Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tbilisi and St Francis Bay

For one person, living is cheaper in St Francis Bay: $979 a month against $1,278 in Tbilisi, rent and utilities included – about $3,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

61

Cost of Living Index in Tbilisi
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Tbilisi Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in St Francis Bay
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St Francis Bay Living Index

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Tbilisi

🇬🇪 Georgia

$1,278

/mo nomad

St Francis Bay

🇿🇦 South Africa

$979

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Tbilisi and in St Francis Bay

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 St Francis Bay actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Tbilisi versus $979 in St Francis Bay.

Tbilisi $1,278
St Francis Bay $979

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,017 in Tbilisi versus $1,629 in St Francis Bay.

Tbilisi $2,017
St Francis Bay $1,629

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,755 in Tbilisi versus $2,279 in St Francis Bay.

Tbilisi $2,755
St Francis Bay $2,279

Living in Tbilisi is roughly 31% more expensive than in St Francis Bay, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Tbilisi 5% lower, St Francis Bay 28% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.62 ₾30.07

$10.81 R 177

7.49%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$38.41 ₾99.4

$41.74 R 685

-7.98%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.74 ₾25.20

$3.53 R 58.0

175.92%

Cappuccino

$3.56 ₾9.21

$2.14 R 35.06

66.36%

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

$1.08 ₾2.80

$1.01 R 16.62

6.93%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₾1.46

$0.72 R 11.89

-22.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.73 ₾7.05

$2.06 R 33.72

32.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.13 ₾8.09

$1.84 R 30.24

70.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.14 ₾5.55

$0.94 R 15.43

127.66%

White Bread (500g)

$0.75 ₾1.95

$1.00 R 16.33

-25.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.80 ₾4.66

$1.50 R 24.64

20.00%

Eggs

$2.80 ₾7.25

$2.70 R 44.32

3.70%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.43 ₾24.41

$7.11 R 117

32.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.00 ₾18.10

$5.22 R 85.7

34.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 ₾32.83

$8.63 R 142

47.05%

Apples (1kg)

$1.63 ₾4.22

$2.18 R 35.71

-25.23%

Banana (1kg)

$1.84 ₾4.77

$1.46 R 23.93

26.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.97 ₾5.09

$1.70 R 27.96

15.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.47 ₾6.39

$1.81 R 29.62

36.46%

Potato (1kg)

$0.75 ₾1.95

$1.74 R 28.48

-56.90%

Onion (1kg)

$0.67 ₾1.74

$1.37 R 22.56

-51.09%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.41 ₾3.66

$1.24 R 20.29

13.71%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 ₾1.86

$1.03 R 16.84

-30.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.51 ₾9.08

$3.14 R 51.5

11.78%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 ₾20.40

$4.74 R 77.7

66.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 ₾4.41

$1.27 R 20.84

33.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.37 ₾6.12

$1.81 R 29.72

30.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.38 ₾0.98

$1.78 R 29.16

-78.65%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$15.29 ₾39.56

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.19 ₾3.08

$0.82 R 13.44

45.12%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.74 ₾1.91

$0.46 R 7.51

60.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.89 ₾30.76

$8.62 R 141

37.94%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.46 ₾3.77

$1.31 R 21.44

11.45%

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

$25.0K ₾64.6K

$21.0K R 344.6K

18.96%

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

$22.8K ₾59.1K

$35.2K R 577.0K

-35.08%

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

$88.1 ₾228

$60.8 R 997

45.07%

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

$12.71 ₾32.87

$34.39 R 564

-63.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.79 ₾51.2

$41.35 R 679

-52.14%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.3 ₾166

$28.64 R 470

124.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.17 ₾49.59

$12.00 R 197

59.75%

Cinema Ticket

$6.65 ₾17.20

$9.20 R 151

-27.72%

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

$371 ₾961

$179 R 2,934

107.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,163 ₾23.7K

$6,135 R 100.7K

49.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 ₾264

$71.9 R 1,179

42.23%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.65 ₾103

$39.31 R 645

0.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 ₾306

$112 R 1,842

5.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 ₾310

$95.1 R 1,560

25.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$690 ₾1,784

$420 R 6,891

64.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$461 ₾1,193

$308 R 5,056

49.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,362 ₾3,523

$834 R 13.7K

63.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$897 ₾2,321

$711 R 11.7K

26.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,277 ₾5,891

$784 R 12.9K

190.39%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,378 ₾3,564

$648 R 10.6K

112.69%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$710 ₾1,836

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.53

11.94

4.94%

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

Last update for Tbilisi: November 2, 2026

Last update for St Francis Bay: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tbilisi

$461 36.1%

St Francis Bay

$308 31.5% 33.2% $153

Groceries & Markets

Tbilisi

$235 18.4%

St Francis Bay

$190 19.4% 19.3% $45

Eating Out

Tbilisi

$191 15%

St Francis Bay

$144 14.7% 25% $48

Clothing & Footwear

Tbilisi

$171 13.4%

St Francis Bay

$143 14.7% 16.1% $28

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tbilisi

$121 9.4%

St Francis Bay

$136 14% 13.2% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Tbilisi

$78 6.1%

St Francis Bay

$47 4.8% 39.4% $31

Getting Around

Tbilisi

$22 1.7%

St Francis Bay

$10 * 1% 52.9% $11

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 $690 in Tbilisi and $420 in St Francis Bay. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $38 in Tbilisi vs $42 in St Francis Bay. Groceries flip the comparison at $235 vs $190, with St Francis Bay cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇪 Tbilisi

🇿🇦 St Francis Bay

🕒 Local time

15:33 3:33 PM

13:33 1:33 PM

2 h behind Tbilisi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,241,700 Capital

5,910

💱 Currency

Georgian Lari GEL ₾

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 GEL = 0.387 USD

1 GEL = 0.344 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.09 USD

100 ZAR = 5.42 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to GEL – Georgian Lari Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇪 Georgian Lari (₾)

Georgian Lari exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 2.59 GEL (1 GEL = 0.387 USD). 1 EUR = 2.91 GEL (1 GEL = 0.344 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 16.41 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.09 USD). 1 EUR = 18.44 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.42 EUR).

USD to GEL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Tbilisi St Francis Bay 8,680 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Tbilisi
St Francis Bay

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 St Francis Bay: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,278 in Tbilisi and $979 in St Francis Bay, so St Francis Bay is about 23% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,918 in Tbilisi and $1,468 in St Francis Bay to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $690 in Tbilisi versus $420 in St Francis Bay. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $371 in Tbilisi versus $179 in St Francis Bay. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Tbilisi – a meal for two runs $38 versus $42 in St Francis Bay. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $979 in St Francis Bay versus $1,278 in Tbilisi, a $1,200 budget is realistic in St Francis Bay but tight or insufficient in Tbilisi. The gap between the two cities makes St Francis Bay the clear choice for anyone on this 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 St Francis Bay are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.