Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tbilisi and Surat

For one person, living is cheaper in Surat: $799 a month against $1,269 in Tbilisi, rent and utilities included – about $5,600 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
39

Cost of Living Index in Surat
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Surat Living Index

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Tbilisi

🇬🇪 Georgia

$1,269

/mo nomad

Surat

🇮🇳 India

$799

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Tbilisi and in Surat

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,269 in Tbilisi versus $799 in Surat.

Tbilisi $1,269
Surat $799

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,016 in Tbilisi versus $853 in Surat.

Tbilisi $2,016
Surat $853

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,763 in Tbilisi versus $906 in Surat.

Tbilisi $2,763
Surat $906

Living in Tbilisi is roughly 59% more expensive than in Surat, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Tbilisi 7% lower, Surat 41% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.63 ₾30.07

$3.14 ₹298

270.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.83 ₾97.8

$10.59 ₹1,005

257.22%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.66 ₾24.98

$3.22 ₹305

200.00%

Cappuccino

$3.57 ₾9.24

$1.76 ₹167

102.84%

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

$1.08 ₾2.78

$0.39 ₹37.13

176.92%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₾1.45

$0.14 ₹13.58

300.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.62 ₾6.78

$3.21 ₹305

-18.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.04 ₾7.85

$3.39 ₹322

-10.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.17 ₾5.60

$0.72 ₹68.1

201.39%

White Bread (500g)

$0.80 ₾2.06

$0.46 ₹43.78

73.91%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.74 ₾4.51

$0.72 ₹68.5

141.67%

Eggs

$2.83 ₾7.31

$0.90 ₹85.5

214.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.31 ₾24.07

$4.63 ₹439

101.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.52 ₾16.85

$2.74 ₹260

137.96%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.95 ₾33.50

Apples (1kg)

$1.68 ₾4.33

$1.67 ₹158

0.60%

Banana (1kg)

$1.85 ₾4.79

$0.57 ₹54.5

224.56%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.97 ₾5.10

$0.76 ₹71.9

159.21%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.42 ₾6.25

$0.55 ₹52.2

340.00%

Potato (1kg)

$0.82 ₾2.11

$0.39 ₹36.78

110.26%

Onion (1kg)

$0.74 ₾1.91

$0.43 ₹40.99

72.09%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.34 ₾3.47

$0.46 ₹44.15

191.30%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 ₾2.00

$0.30 ₹28.04

156.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.57 ₾9.24

$4.94 ₹469

-27.73%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.67 ₾19.83

$7.81 ₹742

-1.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 ₾4.39

$1.86 ₹177

-8.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.40 ₾6.21

$3.05 ₹289

-21.31%

Buffalo Round (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) (1kg)

$6.18 ₹587

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.40 ₾1.05

$0.20 ₹18.98

100.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$15.23 ₾39.38

$3.21 ₹305

374.45%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.14 ₾2.95

$0.56 ₹53.5

103.57%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 ₾2.02

$0.22 ₹20.90

254.55%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.83 ₾30.58

$1.08 ₹102

995.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ₾3.75

$1.13 ₹108

28.32%

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

$24.6K ₾63.6K

$11.4K ₹1.1M

116.14%

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

$22.3K ₾57.8K

$18.3K ₹1.7M

21.89%

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

$88.8 ₾230

$36.87 ₹3,500

140.85%

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

$13.12 ₾33.93

$3.56 ₹338

268.54%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.67 ₾50.9

$7.44 ₹706

164.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.1 ₾166

$18.56 ₹1,762

245.10%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.04 ₾49.24

$5.45 ₹517

249.36%

Cinema Ticket

$7.12 ₾18.42

$2.98 ₹283

138.93%

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

$375 ₾971

$32.79 ₹3,113

1045.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.5K ₾27.1K

$937 ₹89.0K

1017.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 ₾268

$22.65 ₹2,151

357.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.26 ₾102

$24.76 ₹2,350

58.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 ₾303

$40.73 ₹3,867

188.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 ₾315

$32.31 ₹3,068

276.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$695 ₾1,798

$208 ₹19.8K

234.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$451 ₾1,167

$484 ₹46.0K

-6.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 ₾3,504

$387 ₹36.7K

250.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$906 ₾2,343

$241 ₹22.9K

275.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,295 ₾5,934

$645 ₹61.2K

255.85%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,345 ₾3,478

$364 ₹34.5K

269.94%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$664 ₾1,718

$319 ₹30.3K

108.21%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.62

9.17

37.62%

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

Last update for Tbilisi: October 27, 2026

Last update for Surat: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tbilisi

$451 35.6%

Surat

$484 60.6% 7.3% $33

Groceries & Markets

Tbilisi

$234 18.4%

Surat

$102 12.8% 56.5% $132

Eating Out

Tbilisi

$191 15%

Surat

$81 10.1% 57.6% $110

Clothing & Footwear

Tbilisi

$172 13.5%

Surat

$54 6.8% 68.5% $118

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tbilisi

$122 9.6%

Surat

$48 6% 60.6% $74

Sport & Entertainment

Tbilisi

$78 6.2%

Surat

$25 3.1% 68.7% $54

Getting Around

Tbilisi

$22 1.7%

Surat

$5.7 0.7% 74.1% $16

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $695 in Tbilisi and $208 in Surat. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Tbilisi pays about 2.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $38 in Tbilisi vs $11 in Surat for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $234 vs $102 per month, with Surat cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇪 Tbilisi

🇮🇳 Surat

🕒 Local time

14:19 2:19 PM

15:49 3:49 PM

1 h 30 min ahead of Tbilisi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,241,700 Capital

6,936,534

💱 Currency

Georgian Lari GEL ₾

Indian Rupee INR ₹

📈 Exchange rate

1 GEL = 0.387 USD

1 GEL = 0.347 EUR

1,000 INR = 10.53 USD

1,000 INR = 9.44 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

INR, USD, EUR to GEL – Georgian Lari Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇪 Georgian Lari (₾)

Georgian Lari exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 2.59 GEL (1 GEL = 0.387 USD). 1 EUR = 2.89 GEL (1 GEL = 0.347 EUR).

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 94.94 INR (100 INR = 1.05 USD). 1 EUR = 106 INR (1,000 INR = 9.44 EUR).

USD to GEL in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Tbilisi Surat 3,470 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Tbilisi
Surat

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 Surat: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Surat is about 37% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Tbilisi is about 2.1 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $695 in Tbilisi versus $208 in Surat. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $375 in Tbilisi versus $33 in Surat. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 130% higher in Tbilisi. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $799 in Surat versus $1,269 in Tbilisi, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Surat but tight or insufficient in Tbilisi. The gap between the two cities makes Surat 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 Surat are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Surat gentler on the wallet – expenses run 37% less than in Tbilisi. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.