Nomadsurance

Cost of living

Cost of living in Georgia for digital nomads

What a solo remote worker actually spends per month in Tbilisi and Batumi, and where the money really goes.

by Lukas Schönberg, founder
Draft notice: First-draft editorial; review pending.

Key takeaways

  • A solo nomad gets by on about $840–$1,350 (₾2,225–3,575) a month in Tbilisi, before flights and insurance.
  • Rent is what moves the number: ₾1,170 for a place outside the centre, ₾1,856 for something central in Tbilisi.
  • Batumi is cheaper, mostly on rent. A central one-bed runs about ₾1,201 against Tbilisi's ₾1,856.
  • Eating out stays cheap. A meal at a normal restaurant is about ₾28 in Tbilisi, ₾25 in Batumi.

Monthly budget

ItemUSDLocal
Rent, 1-bedTbilisi, outside centre to central$440–$700₾1,170–1,856
Utilitieselectricity, heating, cooling, water and garbage, one person$86₾229
Foodmostly-local diet plus some groceries$300–$530₾800–1,400
Mobile dataplan with calls and 10GB+$12₾33
Local transporta few lari a ride; most skip a monthly pass
Coworking deskoptional; many work from cafés or their flat
Typical totalsolo, lean to comfortable, excl. flights and insurance$840–$1,350₾2,225–3,575

What different budgets get you

Lean, solo

~$840

A place outside the centre, mostly local food, walking and the metro, no paid desk.

Comfortable, solo

~$1,200

A central flat, eating out more often, and a coworking desk if you want one.

Couple

~$1,650

A shared central one-bed, food and transport for two, with room for a desk.

Rent

In Tbilisi you'll pay around ₾1,170 a month for a one-bed outside the centre, or ₾1,856 for somewhere central and furnished. Batumi runs lower, roughly ₾902 on the edges and ₾1,201 in the middle. The central average leans toward the furnished, expat-facing flats, so plenty of the asking prices below come in under it for older or smaller places. Take a longer lease instead of booking by the night and it drops again, especially in Batumi outside the summer season.

Food

A meal at a regular restaurant runs about ₾28 in Tbilisi and ₾25 in Batumi, so eating out for lunch most days barely dents the budget. Cook a few nights a week and a mostly-local diet with the odd sit-down dinner comes to roughly ₾800–1,400 a month for one. The markets are where you actually save; the bigger bills only turn up when you're ordering khinkali and wine for a table of six.

Coworking

Tbilisi has a proper coworking scene, but a lot of nomads never buy a desk and just work from cafés or the flat, which is why it isn't a line in the budget below. The wifi is quick and everywhere, so a paid desk is something you add if you want the routine, not a cost you plan around. Batumi has fewer dedicated spaces and leans more on cafés.

Transport

Both cities are compact, and the metro, buses and marshrutka vans cost loose change a ride, so transport sits well below rent on the list. Tbilisi has a metro; Batumi you mostly walk. When you can't be bothered to wait, a Bolt across town is still a couple of lari. Hardly anyone buys a monthly pass.

Connectivity

A mobile plan with calls and 10GB or more is about ₾33 a month in Tbilisi and ₾26 in Batumi, and apartment fibre is standard. It holds up for video calls all day, and the SIM covers you on travel days and on trips into the mountains, where the wifi gets patchy.

Tbilisi vs Batumi

Tbilisi is the bigger base, with more rent to pay but a deeper nomad scene, the main international airport and the better hospitals. Batumi is the cheaper seaside option, lighter on rent and dead quiet once the summer crowd clears out. In round numbers, Batumi takes about a third off central rent and a little off a restaurant meal, while data and utilities come out much the same in either.

Rent by neighbourhood

Tbilisi

Isani$350–$500₾930–1,325
Mtatsminda / Sololaki (Old Town)$374–$650₾990–1,725
Vera$650–$900₾1,725–2,385
Saburtalo$700–$1,000₾1,855–2,650
Vake$800–$1,100₾2,120–2,915

Batumi

Outside the centre$340₾902
City centre$455₾1,201

How it compares

Hub1-bed, centre
Bali (Denpasar)$380
Chiang Mai$500
Bangkok$665
Tbilisi$700
Lisbon$1,625

Central one-bed monthly rent, US$. Bali here is Denpasar; Canggu and Ubud cost more.

FAQ

About $840 to $1,350 a month (₾2,225–3,575) for one person, covering rent, utilities, food and mobile data. Transport is a few lari a ride on top, and a coworking desk is optional. That leaves out flights and insurance. The low end means a place outside the centre and mostly local food; the high end is a central flat and more eating out.

Batumi, and the gap is mostly rent. A central one-bed is about ₾1,201 ($455) in Batumi against ₾1,856 ($700) in Tbilisi, and outside the centre it's ₾902 ($340) versus ₾1,170 ($440). A restaurant meal is a touch cheaper too, ₾25 against ₾28. Data and utilities land about the same.

In Tbilisi, yes, on the lean-to-middle end of these ranges, and comfortably in Batumi. A thousand dollars covers a solo nomad's rent, utilities, food and data with a little spare, but not insurance or flights. Central Tbilisi rent plus eating out every night is what pushes you over it.

In Tbilisi, roughly ₾1,170 ($440) a month for a one-bed outside the centre and ₾1,856 ($700) central. Batumi runs lower, about ₾902 ($340) on the edges to ₾1,201 ($455) in the middle. Expat-facing listings in Tbilisi are often quoted in US dollars and range from around $350 in Isani to $1,100 in Vake.

No. This is living costs only. Most nationalities get a visa-free year in Georgia, so there's no visa fee to budget, but international health insurance is separate and worth having. Our Georgia insurance and visa guide covers what that actually runs.

Both. A mobile plan with calls and 10GB or more is about ₾33 ($12) a month in Tbilisi and ₾26 ($10) in Batumi, and apartment fibre is standard. For most work that's plenty, with the SIM as a backup on travel days.

Eating mostly local runs about ₾800–1,400 ($300–$530) a month for one. A meal at a normal restaurant is around ₾28 ($11) in Tbilisi and ₾25 ($9) in Batumi, and cooking with cheap market groceries pulls it down further.

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