Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tbilisi and Santa Teresa

For one person, living is cheaper in Tbilisi: $1,270 a month against $1,546 in Santa Teresa, rent and utilities included – about $3,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

61

Cost of Living Index in Tbilisi
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Tbilisi Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Santa Teresa
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Santa Teresa Living Index

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Tbilisi

🇬🇪 Georgia

$1,270

/mo nomad

Santa Teresa

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,546

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,270 per month in Tbilisi vs $1,546 in Santa Teresa, rent included.

Tbilisi $1,270
Santa Teresa $1,546

A couple spends around $2,008 per month in Tbilisi vs $2,318 in Santa Teresa, rent included.

Tbilisi $2,008
Santa Teresa $2,318

A family of three spends $2,745 per month in Tbilisi vs $3,090 in Santa Teresa, rent included.

Tbilisi $2,745
Santa Teresa $3,090

Tbilisi is about 18% cheaper than Santa Teresa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Tbilisi sits 6% below the global median, while Santa Teresa is 14% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.51 ₾29.79

$10.08 ₡4,519

14.19%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$38.27 ₾99.1

$43.44 ₡19.5K

-11.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.80 ₾25.36

$9.24 ₡4,144

6.06%

Cappuccino

$3.55 ₾9.19

$3.73 ₡1,673

-4.83%

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

$1.06 ₾2.74

$1.97 ₡883

-46.19%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.62 ₾1.60

$1.66 ₡745

-62.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.76 ₾7.16

$3.00 ₡1,344

-8.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.00 ₾7.77

$4.58 ₡2,055

-34.50%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.16 ₾5.59

$1.98 ₡887

9.09%

White Bread (500g)

$0.76 ₾1.96

$2.90 ₡1,301

-73.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.74 ₾4.51

$2.21 ₡990

-21.27%

Eggs

$2.79 ₾7.21

$2.93 ₡1,312

-4.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.20 ₾23.83

$9.91 ₡4,446

-7.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.53 ₾16.89

$9.31 ₡4,173

-29.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.81 ₾33.17

$13.64 ₡6,116

-6.09%

Apples (1kg)

$1.67 ₾4.31

$4.61 ₡2,068

-63.77%

Banana (1kg)

$1.85 ₾4.79

$1.52 ₡681

21.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.98 ₾5.13

$4.23 ₡1,898

-53.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.51 ₾6.49

$3.07 ₡1,377

-18.24%

Potato (1kg)

$0.87 ₾2.26

$3.20 ₡1,437

-72.81%

Onion (1kg)

$0.73 ₾1.89

$2.63 ₡1,180

-72.24%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.42 ₾3.67

$1.04 ₡466

36.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 ₾1.88

$2.81 ₡1,258

-74.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.38 ₾8.74

$5.08 ₡2,277

-33.46%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.84 ₾20.31

$14.20 ₡6,368

-44.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.62 ₾4.19

$2.36 ₡1,058

-31.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.38 ₾6.15

$2.56 ₡1,149

-7.03%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.37 ₾0.96

$1.00 ₡449

-63.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$15.52 ₾40.16

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.14 ₾2.94

$1.81 ₡810

-37.02%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.79 ₾2.05

$1.87 ₡837

-57.75%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.57 ₾29.96

$8.00 ₡3,589

44.63%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.50 ₾3.87

$1.45 ₡652

3.45%

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

$24.6K ₾63.7K

$37.2K ₡16.7M

-33.75%

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

$22.4K ₾57.9K

$32.8K ₡14.7M

-31.81%

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

$88.3 ₾228

$84.7 ₡38.0K

4.25%

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

$13.08 ₾33.86

$26.18 ₡11.7K

-50.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.53 ₾50.6

$49.65 ₡22.3K

-60.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.2 ₾166

$50.6 ₡22.7K

26.84%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.18 ₾49.66

$23.98 ₡10.8K

-20.02%

Cinema Ticket

$6.99 ₾18.10

$8.87 ₡3,976

-21.20%

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

$373 ₾966

$573 ₡256.9K

-34.87%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.7K ₾27.7K

$12.6K ₡5.6M

-14.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$103 ₾266

$62.9 ₡28.2K

63.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.48 ₾105

$51.1 ₡22.9K

-20.75%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 ₾301

$127 ₡56.9K

-8.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 ₾316

$107 ₡47.9K

14.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$677 ₾1,753

$700 ₡314.1K

-3.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$454 ₾1,176

$605 ₡271.4K

-24.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,277 ₾3,305

$1,462 ₡655.5K

-12.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$890 ₾2,304

$970 ₡435.0K

-8.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 ₾6,238

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,418 ₾3,670

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$703 ₾1,819

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.62

10.17

24.09%

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

Last update for Tbilisi: October 17, 2026

Last update for Santa Teresa: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tbilisi

$454 35.8%

Santa Teresa

$605 39.1% 33.2% $151

Groceries & Markets

Tbilisi

$233 18.3%

Santa Teresa

$349 22.6% 49.9% $116

Eating Out

Tbilisi

$191 15%

Santa Teresa

$192 12.4% 0.6% $1.2

Clothing & Footwear

Tbilisi

$172 13.5%

Santa Teresa

$156 10.1% 8.8% $15

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tbilisi

$121 9.5%

Santa Teresa

$160 10.4% 32.8% $40

Sport & Entertainment

Tbilisi

$78 6.2%

Santa Teresa

$68 4.4% 12.6% $9.8

Getting Around

Tbilisi

$22 1.7%

Santa Teresa

$15 * 1% 31.5% $7

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $677 in Tbilisi versus $700 in Santa Teresa. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $38.00 in Tbilisi versus $43.00 in Santa Teresa. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $233 vs $349 – making Tbilisi the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇪 Tbilisi

🇨🇷 Santa Teresa

🕒 Local time

16:43 4:43 PM

06:43 6:43 AM

10 h behind Tbilisi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,241,700 Capital

3,099

💱 Currency

Georgian Lari GEL ₾

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 GEL = 0.386 USD

1 GEL = 0.344 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, 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).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to GEL in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Tbilisi Santa Teresa 12,360 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Tbilisi
Santa Teresa

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 Teresa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Santa Teresa is pricier by about 22%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,906 per month in Tbilisi and $2,319 in Santa Teresa. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Tbilisi, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $38.00 in Tbilisi and $43.00 in Santa Teresa. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 50% more in Santa Teresa, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Tbilisi, where all-in costs run around $1,270, than in Santa Teresa at $1,546. In Tbilisi it covers expenses comfortably, while in Santa Teresa it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Tbilisi – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Tbilisi. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Santa Teresa makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.