Georgia vs Moldova

Georgia is ahead on money & crypto, language. Moldova is ahead on housing. Full criterion-by-criterion data below.

Verified Jul 14, 2026

Scoreboard

The key numbers head-to-head — the stronger side is marked. The overall score stays decoration; what matters is which facts fit you.

Georgia leads on 3 of 7

	Georgia	Moldova
Cost of living (single, excl. rent)	$220/mo i Geostat — Households Expenditures survey 2025 Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Dec 31, 2025 Verified Jul 3, 2026 Method Geostat 2025 average per-capita monthly consumption (603 GEL) split by the survey's COICOP category shares, with the imputed-housing portion removed, converted at 2.6431 GEL/USD (NBG 2026-07-02). Categories sum to this figure. Geostat has no clean single-person-excl-rent basket, so treat as a curated estimate.	$283/mo i National Bureau of Statistics — Population incomes and expenditures in 2025 (average monthly consumption expenditure per capita) Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Dec 31, 2025 Verified Jul 14, 2026 Method NBS Household Budget Survey: average consumption expenditure = 4,995.5 lei per person per month in 2025 (+13.3% vs 2024). Converted at 17.6457 MDL/USD (BNM 2026-07-02) → $283. Utilities are kept in the basket (consistent with the Romania/Czechia peer method); pure rent is excluded — Moldova's HBS does not separately publish actual rentals and homeownership is very high (~95%+, post-Soviet privatization), so paid rent is a minor, non-separable component. Notes National all-households per-capita basis (same low-reading basis as peers). One of the cheapest countries in Europe. Chișinău runs above the national average.
Rent: 1-bedroom (city avg)	$532/mo i ss.ge / korter.ge listing samples (Tbilisi + Batumi) Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Jul 3, 2026 Verified Jul 3, 2026 Method City-average 1-bedroom asking rent (portals quote USD): Tbilisi ≈ $540, Batumi ≈ $485; population-weighted (Tbilisi 1.33M, Batumi 0.24M) ≈ $532. Small listing samples — indicative. Notes Asking prices from active listings, not transacted rents; Batumi swings sharply with the summer tourist season (winter long-term rates are lower). Georgian portals count total rooms, so a '2-room' listing ≈ a 1-bedroom — mapped accordingly.	★$450/mo i Chișinău listing-portal asking rents (proimobil.md / 999.md / makler.md aggregates) Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Jul 14, 2026 Verified Jul 14, 2026 Method Chișinău asking rents for a 1-bedroom ('2 camere' = living room + 1 bedroom): market range €250–700/mo; central portals show 1-bedroom €450–600; a city-wide average (incl. older/non-central stock) ≈€390–400 → ≈$450 at 1.1399 USD/EUR (BNM cross). Recorded $450 (range ≈$400–560, central higher). Notes Chișinău dominates the national rental market (asking prices quoted in EUR). Rents rose ~25–30% in 2024. City-wide average; central renovated units run to the top of the range.
Freelancer tax burden	★1% i SettleMetric tax engine over Tax Code (Small Business Status) Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Jan 1, 2026 Verified Jul 3, 2026 Method Best eligible scheme ge-small-business-1pct at €60,000 = 180,738 GEL (NBG 3.0123 GEL/EUR), below the 500,000 GEL threshold → 1% turnover tax = 1,807 GEL, no mandatory social/pension. Effective burden ≈ 1.0%.	7% i SettleMetric tax engine over official rules (Moldova IT Park single 7% tax, Law on IT Parks 77/2016) Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Jan 1, 2026 Verified Jul 14, 2026 Method Best eligible scheme at €60,000 (~1,206,858 MDL) = Moldova IT Park (scheme md-it-park): 7% single tax on turnover = 84,480 MDL, above the per-employee minimum (30% of the 2026 forecast average wage 17,400 MDL → 62,640 MDL/yr). Burden 7.0% — the single tax already covers income tax, social and health contributions. Outside the IT Park a standard SRL runs ~17.3% (12% + 6% dividend).
