Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tbilisi and Shenzhen

For one person, living is cheaper in Shenzhen: $1,117 a month against $1,269 in Tbilisi, rent and utilities included – about $1,800 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

61

Cost of Living Index in Tbilisi
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Tbilisi Living Index
54

Cost of Living Index in Shenzhen
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Shenzhen Living Index

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Tbilisi

🇬🇪 Georgia

$1,269

/mo nomad

Shenzhen

🇨🇳 China

$1,117

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Tbilisi and in Shenzhen

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,269 in Tbilisi versus $1,117 in Shenzhen.

Tbilisi $1,269
Shenzhen $1,117

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,016 in Tbilisi versus $1,714 in Shenzhen.

Tbilisi $2,016
Shenzhen $1,714

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,763 in Tbilisi versus $2,310 in Shenzhen.

Tbilisi $2,763
Shenzhen $2,310

Living in Tbilisi is roughly 14% more expensive than in Shenzhen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Tbilisi 7% lower, Shenzhen 18% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.63 ₾30.07

$3.66 ¥24.35

217.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.83 ₾97.8

$29.39 ¥196

28.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.66 ₾24.98

$5.28 ¥35.17

82.95%

Cappuccino

$3.57 ₾9.24

$3.36 ¥22.34

6.25%

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

$1.08 ₾2.78

$0.58 ¥3.84

86.21%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₾1.45

$0.36 ¥2.37

55.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.62 ₾6.78

$1.48 ¥9.82

77.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.04 ₾7.85

$2.14 ¥14.26

42.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.17 ₾5.60

$1.54 ¥10.22

40.91%

White Bread (500g)

$0.80 ₾2.06

$1.63 ¥10.84

-50.92%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.74 ₾4.51

$1.14 ¥7.60

52.63%

Eggs

$2.83 ₾7.31

$1.75 ¥11.63

61.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.31 ₾24.07

$20.74 ¥138

-55.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.52 ₾16.85

$3.41 ¥22.71

91.20%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.95 ₾33.50

$14.42 ¥96.0

-10.19%

Apples (1kg)

$1.68 ₾4.34

$2.25 ¥14.96

-25.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.85 ₾4.79

$1.62 ¥10.79

14.20%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.97 ₾5.10

$1.94 ¥12.88

1.55%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.42 ₾6.25

$1.42 ¥9.47

70.42%

Potato (1kg)

$0.82 ₾2.11

$1.08 ¥7.20

-24.07%

Onion (1kg)

$0.74 ₾1.91

$1.28 ¥8.52

-42.19%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.34 ₾3.47

$0.60 ¥3.97

123.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 ₾2.00

$0.56 ¥3.76

37.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.57 ₾9.24

$4.43 ¥29.50

-19.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.67 ₾19.83

$12.08 ¥80.4

-36.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 ₾4.39

$0.92 ¥6.15

84.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.40 ₾6.21

$1.83 ¥12.15

31.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.40 ₾1.05

$0.44 ¥2.90

-9.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$15.23 ₾39.38

$18.05 ¥120

-15.62%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.14 ₾2.95

$1.53 ¥10.15

-25.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 ₾2.02

$0.41 ¥2.75

90.24%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.83 ₾30.58

$7.36 ¥48.98

60.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ₾3.75

$1.32 ¥8.77

9.85%

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

$24.6K ₾63.6K

$19.2K ¥127.9K

27.83%

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

$22.3K ₾57.8K

$18.0K ¥120.1K

23.77%

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

$88.8 ₾230

$64.8 ¥431

37.10%

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

$13.12 ₾33.93

$9.90 ¥65.9

32.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.67 ₾50.9

$16.40 ¥109

19.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.1 ₾166

$48.95 ¥326

30.85%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.04 ₾49.24

$16.95 ¥113

12.33%

Cinema Ticket

$7.12 ₾18.42

$7.28 ¥48.44

-2.20%

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

$375 ₾971

$537 ¥3,572

-30.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.5K ₾27.1K

$24.4K ¥162.4K

-57.10%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 ₾268

$55.7 ¥371

85.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.26 ₾102

$40.56 ¥270

-3.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 ₾303

$73.1 ¥486

60.64%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 ₾315

$93.9 ¥625

29.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$695 ₾1,798

$753 ¥5,010

-7.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$451 ₾1,167

$471 ¥3,132

-4.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 ₾3,504

$1,847 ¥12.3K

-26.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$906 ₾2,343

$830 ¥5,525

9.15%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,295 ₾5,934

$13.2K ¥87.8K

-82.60%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,345 ₾3,478

$6,479 ¥43.1K

-79.24%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$664 ₾1,718

$1,763 ¥11.7K

-62.32%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.62

3.35

276.72%

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

Last update for Tbilisi: October 27, 2026

Last update for Shenzhen: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tbilisi

$451 35.6%

Shenzhen

$471 42.1% 4.3% $19

Groceries & Markets

Tbilisi

$234 18.4%

Shenzhen

$249 22.3% 6.4% $15

Eating Out

Tbilisi

$191 15%

Shenzhen

$101 9% 47.1% $90

Clothing & Footwear

Tbilisi

$172 13.5%

Shenzhen

$118 10.6% 31.1% $53

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tbilisi

$122 9.6%

Shenzhen

$91 8.2% 25.1% $31

Sport & Entertainment

Tbilisi

$78 6.2%

Shenzhen

$64 5.7% 18.9% $15

Getting Around

Tbilisi

$22 1.7%

Shenzhen

$23 2.1% 6.8% $1.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $695 in Tbilisi and $753 in Shenzhen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Shenzhen pays about 2.7 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 $29 in Shenzhen. Groceries flip the comparison at $234 vs $249, with Tbilisi cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇪 Tbilisi

🇨🇳 Shenzhen

🕒 Local time

02:06 2:06 AM

06:06 6:06 AM

4 h ahead of Tbilisi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,241,700 Capital

12,528,300

💱 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 →

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Tbilisi Shenzhen 6,680 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Tbilisi
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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 Shenzhen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Shenzhen wins on cost – living expenses run 12% lower than in Tbilisi. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Shenzhen the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 62% 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 $753 in Shenzhen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Tbilisi runs roughly 16% less than in Shenzhen. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $375 in Tbilisi versus $537 in Shenzhen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

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

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.