Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tbilisi and North Shore

For one person, living is cheaper in Tbilisi: $1,269 a month against $2,123 in North Shore, rent and utilities included – about $10,200 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
103

Cost of Living Index in North Shore
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North Shore Living Index

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Tbilisi

🇬🇪 Georgia

$1,269

/mo nomad

North Shore

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$2,123

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Tbilisi and in North Shore

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,269 in Tbilisi versus $2,123 in North Shore.

Tbilisi $1,269
North Shore $2,123

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,016 in Tbilisi versus $2,945 in North Shore.

Tbilisi $2,016
North Shore $2,945

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,763 in Tbilisi versus $3,766 in North Shore.

Tbilisi $2,763
North Shore $3,766

Living in Tbilisi costs roughly 40% less than in North Shore, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Tbilisi is 7% below, North Shore is 56% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.63 ₾30.07

$13.99 NZ$24.84

-16.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.83 ₾97.8

$75.3 NZ$134

-49.78%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.66 ₾24.98

$8.51 NZ$15.10

13.51%

Cappuccino

$3.57 ₾9.24

$3.44 NZ$6.11

3.78%

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

$1.08 ₾2.78

$1.99 NZ$3.53

-45.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₾1.45

$1.83 NZ$3.24

-69.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.62 ₾6.78

$6.68 NZ$11.86

-60.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.04 ₾7.85

$5.77 NZ$10.24

-47.31%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.17 ₾5.60

$1.62 NZ$2.88

33.95%

White Bread (500g)

$0.80 ₾2.06

$1.34 NZ$2.38

-40.30%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.74 ₾4.51

$1.82 NZ$3.23

-4.40%

Eggs

$2.83 ₾7.31

$5.76 NZ$10.22

-50.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.31 ₾24.07

$8.01 NZ$14.22

16.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.52 ₾16.85

$10.01 NZ$17.77

-34.87%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.95 ₾33.50

$11.77 NZ$20.90

10.03%

Apples (1kg)

$1.68 ₾4.33

$2.68 NZ$4.76

-37.31%

Banana (1kg)

$1.85 ₾4.79

$2.11 NZ$3.75

-12.32%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.97 ₾5.10

$3.16 NZ$5.61

-37.66%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.42 ₾6.25

$6.03 NZ$10.71

-59.87%

Potato (1kg)

$0.82 ₾2.11

$2.08 NZ$3.69

-60.58%

Onion (1kg)

$0.74 ₾1.91

$1.52 NZ$2.69

-51.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.34 ₾3.47

$2.50 NZ$4.44

-46.40%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 ₾2.00

$0.93 NZ$1.64

-17.20%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.57 ₾9.24

$25.31 NZ$44.93

-85.89%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.67 ₾19.83

$10.50 NZ$18.64

-26.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 ₾4.39

$2.74 NZ$4.87

-37.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.40 ₾6.21

$3.29 NZ$5.84

-27.05%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.40 ₾1.05

$2.32 NZ$4.12

-82.76%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$15.23 ₾39.38

$61.4 NZ$109

-75.20%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.14 ₾2.95

$2.31 NZ$4.10

-50.65%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 ₾2.02

$1.97 NZ$3.50

-60.41%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.83 ₾30.58

$32.86 NZ$58.3

-64.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ₾3.75

$1.74 NZ$3.09

-16.67%

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

$24.6K ₾63.6K

$26.9K NZ$47.7K

-8.55%

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

$22.3K ₾57.8K

$22.1K NZ$39.3K

1.00%

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

$88.8 ₾230

$182 NZ$323

-51.16%

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

$13.12 ₾33.93

$26.22 NZ$46.55

-49.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.67 ₾50.9

$51.4 NZ$91.2

-61.71%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.1 ₾166

$27.58 NZ$48.96

132.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.04 ₾49.24

Cinema Ticket

$7.12 ₾18.42

$12.07 NZ$21.43

-41.01%

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

$375 ₾971

$686 NZ$1,218

-45.29%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.5K ₾27.1K

$14.5K NZ$25.8K

-28.03%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 ₾268

$69.1 NZ$123

50.03%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.26 ₾102

$37.67 NZ$66.9

4.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 ₾303

$95.3 NZ$169

23.11%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 ₾315

$107 NZ$190

13.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$695 ₾1,798

$1,328 NZ$2,358

-47.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$451 ₾1,167

$1,042 NZ$1,849

-56.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 ₾3,504

$2,240 NZ$3,978

-39.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$906 ₾2,343

$1,326 NZ$2,353

-31.64%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,295 ₾5,934

$7,353 NZ$13.1K

-68.79%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,345 ₾3,478

$6,086 NZ$10.8K

-77.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$664 ₾1,718

$2,856 NZ$5,071

-76.74%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.62

6.63

90.35%

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

Last update for Tbilisi: October 27, 2026

Last update for North Shore: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tbilisi

$451 35.6%

North Shore

$1K 49% 131% $590

Groceries & Markets

Tbilisi

$234 18.4%

North Shore

$310 14.6% 32.4% $76

Eating Out

Tbilisi

$191 15%

North Shore

$239 11.3% 25.4% $48

Clothing & Footwear

Tbilisi

$172 13.5%

North Shore

$139 6.6% 19% $33

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tbilisi

$122 9.6%

North Shore

$259 12.2% 113% $138

Sport & Entertainment

Tbilisi

$78 6.2%

North Shore

$52 2.4% 33.9% $27

Getting Around

Tbilisi

$22 1.7%

North Shore

$83 3.9% 278% $61

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $695 in Tbilisi and $1,328 in North Shore. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

North Shore pays about 4.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $38 in Tbilisi vs $75 in North Shore for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $234 vs $310 per month, with Tbilisi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇪 Tbilisi

🇳🇿 North Shore

🕒 Local time

12:31 12:31 PM

21:31 9:31 PM

9 h ahead of Tbilisi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,241,700 Capital

258,697

💱 Currency

Georgian Lari GEL ₾

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 GEL = 0.387 USD

1 GEL = 0.347 EUR

1 NZD = 0.563 USD

1 NZD = 0.505 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NZD, USD, EUR 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).

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 1.78 NZD (1 NZD = 0.563 USD). 1 EUR = 1.98 NZD (1 NZD = 0.505 EUR).

USD to GEL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Tbilisi North Shore 15,730 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

Tbilisi
North Shore

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 North Shore: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,269 in Tbilisi and $2,123 in North Shore, so Tbilisi is about 40% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 77% 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 $1,328 in North Shore. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Tbilisi – a meal for two runs $38 versus $75 in North Shore. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,269 per month in Tbilisi versus $2,123 in North Shore – Tbilisi is about 40% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $1,269 in Tbilisi versus $2,123 in North Shore, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Tbilisi but tight or insufficient in North Shore. 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 North Shore 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 40% less than in North Shore. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.