Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tbilisi and Ningbo

For one person, living is cheaper in Ningbo: $691 a month against $1,270 in Tbilisi, rent and utilities included – about $6,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

61

Cost of Living Index in Tbilisi
Learn more

Tbilisi Living Index
33

Cost of Living Index in Ningbo
Learn more

Ningbo Living Index

Jump to prices

Tbilisi

🇬🇪 Georgia

$1,270

/mo nomad

Ningbo

🇨🇳 China

$691

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Tbilisi and in Ningbo

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,270 in Tbilisi versus $691 in Ningbo.

Tbilisi $1,270
Ningbo $691

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,008 in Tbilisi versus $1,179 in Ningbo.

Tbilisi $2,008
Ningbo $1,179

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,745 in Tbilisi versus $1,668 in Ningbo.

Tbilisi $2,745
Ningbo $1,668

Living in Tbilisi is roughly 84% more expensive than in Ningbo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Tbilisi 6% lower, Ningbo 49% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.51 ₾29.79

$2.89 ¥19.32

298.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$38.27 ₾99.1

$30.12 ¥201

27.06%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.80 ₾25.36

$4.46 ¥29.83

119.73%

Cappuccino

$3.55 ₾9.19

$3.52 ¥23.55

0.85%

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

$1.06 ₾2.74

$0.44 ¥2.93

140.91%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.62 ₾1.60

$0.31 ¥2.08

100.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.76 ₾7.16

$1.04 ¥6.95

165.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.00 ₾7.77

$3.44 ¥23.00

-12.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.16 ₾5.59

$1.74 ¥11.65

24.14%

White Bread (500g)

$0.76 ₾1.96

$1.16 ¥7.79

-34.48%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.74 ₾4.51

$0.70 ¥4.66

148.57%

Eggs

$2.79 ₾7.21

$1.56 ¥10.46

78.85%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.20 ₾23.83

$15.18 ¥101

-39.39%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.53 ₾16.89

$3.67 ¥24.53

77.93%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.81 ₾33.17

$8.78 ¥58.7

45.90%

Apples (1kg)

$1.67 ₾4.31

$1.07 ¥7.13

56.07%

Banana (1kg)

$1.85 ₾4.79

$1.56 ¥10.42

18.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.98 ₾5.13

$1.57 ¥10.52

26.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.51 ₾6.49

$1.22 ¥8.13

105.74%

Potato (1kg)

$0.87 ₾2.26

$0.62 ¥4.12

40.32%

Onion (1kg)

$0.73 ₾1.89

$0.70 ¥4.69

4.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.42 ₾3.67

$0.65 ¥4.32

118.46%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 ₾1.88

$0.57 ¥3.83

26.32%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.38 ₾8.74

$4.61 ¥30.79

-26.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.84 ₾20.31

$8.03 ¥53.7

-2.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.62 ₾4.19

$0.81 ¥5.43

100.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.38 ₾6.15

$1.50 ¥10.04

58.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.37 ₾0.96

$0.31 ¥2.08

19.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$15.52 ₾40.16

$16.67 ¥111

-6.90%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.14 ₾2.94

$1.68 ¥11.21

-32.14%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.79 ₾2.05

$0.35 ¥2.31

125.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.57 ₾29.96

$7.16 ¥47.90

61.59%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.50 ₾3.87

$1.33 ¥8.88

12.78%

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

$24.6K ₾63.7K

$19.6K ¥131.1K

25.55%

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

$22.4K ₾57.9K

$18.1K ¥121.3K

23.33%

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

$88.3 ₾228

$51.9 ¥347

70.01%

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

$13.08 ₾33.86

$6.67 ¥44.63

96.10%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.53 ₾50.6

$7.80 ¥52.1

150.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.2 ₾166

$25.44 ¥170

152.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.18 ₾49.66

$14.16 ¥94.7

35.45%

Cinema Ticket

$6.99 ₾18.10

$8.05 ¥53.8

-13.17%

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

$373 ₾966

$932 ¥6,234

-59.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.7K ₾27.7K

$15.9K ¥106.6K

-32.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$103 ₾266

$63.8 ¥427

60.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.48 ₾105

$26.75 ¥179

51.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 ₾301

$62.2 ¥416

87.01%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 ₾316

$52.6 ¥351

131.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$677 ₾1,753

$358 ¥2,394

89.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$454 ₾1,176

$184 ¥1,230

146.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,277 ₾3,305

$766 ¥5,121

66.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$890 ₾2,304

$469 ¥3,136

89.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 ₾6,238

$3,784 ¥25.3K

-36.32%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,418 ₾3,670

$2,053 ¥13.7K

-30.95%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$703 ₾1,819

$1,193 ¥7,977

-41.10%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.62

3.18

296.86%

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

Last update for Tbilisi: October 17, 2026

Last update for Ningbo: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tbilisi

$454 35.8%

Ningbo

$184 26.6% 59.5% $270

Groceries & Markets

Tbilisi

$233 18.3%

Ningbo

$191 27.7% 17.9% $42

Eating Out

Tbilisi

$191 15%

Ningbo

$94 13.6% 50.8% $97

Clothing & Footwear

Tbilisi

$172 13.5%

Ningbo

$92 13.4% 46.2% $79

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tbilisi

$121 9.5%

Ningbo

$66 9.6% 45.1% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Tbilisi

$78 6.2%

Ningbo

$42 6% 46.9% $37

Getting Around

Tbilisi

$22 1.7%

Ningbo

$21 3.1% 3.5% $0.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $677 in Tbilisi and $358 in Ningbo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ningbo pays 70% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $38.00 in Tbilisi vs $30.00 in Ningbo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $233 vs $191 per month, with Ningbo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇪 Tbilisi

🇨🇳 Ningbo

🕒 Local time

01:17 1:17 AM

05:17 5:17 AM

4 h ahead of Tbilisi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,241,700 Capital

7,605,689

💱 Currency

Georgian Lari GEL ₾

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 GEL = 0.386 USD

1 GEL = 0.344 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, 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).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to GEL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Tbilisi Ningbo 6,830 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Tbilisi
Ningbo

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 Ningbo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ningbo wins on cost – living expenses run 84% lower than in Tbilisi. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Ningbo the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 70% lower in Ningbo. 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: $677 in Tbilisi versus $358 in Ningbo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $373 in Tbilisi versus $932 in Ningbo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 22% higher in Tbilisi. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $691 in Ningbo versus $1,270 in Tbilisi, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Ningbo but tight or insufficient in Tbilisi. The gap between the two cities makes Ningbo the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Ningbo delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $691 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Ningbo hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Tbilisi and Ningbo 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 Ningbo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 84% less than in Tbilisi. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.