Tbilisi against Yerevan: the gap is in rent, not in groceries

On data current to mid-September 2026, Yerevan comes out 17.2% more expensive than Tbilisi excluding rent and 17.7% more expensive including it. Rent alone is 19.4% higher and restaurant prices 19.5% higher. Groceries are almost level, at 1.7% higher in Yerevan. Local purchasing power is reported 11.0% lower in Yerevan, so the cost gap is not offset by higher local earnings.

For a one-bedroom flat the comparison gives about GEL 1,747 a month in central Tbilisi against roughly GEL 2,353 in central Yerevan, and about GEL 1,164 against GEL 1,692 outside the centre. The gap is wider outside the centre than in it, which is the opposite of what many assume. Purchase prices per square foot follow the same direction, with the difference largest in the central districts.

These figures are crowd-sourced from users rather than collected by a statistics office, so they are best treated as a direction of travel rather than a precise valuation. They are still useful for two decisions: whether a remote worker choosing between the two capitals should expect a different housing budget, and whether a landlord in Tbilisi is pricing against a regional benchmark or only against the flat next door. Check any single figure against live listings before acting on it.