Homicide rate	★2.03/100k i UNODC (via World Bank mirror) — intentional homicide, Georgia Open data Data as of Dec 31, 2019 Verified Jul 3, 2026 Notes 2019 is the latest year UNODC publishes for Georgia. Low by global standards (world average ≈ 5.8); Georgia is widely regarded as very safe for residents. No city-level series is published.	2.54/100k i World Bank / UNODC — intentional homicides per 100,000 (Moldova, VC.IHR.PSRC.P5) Open data Data as of Dec 31, 2023 Verified Jul 14, 2026 Notes UNODC series via the World Bank: 2.54 in 2023 (latest), down from 2.47 (2022) and 2.18 (2021), and from ~10 per 100k in 2000. Moldova is not in the Eurostat EU crime set, so the UNODC/World Bank series is used. Moderate by regional standards and falling.
Internet speed	16 Mbps i M-Lab NDT country aggregates for Georgia Open data Data as of Dec 31, 2023 Verified Jul 4, 2026 Method Median of 343 daily country medians (download_MED), 47,852 download tests (2023 — latest full year in M-Lab's public stats API; the 2024 file is only Jan–Mar, and 2025/2026 are not yet published). Georgia sits under continent code AS in M-Lab. Notes M-Lab NDT is single-stream and reads well below Ookla-style figures — comparable only within this criterion. Cross-check: the World Bank's July-2024 median of ~20 Mbps (Ookla-derived, so not citable here) is consistent with this once the M-Lab-reads-low offset is accounted for. Speeds are trending up (~10%/yr: M-Lab yearly medians ran 9.7 in 2020 → 15.8 in 2023), so multi-year pooling would understate current speed; the latest full year is used instead. GNCC/comcom.ge publishes operator quality-of-service measurements (e.g. Magticom fixed ~56 Mb/s advertised-tier average, 2025/26) but no national measured median, and its own speed commentary relies on the same Ookla data we can't redistribute.	★30 Mbps i M-Lab NDT country aggregates for Moldova Open data Data as of Dec 31, 2023 Verified Jul 14, 2026 Method Median of the 343 daily country-median download values for MD in 2023 = 30.09 Mbps (15,538 download tests; M-Lab files Moldova under the EU/MD path). M-Lab NDT is single-stream and reads well below real line speeds — Chișinău has very fast, cheap fibre (100–1000 Mbps plans common) — comparable only within this criterion. 2023 is the latest full year in M-Lab's public stats API. Notes Moldova (especially Chișinău) is known for fast, inexpensive fibre; the M-Lab single-stream median is used only for cross-country comparability on one consistent method.
English proficiency	★High i EF EPI 2025 (score 541, rank 35/123 — High band) Research Data as of Nov 1, 2025 Verified Jul 3, 2026 Notes Own band informed by EF EPI (attribution: EF Education First). English is workable in Tbilisi/Batumi tourism and the younger service sector; less so in government and older generations. Russian remains widely understood.	Moderate i EF EPI 2025 — Moldova (score 531, rank 43/123, Moderate band) Research Data as of Nov 1, 2025 Verified Jul 14, 2026 Notes Own band informed by EF EPI 2025 (attribution: EF Education First): Moldova score 531, rank 43/123 — 'Moderate' band (cutoffs 500–549), above the global average (488). Romanian and Russian dominate daily life; English is workable among younger and urban/tech workers, thinner in public offices and rural areas.
Private healthcare cost	$450/yr i Georgian insurers (Ardi, GPI, Imedi L) — comprehensive-tier plans Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Jul 3, 2026 Verified Jul 3, 2026 Method Midpoint of comprehensive local plans: Ardi Medi Premium from ~$340/yr up to market comprehensive ~$795/yr (converted at 2.6431 GEL/USD). Expat international plans run higher ($1,000–2,000/yr). Notes Georgian insurers quote by callback rather than public age-rated engines, so this is a curated market midpoint for local comprehensive cover, not a bound quote.	no verified data

