Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tbilisi and Nuwara Eliya

For one person, living is cheaper in Nuwara Eliya: $500 a month against $1,269 in Tbilisi, rent and utilities included – about $9,200 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
24

Cost of Living Index in Nuwara Eliya
Learn more

Nuwara Eliya Living Index

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Tbilisi

🇬🇪 Georgia

$1,269

/mo nomad

Nuwara Eliya

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$500

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Tbilisi and in Nuwara Eliya

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,269 in Tbilisi versus $500 in Nuwara Eliya.

Tbilisi $1,269
Nuwara Eliya $500

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,016 in Tbilisi versus $813 in Nuwara Eliya.

Tbilisi $2,016
Nuwara Eliya $813

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,763 in Tbilisi versus $1,126 in Nuwara Eliya.

Tbilisi $2,763
Nuwara Eliya $1,126

Living in Tbilisi is roughly 154% more expensive than in Nuwara Eliya, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Tbilisi 7% lower, Nuwara Eliya 63% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.63 ₾30.07

$3.79 LKR 1,259

206.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.83 ₾97.8

$25.40 LKR 8,445

48.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.66 ₾24.98

$7.51 LKR 2,497

28.63%

Cappuccino

$3.57 ₾9.24

$2.55 LKR 846

40.00%

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

$1.08 ₾2.78

$0.36 LKR 121

200.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₾1.45

$0.27 LKR 90.2

107.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.62 ₾6.78

$2.16 LKR 718

21.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.04 ₾7.85

$3.06 LKR 1,018

-0.65%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.17 ₾5.60

$1.63 LKR 543

33.13%

White Bread (500g)

$0.80 ₾2.06

$0.57 LKR 190

40.35%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.74 ₾4.51

$0.74 LKR 248

135.14%

Eggs

$2.83 ₾7.31

$1.64 LKR 546

72.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.31 ₾24.07

$13.62 LKR 4,526

-31.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.52 ₾16.85

$4.74 LKR 1,575

37.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.95 ₾33.50

$7.34 LKR 2,439

76.43%

Apples (1kg)

$1.68 ₾4.34

$6.47 LKR 2,152

-74.03%

Banana (1kg)

$1.85 ₾4.79

$0.80 LKR 268

131.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.97 ₾5.10

$4.31 LKR 1,431

-54.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.42 ₾6.25

$1.26 LKR 420

92.06%

Potato (1kg)

$0.82 ₾2.11

$1.01 LKR 335

-18.81%

Onion (1kg)

$0.74 ₾1.91

$0.77 LKR 256

-3.90%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.34 ₾3.47

$0.88 LKR 292

52.27%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 ₾2.00

$0.45 LKR 151

71.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.57 ₾9.24

$10.26 LKR 3,410

-65.20%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.67 ₾19.83

$12.83 LKR 4,264

-40.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 ₾4.39

$1.90 LKR 630

-10.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.40 ₾6.21

$2.94 LKR 977

-18.37%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.40 ₾1.05

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$15.23 ₾39.38

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.14 ₾2.95

$0.38 LKR 125

200.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 ₾2.02

$0.35 LKR 116

122.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.83 ₾30.58

$0.88 LKR 292

1244.32%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ₾3.75

$1.38 LKR 458

5.07%

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

$24.6K ₾63.6K

$43.8K LKR 14.6M

-43.87%

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

$22.3K ₾57.8K

$39.8K LKR 13.2M

-43.92%

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

$88.8 ₾230

$57.7 LKR 19.2K

53.93%

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

$13.12 ₾33.93

$4.32 LKR 1,435

203.70%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.67 ₾50.9

$20.36 LKR 6,770

-3.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.1 ₾166

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.04 ₾49.24

Cinema Ticket

$7.12 ₾18.42

$4.55 LKR 1,514

56.48%

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

$375 ₾971

$38.33 LKR 12.7K

879.52%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.5K ₾27.1K

$1,215 LKR 403.8K

762.07%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 ₾268

$17.89 LKR 5,947

479.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.26 ₾102

$16.67 LKR 5,541

135.51%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 ₾303

$78.9 LKR 26.2K

48.73%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 ₾315

$41.52 LKR 13.8K

193.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$695 ₾1,798

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$451 ₾1,167

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 ₾3,504

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$906 ₾2,343

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,295 ₾5,934

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,345 ₾3,478

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$664 ₾1,718

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.62

12.69

-0.55%

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

Last update for Tbilisi: October 27, 2026

Last update for Nuwara Eliya: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tbilisi

$451 35.6%

Nuwara Eliya

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Tbilisi

$234 18.4%

Nuwara Eliya

$233 46.7% 0.2% $0.6

Eating Out

Tbilisi

$191 15%

Nuwara Eliya

$103 20.6% 46% $88

Clothing & Footwear

Tbilisi

$172 13.5%

Nuwara Eliya

$70 14% 59.4% $102

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tbilisi

$122 9.6%

Nuwara Eliya

$82 16.5% 32.3% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Tbilisi

$78 6.2%

Nuwara Eliya

$9.1 * 1.8% 88.4% $69

Getting Around

Tbilisi

$22 1.7%

Nuwara Eliya

$2.1 * 0.4% 90.3% $20

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $38 in Tbilisi vs $25 in Nuwara Eliya for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $234 vs $233 per month, with Nuwara Eliya cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇪 Tbilisi

🇱🇰 Nuwara Eliya

🕒 Local time

05:22 5:22 AM

06:52 6:52 AM

1 h 30 min ahead of Tbilisi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,241,700 Capital

27,500

💱 Currency

Georgian Lari GEL ₾

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

📈 Exchange rate

1 GEL = 0.387 USD

1 GEL = 0.347 EUR

1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.7 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LKR, USD, EUR to GEL – Georgian Lari Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇪 Georgian Lari (₾)

Georgian Lari exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 2.59 GEL (1 GEL = 0.387 USD). 1 EUR = 2.88 GEL (1 GEL = 0.347 EUR).

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 332 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD). 1 EUR = 370 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.7 EUR).

USD to GEL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Tbilisi Nuwara Eliya 5,240 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Tbilisi
Nuwara Eliya

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 Nuwara Eliya: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Nuwara Eliya is about 61% cheaper overall, especially in clothing, eating out, and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,904 in Tbilisi and $749 in Nuwara Eliya 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.

Dining out is cheaper in Nuwara Eliya – a meal for two runs $25 versus $38 in Tbilisi. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Childcare runs $375 in Tbilisi versus $38 in Nuwara Eliya. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $500 in Nuwara Eliya versus $1,269 in Tbilisi, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Nuwara Eliya but tight or insufficient in Tbilisi. The gap between the two cities makes Nuwara Eliya 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 Nuwara Eliya are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.