Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tbilisi and Sandton

For one person, living is cheaper in Sandton: $1,235 a month against $1,269 in Tbilisi, rent and utilities included – about $410 less a year. The total is higher in Tbilisi despite lower rent and utilities.

61

Cost of Living Index in Tbilisi
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Tbilisi Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Sandton
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Sandton Living Index

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Tbilisi

🇬🇪 Georgia

$1,269

/mo nomad

Sandton

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,235

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Tbilisi and in Sandton

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,269 in Tbilisi versus $1,235 in Sandton.

Tbilisi $1,269
Sandton $1,235

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,016 in Tbilisi versus $1,888 in Sandton.

Tbilisi $2,016
Sandton $1,888

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,763 in Tbilisi versus $2,540 in Sandton.

Tbilisi $2,763
Sandton $2,540

Living in Tbilisi is roughly 3% more expensive than in Sandton, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Tbilisi 7% lower, Sandton 9% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.63 ₾30.07

$10.73 R 179

8.39%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.83 ₾97.8

$45.71 R 763

-17.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.66 ₾24.98

$5.62 R 93.9

71.89%

Cappuccino

$3.57 ₾9.24

$2.44 R 40.76

46.31%

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

$1.08 ₾2.78

$1.07 R 17.83

0.93%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₾1.45

$0.84 R 13.94

-33.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.62 ₾6.78

$2.45 R 40.97

6.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.04 ₾7.85

$2.97 R 49.65

2.36%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.17 ₾5.60

$1.20 R 20.05

80.83%

White Bread (500g)

$0.80 ₾2.06

$1.07 R 17.84

-25.23%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.74 ₾4.51

$1.76 R 29.33

-1.14%

Eggs

$2.83 ₾7.31

$2.72 R 45.45

4.04%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.31 ₾24.07

$8.86 R 148

5.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.52 ₾16.85

$4.86 R 81.2

34.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.95 ₾33.50

$7.07 R 118

83.17%

Apples (1kg)

$1.68 ₾4.33

$2.09 R 34.86

-19.62%

Banana (1kg)

$1.85 ₾4.79

$1.75 R 29.22

5.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.97 ₾5.10

$1.75 R 29.13

12.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.42 ₾6.25

$1.81 R 30.13

33.70%

Potato (1kg)

$0.82 ₾2.11

$1.50 R 25.11

-45.33%

Onion (1kg)

$0.74 ₾1.91

$1.78 R 29.71

-58.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.34 ₾3.47

$1.23 R 20.47

8.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 ₾2.00

$1.30 R 21.65

-40.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.57 ₾9.24

$3.16 R 52.8

12.97%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.67 ₾19.83

$6.18 R 103

24.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 ₾4.39

$1.55 R 25.94

9.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.40 ₾6.21

$1.89 R 31.60

26.98%

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

$0.29 R 4.83

293.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 ₾2.02

$0.88 R 14.62

-11.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.83 ₾30.58

$14.21 R 237

-16.75%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ₾3.75

$1.49 R 24.92

-2.68%

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

$24.6K ₾63.6K

$36.0K R 601.2K

-31.76%

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

$22.3K ₾57.8K

$34.0K R 567.0K

-34.24%

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

$88.8 ₾230

$165 R 2,760

-46.29%

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

$13.12 ₾33.93

$38.25 R 639

-65.70%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.67 ₾50.9

$37.39 R 624

-47.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.1 ₾166

$36.75 R 613

74.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.04 ₾49.24

Cinema Ticket

$7.12 ₾18.42

$7.10 R 119

0.28%

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

$375 ₾971

$266 R 4,441

41.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.5K ₾27.1K

$7,302 R 121.9K

43.38%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 ₾268

$59.7 R 997

73.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.26 ₾102

$45.22 R 755

-13.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 ₾303

$94.9 R 1,584

23.72%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 ₾315

$89.4 R 1,492

36.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$695 ₾1,798

$540 R 9,015

28.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$451 ₾1,167

$448 R 7,475

0.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 ₾3,504

$970 R 16.2K

39.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$906 ₾2,343

$844 R 14.1K

7.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,295 ₾5,934

$842 R 14.1K

172.57%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,345 ₾3,478

$733 R 12.2K

83.52%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$664 ₾1,718

$1,865 R 31.1K

-64.39%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.62

14.73%

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

Last update for Tbilisi: October 27, 2026

Last update for Sandton: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tbilisi

$451 35.6%

Sandton

$448 36.3% 0.7% $3.3

Groceries & Markets

Tbilisi

$234 18.4%

Sandton

$202 16.4% 13.6% $32

Eating Out

Tbilisi

$191 15%

Sandton

$158 12.8% 17.2% $33

Clothing & Footwear

Tbilisi

$172 13.5%

Sandton

$130 10.5% 24.3% $42

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tbilisi

$122 9.6%

Sandton

$241 19.5% 98.2% $119

Sport & Entertainment

Tbilisi

$78 6.2%

Sandton

$51 4.1% 34.9% $27

Getting Around

Tbilisi

$22 1.7%

Sandton

$4.7 * 0.4% 78.7% $17

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 $695 in Tbilisi and $540 in Sandton. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sandton pays about 2.8 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $38 in Tbilisi vs $46 in Sandton. Groceries flip the comparison at $234 vs $202, with Sandton cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇪 Tbilisi

🇿🇦 Sandton

🕒 Local time

12:01 12:01 PM

10:01 10:01 AM

2 h behind Tbilisi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,241,700 Capital

222,415

💱 Currency

Georgian Lari GEL ₾

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 GEL = 0.387 USD

1 GEL = 0.347 EUR

100 ZAR = 5.99 USD

100 ZAR = 5.37 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 November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 2.59 GEL (1 GEL = 0.387 USD). 1 EUR = 2.89 GEL (1 GEL = 0.347 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 16.69 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.99 USD). 1 EUR = 18.63 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.37 EUR).

USD to GEL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Tbilisi Sandton 7,730 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Tbilisi
Sandton

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 Sandton: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sandton wins on cost – living expenses run 3% lower than in Tbilisi. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Sandton the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 64% 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 $540 in Sandton. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $375 in Tbilisi versus $266 in Sandton. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Tbilisi – a meal for two runs $38 versus $46 in Sandton. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Sandton is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

Both work as nomad bases, but Sandton delivers better value at $1,235 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Sandton hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Tbilisi and Sandton are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.