

$31.53 R 519

105.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.02 ₾49.24

$10.92 R 180

74.18%

Cinema Ticket

$6.57 ₾17.02

$7.63 R 126

-13.89%

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

$377 ₾975

$179 R 2,955

110.05%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.8K ₾27.9K

$5,551 R 91.5K

94.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 ₾265

$56.5 R 931

80.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.70 ₾103

$46.37 R 764

-14.38%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 ₾305

$85.1 R 1,402

38.42%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 ₾320

$82.8 R 1,364

49.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$666 ₾1,724

$472 R 7,775

41.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$449 ₾1,163

$442 R 7,282

1.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,284 ₾3,324

$834 R 13.7K

53.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$890 ₾2,303

$739 R 12.2K

20.44%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,425 ₾6,276

$886 R 14.6K

173.59%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,380 ₾3,573

$655 R 10.8K

110.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$680 ₾1,760

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.62

10.91

15.67%

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

Last update for Tbilisi: October 12, 2026

Last update for Midrand: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tbilisi

$449 35.5%

Midrand

$442 40.8% 1.6% $7.2

Groceries & Markets

Tbilisi

$234 18.5%

Midrand

$197 18.2% 15.6% $36

Eating Out

Tbilisi

$188 14.9%

Midrand

$102 9.4% 46% $86

Clothing & Footwear

Tbilisi

$172 13.6%

Midrand

$122 11.2% 29.3% $51

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tbilisi

$122 9.7%

Midrand

$165 15.2% 35.4% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Tbilisi

$78 6.2%

Midrand

$47 4.3% 40.1% $31

Getting Around

Tbilisi

$22 1.8%

Midrand

$9.9 * 0.9% 55.8% $12

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 $666 in Tbilisi and $472 in Midrand. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $39.00 in Tbilisi vs $30.00 in Midrand for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $234 vs $197 per month, with Midrand cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇪 Tbilisi

🇿🇦 Midrand

🕒 Local time

11:23 11:23 AM

09:23 9:23 AM

2 h behind Tbilisi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,241,700 Capital

87,387

💱 Currency

Georgian Lari GEL ₾

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 GEL = 0.386 USD

1 GEL = 0.344 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to GEL – Georgian Lari Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇪 Georgian Lari (₾)

Georgian Lari exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 2.59 GEL (1 GEL = 0.386 USD). 1 EUR = 2.91 GEL (1 GEL = 0.344 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to GEL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Tbilisi Midrand 7,720 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Tbilisi
Midrand

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 Midrand: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Midrand is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 17% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $1,899 in Tbilisi and $1,627 in Midrand to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $666 in Tbilisi versus $472 in Midrand. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 18% higher in Tbilisi. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,266 per month in Tbilisi versus $1,085 in Midrand – a 17% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,085 in Midrand versus $1,266 in Tbilisi, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Midrand but tight or insufficient in Tbilisi. The gap between the two cities makes Midrand the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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

Safety-wise, Tbilisi and Midrand 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 Midrand gentler on the wallet – expenses run 17% less than in Tbilisi. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.