Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tbilisi and Shanghai

For one person, living is cheaper in Shanghai: $1,222 a month against $1,269 in Tbilisi, rent and utilities included – about $560 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 Shanghai
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Shanghai Living Index

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Tbilisi

🇬🇪 Georgia

$1,269

/mo nomad

Shanghai

🇨🇳 China

$1,222

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Tbilisi and in Shanghai

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,269 in Tbilisi versus $1,222 in Shanghai.

Tbilisi $1,269
Shanghai $1,222

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,016 in Tbilisi versus $1,971 in Shanghai.

Tbilisi $2,016
Shanghai $1,971

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,763 in Tbilisi versus $2,720 in Shanghai.

Tbilisi $2,763
Shanghai $2,720

Living in Tbilisi is roughly 4% more expensive than in Shanghai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Tbilisi 7% lower, Shanghai 10% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.63 ₾30.07

$4.53 ¥30.11

156.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.83 ₾97.8

$30.16 ¥201

25.43%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.66 ₾24.98

$5.11 ¥34.04

89.04%

Cappuccino

$3.57 ₾9.24

$3.41 ¥22.70

4.69%

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

$1.08 ₾2.78

$0.58 ¥3.85

86.21%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₾1.45

$0.35 ¥2.36

60.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.62 ₾6.78

$1.23 ¥8.22

113.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.04 ₾7.85

$2.31 ¥15.37

31.60%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.17 ₾5.60

$1.88 ¥12.52

15.43%

White Bread (500g)

$0.80 ₾2.06

$1.94 ¥12.88

-58.76%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.74 ₾4.51

$0.98 ¥6.52

77.55%

Eggs

$2.83 ₾7.31

$1.70 ¥11.31

66.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.31 ₾24.07

$17.02 ¥113

-45.30%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.52 ₾16.85

$3.22 ¥21.41

102.48%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.95 ₾33.50

$12.93 ¥86.0

0.15%

Apples (1kg)

$1.68 ₾4.34

$2.15 ¥14.31

-21.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.85 ₾4.79

$1.73 ¥11.48

6.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.97 ₾5.10

$2.03 ¥13.51

-2.96%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.42 ₾6.25

$1.73 ¥11.54

39.88%

Potato (1kg)

$0.82 ₾2.11

$0.83 ¥5.51

-1.20%

Onion (1kg)

$0.74 ₾1.91

$0.92 ¥6.13

-19.57%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.34 ₾3.47

$0.67 ¥4.48

100.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 ₾2.00

$0.59 ¥3.92

30.51%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.57 ₾9.24

$3.77 ¥25.10

-5.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.67 ₾19.83

$11.03 ¥73.4

-30.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 ₾4.39

$0.90 ¥6.00

88.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.40 ₾6.21

$1.60 ¥10.67

50.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.40 ₾1.05

$0.57 ¥3.81

-29.82%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$15.23 ₾39.38

$29.62 ¥197

-48.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.14 ₾2.95

$2.14 ¥14.25

-46.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 ₾2.02

$0.47 ¥3.10

65.96%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.83 ₾30.58

$8.74 ¥58.2

35.35%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ₾3.75

$1.34 ¥8.93

8.21%

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

$24.6K ₾63.6K

$19.3K ¥128.1K

27.67%

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

$22.3K ₾57.8K

$18.3K ¥121.7K

22.19%

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

$88.8 ₾230

$58.9 ¥392

50.76%

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

$13.12 ₾33.93

$7.90 ¥52.5

66.08%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.67 ₾50.9

$10.60 ¥70.5

85.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.1 ₾166

$64.8 ¥431

-1.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.04 ₾49.24

$17.47 ¥116

8.99%

Cinema Ticket

$7.12 ₾18.42

$9.06 ¥60.3

-21.41%

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

$375 ₾971

$1,587 ¥10.6K

-76.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.5K ₾27.1K

$28.2K ¥187.9K

-62.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 ₾268

$54.6 ¥363

89.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.26 ₾102

$37.21 ¥248

5.51%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 ₾303

$74.6 ¥496

57.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 ₾315

$106 ¥707

14.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$695 ₾1,798

$1,026 ¥6,826

-32.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$451 ₾1,167

$559 ¥3,722

-19.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 ₾3,504

$2,618 ¥17.4K

-48.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$906 ₾2,343

$1,191 ¥7,926

-23.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,295 ₾5,934

$13.4K ¥89.0K

-82.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,345 ₾3,478

$6,527 ¥43.4K

-79.40%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$664 ₾1,718

$1,712 ¥11.4K

-61.20%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.62

3.36

275.60%

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

Last update for Tbilisi: October 27, 2026

Last update for Shanghai: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tbilisi

$451 35.6%

Shanghai

$559 45.8% 24% $108

Groceries & Markets

Tbilisi

$234 18.4%

Shanghai

$237 19.4% 1.1% $2.6

Eating Out

Tbilisi

$191 15%

Shanghai

$107 8.8% 43.9% $84

Clothing & Footwear

Tbilisi

$172 13.5%

Shanghai

$123 10% 28.6% $49

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tbilisi

$122 9.6%

Shanghai

$77 6.3% 36.4% $44

Sport & Entertainment

Tbilisi

$78 6.2%

Shanghai

$83 6.8% 5.9% $4.6

Getting Around

Tbilisi

$22 1.7%

Shanghai

$36 3% 66.1% $14

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $695 in Tbilisi and $1,026 in Shanghai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Shanghai pays about 2.6 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 $30 in Shanghai. Groceries flip the comparison at $234 vs $237, with Tbilisi cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇪 Tbilisi

🇨🇳 Shanghai

🕒 Local time

02:07 2:07 AM

06:07 6:07 AM

4 h ahead of Tbilisi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,241,700 Capital

24,870,895

💱 Currency

Georgian Lari GEL ₾

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 GEL = 0.387 USD

1 GEL = 0.347 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, USD, EUR to GEL – Georgian Lari Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇪 Georgian Lari (₾)

Georgian Lari exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 2.59 GEL (1 GEL = 0.387 USD). 1 EUR = 2.88 GEL (1 GEL = 0.347 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 6.65 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.41 CNY (1 CNY = 0.135 EUR).

USD to GEL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Tbilisi Shanghai 6,730 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Tbilisi
Shanghai

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 Shanghai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,269 in Tbilisi and $1,222 in Shanghai, so Shanghai is about 4% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 61% 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 $1,026 in Shanghai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Tbilisi runs roughly 49% less than in Shanghai. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

All in, you’ll spend $1,269 per month in Tbilisi versus $1,222 in Shanghai – Shanghai is about 4% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Shanghai 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.