Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tbilisi and Santa Cruz, Aruba

For one person, living is cheaper in Tbilisi: $1,278 a month against $1,886 in Santa Cruz, rent and utilities included – about $7,300 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

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Cost of Living Index in Tbilisi
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Tbilisi Living Index

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Tbilisi

🇬🇪 Georgia

$1,278

/mo nomad

Santa Cruz

🇦🇼 Aruba

$1,886

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Tbilisi and in Santa Cruz

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Tbilisi versus $1,886 in Santa Cruz.

Tbilisi $1,278
Santa Cruz $1,886

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,017 in Tbilisi versus $2,900 in Santa Cruz.

Tbilisi $2,017
Santa Cruz $2,900

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,755 in Tbilisi versus $3,914 in Santa Cruz.

Tbilisi $2,755
Santa Cruz $3,914

Living in Tbilisi costs roughly 32% less than in Santa Cruz, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

The two cities straddle the global median: Tbilisi is 5% below, Santa Cruz is 40% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.62 ₾30.06

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$38.41 ₾99.3

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.74 ₾25.18

Cappuccino

$3.56 ₾9.21

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

$1.08 ₾2.79

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₾1.46

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.73 ₾7.05

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.13 ₾8.08

Milk (1 liter)

$2.14 ₾5.54

$2.20 AWG 3.94

-2.73%

White Bread (500g)

$0.75 ₾1.95

$2.64 AWG 4.73

-71.59%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.80 ₾4.66

$4.42 AWG 7.91

-59.28%

Eggs

$2.80 ₾7.25

$4.78 AWG 8.55

-41.42%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.43 ₾24.39

$8.14 AWG 14.57

15.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.00 ₾18.09

$7.69 AWG 13.77

-8.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 ₾32.82

$6.75 AWG 12.08

88.00%

Apples (1kg)

$1.63 ₾4.21

$4.52 AWG 8.08

-63.94%

Banana (1kg)

$1.84 ₾4.77

$4.57 AWG 8.17

-59.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.97 ₾5.09

$8.12 AWG 14.54

-75.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.47 ₾6.38

$6.87 AWG 12.29

-64.05%

Potato (1kg)

$0.75 ₾1.95

$6.70 AWG 11.99

-88.81%

Onion (1kg)

$0.67 ₾1.74

$1.89 AWG 3.39

-64.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.41 ₾3.66

$3.00 AWG 5.37

-53.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 ₾1.86

$4.54 AWG 8.13

-84.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.51 ₾9.08

$10.34 AWG 18.51

-66.05%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 ₾20.39

$19.59 AWG 35.05

-59.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 ₾4.41

$2.55 AWG 4.56

-33.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.37 ₾6.12

$3.09 AWG 5.54

-23.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.38 ₾0.98

$1.96 AWG 3.50

-80.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$15.29 ₾39.54

$154 AWG 276

-90.07%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.19 ₾3.08

$19.32 AWG 34.57

-93.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.74 ₾1.91

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.89 ₾30.75

$19.75 AWG 35.34

-39.80%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.46 ₾3.77

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

$25.0K ₾64.6K

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

$22.8K ₾59.0K

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

$88.1 ₾228

$141 AWG 252

-37.30%

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

$12.71 ₾32.85

$71.3 AWG 128

-82.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.79 ₾51.2

$207 AWG 371

-90.44%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.3 ₾166

$68.5 AWG 123

-6.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.17 ₾49.57

$46.44 AWG 83.1

-58.72%

Cinema Ticket

$6.65 ₾17.19

$8.39 AWG 15.02

-20.74%

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

$371 ₾960

$141 AWG 252

163.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,163 ₾23.7K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 ₾264

$78.8 AWG 141

29.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.65 ₾103

$110 AWG 197

-63.96%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 ₾305

$140 AWG 251

-15.90%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 ₾310

$137 AWG 245

-12.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$690 ₾1,784

$1,268 AWG 2,270

-45.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$461 ₾1,193

$557 AWG 998

-17.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,362 ₾3,522

$1,534 AWG 2,746

-11.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$897 ₾2,320

$1,407 AWG 2,519

-36.26%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,277 ₾5,888

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,378 ₾3,562

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$710 ₾1,836

$3,667 AWG 6,564

-80.64%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.53

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

Last update for Tbilisi: November 2, 2026

Last update for Santa Cruz: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tbilisi

$461 36.1%

Santa Cruz

–

Groceries & Markets

Tbilisi

$235 18.4%

Santa Cruz

–

Eating Out

Tbilisi

$191 15%

Santa Cruz

–

Clothing & Footwear

Tbilisi

$171 13.4%

Santa Cruz

–

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tbilisi

$121 9.4%

Santa Cruz

–

Sport & Entertainment

Tbilisi

$78 6.1%

Santa Cruz

–

Getting Around

Tbilisi

$22 1.7%

Santa Cruz

–

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $690 in Tbilisi and $1,268 in Santa Cruz. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Santa Cruz pays about 5.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Good to know

🇬🇪 Tbilisi

🇦🇼 Santa Cruz

🕒 Local time

18:39 6:39 PM

10:39 10:39 AM

8 h behind Tbilisi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,241,700 Capital

15,236

💱 Currency

Georgian Lari GEL ₾

Aruban Florin AWG ƒ

📈 Exchange rate

1 GEL = 0.387 USD

1 GEL = 0.344 EUR

1 AWG = 0.559 USD

1 AWG = 0.497 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AWG, USD, EUR to GEL – Georgian Lari Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇪 Georgian Lari (₾)

Georgian Lari exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 2.59 GEL (1 GEL = 0.387 USD). 1 EUR = 2.9 GEL (1 GEL = 0.344 EUR).

Aruban Florin exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 1.79 AWG (1 AWG = 0.559 USD). 1 EUR = 2.01 AWG (1 AWG = 0.497 EUR).

USD to GEL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Tbilisi Santa Cruz 11,040 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Tbilisi
Santa Cruz

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 Santa Cruz: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,278 in Tbilisi and $1,886 in Santa Cruz, so Tbilisi is about 32% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 81% 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: $690 in Tbilisi versus $1,268 in Santa Cruz. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $371 in Tbilisi versus $141 in Santa Cruz. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

A monthly transit pass in Tbilisi runs roughly 90% less than in Santa Cruz. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your 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 Santa Cruz are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Tbilisi wins on affordability, Santa Cruz on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.