Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tbilisi and Taiyuan

For one person, living is cheaper in Taiyuan: $587 a month against $1,269 in Tbilisi, rent and utilities included – about $8,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

61

Cost of Living Index in Tbilisi
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Tbilisi Living Index
28

Cost of Living Index in Taiyuan
Learn more

Taiyuan Living Index

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Tbilisi

🇬🇪 Georgia

$1,269

/mo nomad

Taiyuan

🇨🇳 China

$587

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Tbilisi and in Taiyuan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,269 in Tbilisi versus $587 in Taiyuan.

Tbilisi $1,269
Taiyuan $587

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,016 in Tbilisi versus $913 in Taiyuan.

Tbilisi $2,016
Taiyuan $913

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,763 in Tbilisi versus $1,238 in Taiyuan.

Tbilisi $2,763
Taiyuan $1,238

Living in Tbilisi is roughly 116% more expensive than in Taiyuan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Tbilisi 7% lower, Taiyuan 57% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.63 ₾30.07

$2.23 ¥14.82

421.52%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.83 ₾97.8

$15.13 ¥101

150.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.66 ₾24.98

$4.44 ¥29.56

117.57%

Cappuccino

$3.57 ₾9.24

$2.63 ¥17.50

35.74%

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

$1.08 ₾2.78

$0.47 ¥3.14

129.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₾1.45

$0.31 ¥2.07

80.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.62 ₾6.78

$1.22 ¥8.10

114.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.04 ₾7.85

$2.09 ¥13.90

45.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.17 ₾5.60

White Bread (500g)

$0.80 ₾2.06

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.74 ₾4.51

$0.82 ¥5.48

112.20%

Eggs

$2.83 ₾7.31

$0.92 ¥6.15

207.61%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.31 ₾24.07

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.52 ₾16.85

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.95 ₾33.50

$12.83 ¥85.4

0.94%

Apples (1kg)

$1.68 ₾4.34

$1.86 ¥12.37

-9.68%

Banana (1kg)

$1.85 ₾4.79

$1.31 ¥8.74

41.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.97 ₾5.10

$0.84 ¥5.61

134.52%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.42 ₾6.25

$1.13 ¥7.55

114.16%

Potato (1kg)

$0.82 ₾2.11

$0.51 ¥3.40

60.78%

Onion (1kg)

$0.74 ₾1.91

$0.29 ¥1.93

155.17%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.34 ₾3.47

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 ₾2.00

$0.43 ¥2.85

79.07%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.57 ₾9.24

$3.05 ¥20.32

17.05%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.67 ₾19.83

$7.30 ¥48.56

5.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 ₾4.39

$0.89 ¥5.90

91.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.40 ₾6.21

$1.46 ¥9.73

64.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.40 ₾1.05

$0.29 ¥1.90

37.93%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$15.23 ₾39.38

$13.44 ¥89.5

13.32%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.14 ₾2.95

$1.17 ¥7.77

-2.56%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 ₾2.02

$0.25 ¥1.67

212.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.83 ₾30.58

$3.73 ¥24.82

217.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ₾3.75

$1.26 ¥8.36

15.08%

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

$24.6K ₾63.6K

$19.5K ¥129.5K

26.26%

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

$22.3K ₾57.8K

$17.2K ¥114.7K

29.62%

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

$88.8 ₾230

$93.6 ¥623

-5.17%

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

$13.12 ₾33.93

$10.61 ¥70.6

23.66%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.67 ₾50.9

$12.66 ¥84.2

55.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.1 ₾166

$45.02 ¥300

42.27%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.04 ₾49.24

$8.83 ¥58.8

115.63%

Cinema Ticket

$7.12 ₾18.42

$6.60 ¥43.91

7.88%

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

$375 ₾971

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.5K ₾27.1K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 ₾268

$27.82 ¥185

272.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.26 ₾102

$66.3 ¥441

-40.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 ₾303

$75.1 ¥500

56.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 ₾315

$60.9 ¥405

99.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$695 ₾1,798

$223 ¥1,481

212.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$451 ₾1,167

$114 ¥761

294.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 ₾3,504

$548 ¥3,645

147.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$906 ₾2,343

$262 ¥1,743

245.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,295 ₾5,934

$2,692 ¥17.9K

-14.76%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,345 ₾3,478

$1,235 ¥8,217

8.91%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$664 ₾1,718

$947 ¥6,301

-29.85%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.62

3.83

229.50%

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

Last update for Tbilisi: October 27, 2026

Last update for Taiyuan: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tbilisi

$451 35.6%

Taiyuan

$114 19.5% 74.7% $337

Groceries & Markets

Tbilisi

$234 18.4%

Taiyuan

$101 * 17.2% 56.9% $133

Eating Out

Tbilisi

$191 15%

Taiyuan

$76 13% 60.1% $115

Clothing & Footwear

Tbilisi

$172 13.5%

Taiyuan

$104 17.6% 39.7% $68

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tbilisi

$122 9.6%

Taiyuan

$117 19.9% 3.9% $4.7

Sport & Entertainment

Tbilisi

$78 6.2%

Taiyuan

$58 9.9% 25.6% $20

Getting Around

Tbilisi

$22 1.7%

Taiyuan

$17 2.9% 22.4% $4.9

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 $223 in Taiyuan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Taiyuan pays 43% 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 $15 in Taiyuan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $234 vs $101 per month, with Taiyuan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇪 Tbilisi

🇨🇳 Taiyuan

🕒 Local time

03:59 3:59 AM

07:59 7:59 AM

4 h ahead of Tbilisi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,241,700 Capital

3,525,300

💱 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 Taiyuan 5,650 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

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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 Taiyuan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Taiyuan wins on cost – living expenses run 54% lower than in Tbilisi. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Taiyuan the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 30% 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 $223 in Taiyuan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Taiyuan – a meal for two runs $15 versus $38 in Tbilisi. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

A monthly transit pass in Taiyuan runs roughly 12% less than in Tbilisi. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $587 in Taiyuan versus $1,269 in Tbilisi, a $800 budget is realistic in Taiyuan but tight or insufficient in Tbilisi. The gap between the two cities makes Taiyuan 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.

Expats usually find Taiyuan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 54% less than in Tbilisi. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.