Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tbilisi and Shaab

For one person, living is cheaper in Tbilisi: $1,269 a month against $1,386 in Shaab, rent and utilities included – about $1,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Shaab outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

61

Cost of Living Index in Tbilisi
Learn more

Tbilisi Living Index
66

Cost of Living Index in Shaab
Learn more

Shaab Living Index

Jump to prices

Tbilisi

🇬🇪 Georgia

$1,269

/mo nomad

Shaab

🇰🇼 Kuwait

$1,386

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Tbilisi and in Shaab

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,269 in Tbilisi versus $1,386 in Shaab.

Tbilisi $1,269
Shaab $1,386

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,016 in Tbilisi versus $2,294 in Shaab.

Tbilisi $2,016
Shaab $2,294

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,763 in Tbilisi versus $3,201 in Shaab.

Tbilisi $2,763
Shaab $3,201

Living in Tbilisi costs roughly 8% less than in Shaab, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

The two cities straddle the global median: Tbilisi is 7% below, Shaab is 2% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.63 ₾30.07

$12.70 KWD 3.95

-8.43%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.83 ₾97.8

$63.2 KWD 19.64

-40.15%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.66 ₾24.98

$8.88 KWD 2.76

8.78%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.12 KWD 0.97

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.97 KWD 1.54

Cappuccino

$3.57 ₾9.24

$5.21 KWD 1.62

-31.48%

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

$1.08 ₾2.78

$0.70 KWD 0.22

54.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₾1.45

$0.29 KWD 0.09

93.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.62 ₾6.78

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.04 ₾7.85

Milk (1 liter)

$2.17 ₾5.60

$1.58 KWD 0.49

37.34%

White Bread (500g)

$0.80 ₾2.06

$1.46 KWD 0.45

-45.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.74 ₾4.51

$1.98 KWD 0.61

-12.12%

Eggs

$2.83 ₾7.31

$2.07 KWD 0.64

36.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.31 ₾24.07

$4.42 KWD 1.37

110.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.52 ₾16.85

$6.74 KWD 2.09

-3.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.95 ₾33.50

$10.17 KWD 3.16

27.34%

Apples (1kg)

$1.68 ₾4.34

$2.52 KWD 0.78

-33.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.85 ₾4.79

$1.92 KWD 0.60

-3.65%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.97 ₾5.10

$1.87 KWD 0.58

5.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.42 ₾6.25

$1.48 KWD 0.46

63.51%

Potato (1kg)

$0.82 ₾2.11

$1.32 KWD 0.41

-37.88%

Onion (1kg)

$0.74 ₾1.91

$1.49 KWD 0.46

-50.34%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.34 ₾3.47

$2.30 KWD 0.72

-41.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 ₾2.00

$0.57 KWD 0.18

35.09%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$3.15 KWD 0.98

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.04 KWD 0.32

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.39 KWD 0.43

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.57 ₾9.24

$2.69 KWD 0.84

32.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.67 ₾19.83

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 ₾4.39

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.40 ₾6.21

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.40 ₾1.05

$0.81 KWD 0.25

-50.62%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$15.23 ₾39.38

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.14 ₾2.95

$4.87 KWD 1.51

-76.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 ₾2.02

$3.30 KWD 1.03

-76.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.83 ₾30.58

$15.86 KWD 4.93

-25.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ₾3.75

$0.35 KWD 0.11

314.29%

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

$24.6K ₾63.6K

$23.6K KWD 7,324

4.28%

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

$22.3K ₾57.8K

$19.5K KWD 6,067

14.41%

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

$88.8 ₾230

$66.5 KWD 20.65

33.63%

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

$13.12 ₾33.93

$22.82 KWD 7.09

-42.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.67 ₾50.9

$29.54 KWD 9.18

-33.41%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.1 ₾166

$102 KWD 31.64

-37.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.04 ₾49.24

Cinema Ticket

$7.12 ₾18.42

$12.90 KWD 4.01

-44.81%

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

$375 ₾971

$503 KWD 156

-25.41%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.5K ₾27.1K

$9,302 KWD 2,891

12.56%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 ₾268

$37.18 KWD 11.56

178.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.26 ₾102

$39.66 KWD 12.33

-1.01%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 ₾303

$97.4 KWD 30.27

20.48%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 ₾315

$87.5 KWD 27.18

39.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$695 ₾1,798

$796 KWD 247

-12.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$451 ₾1,167

$617 KWD 192

-26.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 ₾3,504

$1,694 KWD 526

-19.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$906 ₾2,343

$1,320 KWD 410

-31.34%

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

$3,175 KWD 987

-79.08%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.62

6.53

93.26%

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

Last update for Tbilisi: October 27, 2026

Last update for Shaab: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tbilisi

$451 35.6%

Shaab

$617 44.5% 36.7% $166

Groceries & Markets

Tbilisi

$234 18.4%

Shaab

$186 13.4% 20.5% $48

Eating Out

Tbilisi

$191 15%

Shaab

$195 14.1% 2.2% $4.2

Clothing & Footwear

Tbilisi

$172 13.5%

Shaab

$118 8.5% 31.5% $54

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tbilisi

$122 9.6%

Shaab

$119 8.6% 2.3% $2.8

Sport & Entertainment

Tbilisi

$78 6.2%

Shaab

$128 9.2% 63% $49

Getting Around

Tbilisi

$22 1.7%

Shaab

$25 * 1.8% 12.4% $2.7

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 $796 in Shaab. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Shaab pays about 4.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $38 in Tbilisi vs $63 in Shaab. Groceries flip the comparison at $234 vs $186, with Shaab cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇪 Tbilisi

🇰🇼 Shaab

🕒 Local time

05:21 5:21 AM

04:21 4:21 AM

1 h behind Tbilisi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,241,700 Capital

164,212

💱 Currency

Georgian Lari GEL ₾

Kuwaiti Dinar KWD د.ك

📈 Exchange rate

1 GEL = 0.387 USD

1 GEL = 0.347 EUR

1 KWD = 3.22 USD

1 KWD = 2.89 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KWD, 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).

Kuwaiti Dinar exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 0.311 KWD (1 KWD = 3.22 USD). 1 EUR = 0.346 KWD (1 KWD = 2.89 EUR).

USD to GEL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Tbilisi Shaab 1,400 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Tbilisi
Shaab

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 Shaab: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Tbilisi is about 8% cheaper overall, especially in leisure, utilities, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 79% 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 $796 in Shaab. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Shaab pay roughly 20% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you’ll spend $1,269 per month in Tbilisi versus $1,386 in Shaab – Tbilisi is about 8% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Tbilisi gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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 Shaab are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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