Verdict

Each lens weighs only the facts that matter to that plan, and names the side it favours.

Contract or freelance in tech, billing clients abroad.

Georgia fits better — 2 of 5

	Georgia	Moldova
Freelancer tax burden	★1% i SettleMetric tax engine over Tax Code (Small Business Status) Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Jan 1, 2026 Verified Jul 3, 2026 Method Best eligible scheme ge-small-business-1pct at €60,000 = 180,738 GEL (NBG 3.0123 GEL/EUR), below the 500,000 GEL threshold → 1% turnover tax = 1,807 GEL, no mandatory social/pension. Effective burden ≈ 1.0%.	7% i SettleMetric tax engine over official rules (Moldova IT Park single 7% tax, Law on IT Parks 77/2016) Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Jan 1, 2026 Verified Jul 14, 2026 Method Best eligible scheme at €60,000 (~1,206,858 MDL) = Moldova IT Park (scheme md-it-park): 7% single tax on turnover = 84,480 MDL, above the per-employee minimum (30% of the 2026 forecast average wage 17,400 MDL → 62,640 MDL/yr). Burden 7.0% — the single tax already covers income tax, social and health contributions. Outside the IT Park a standard SRL runs ~17.3% (12% + 6% dividend).
Internet speed	16 Mbps i M-Lab NDT country aggregates for Georgia Open data Data as of Dec 31, 2023 Verified Jul 4, 2026 Method Median of 343 daily country medians (download_MED), 47,852 download tests (2023 — latest full year in M-Lab's public stats API; the 2024 file is only Jan–Mar, and 2025/2026 are not yet published). Georgia sits under continent code AS in M-Lab. Notes M-Lab NDT is single-stream and reads well below Ookla-style figures — comparable only within this criterion. Cross-check: the World Bank's July-2024 median of ~20 Mbps (Ookla-derived, so not citable here) is consistent with this once the M-Lab-reads-low offset is accounted for. Speeds are trending up (~10%/yr: M-Lab yearly medians ran 9.7 in 2020 → 15.8 in 2023), so multi-year pooling would understate current speed; the latest full year is used instead. GNCC/comcom.ge publishes operator quality-of-service measurements (e.g. Magticom fixed ~56 Mb/s advertised-tier average, 2025/26) but no national measured median, and its own speed commentary relies on the same Ookla data we can't redistribute.	★30 Mbps i M-Lab NDT country aggregates for Moldova Open data Data as of Dec 31, 2023 Verified Jul 14, 2026 Method Median of the 343 daily country-median download values for MD in 2023 = 30.09 Mbps (15,538 download tests; M-Lab files Moldova under the EU/MD path). M-Lab NDT is single-stream and reads well below real line speeds — Chișinău has very fast, cheap fibre (100–1000 Mbps plans common) — comparable only within this criterion. 2023 is the latest full year in M-Lab's public stats API. Notes Moldova (especially Chișinău) is known for fast, inexpensive fibre; the M-Lab single-stream median is used only for cross-country comparability on one consistent method.
English proficiency	★High i EF EPI 2025 (score 541, rank 35/123 — High band) Research Data as of Nov 1, 2025 Verified Jul 3, 2026 Notes Own band informed by EF EPI (attribution: EF Education First). English is workable in Tbilisi/Batumi tourism and the younger service sector; less so in government and older generations. Russian remains widely understood.	Moderate i EF EPI 2025 — Moldova (score 531, rank 43/123, Moderate band) Research Data as of Nov 1, 2025 Verified Jul 14, 2026 Notes Own band informed by EF EPI 2025 (attribution: EF Education First): Moldova score 531, rank 43/123 — 'Moderate' band (cutoffs 500–549), above the global average (488). Romanian and Russian dominate daily life; English is workable among younger and urban/tech workers, thinner in public offices and rural areas.
Cost of living (single, excl. rent)	$220/mo i Geostat — Households Expenditures survey 2025 Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Dec 31, 2025 Verified Jul 3, 2026 Method Geostat 2025 average per-capita monthly consumption (603 GEL) split by the survey's COICOP category shares, with the imputed-housing portion removed, converted at 2.6431 GEL/USD (NBG 2026-07-02). Categories sum to this figure. Geostat has no clean single-person-excl-rent basket, so treat as a curated estimate.	$283/mo i National Bureau of Statistics — Population incomes and expenditures in 2025 (average monthly consumption expenditure per capita) Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Dec 31, 2025 Verified Jul 14, 2026 Method NBS Household Budget Survey: average consumption expenditure = 4,995.5 lei per person per month in 2025 (+13.3% vs 2024). Converted at 17.6457 MDL/USD (BNM 2026-07-02) → $283. Utilities are kept in the basket (consistent with the Romania/Czechia peer method); pure rent is excluded — Moldova's HBS does not separately publish actual rentals and homeownership is very high (~95%+, post-Soviet privatization), so paid rent is a minor, non-separable component. Notes National all-households per-capita basis (same low-reading basis as peers). One of the cheapest countries in Europe. Chișinău runs above the national average.
Domestic delivery quality	Good i Georgian Post + courier service pages (composite) Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Jul 3, 2026 Verified Jul 3, 2026 Method Georgian Post ~500 branches nationwide (1–3 day domestic parcels, some lockers/pickup points); Wolt Drive and Glovo last-mile in Tbilisi/Batumi; DHL/FedEx/UPS present. Dense and reliable in cities; locker density and nationwide same-day coverage thinner than EU leaders → good, not excellent.	Good i Poșta Moldovei + Nova Post (Posterminal lockers; Nova Post ~4M shipments in 2024) Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Dec 31, 2025 Verified Jul 14, 2026 Method Poșta Moldovei (national postal operator) offers nationwide delivery and 24/7 'Posterminal' parcel lockers; Nova Post (Ukrainian) is expanding fast — ~4M shipments in 2024 (+237% YoY) with a growing locker/PUDO network; Sameday easybox and DHL/UPS operate. Cash-on-delivery is standard. Solid and improving, but locker density and rural coverage are below the top EU tier and concentrated in Chișinău → 'good' rather than 'excellent'.

Relocating with a partner and school-age children.

Georgia fits better — 2 of 3

	Georgia	Moldova
Homicide rate	★2.03/100k i UNODC (via World Bank mirror) — intentional homicide, Georgia Open data Data as of Dec 31, 2019 Verified Jul 3, 2026 Notes 2019 is the latest year UNODC publishes for Georgia. Low by global standards (world average ≈ 5.8); Georgia is widely regarded as very safe for residents. No city-level series is published.	2.54/100k i World Bank / UNODC — intentional homicides per 100,000 (Moldova, VC.IHR.PSRC.P5) Open data Data as of Dec 31, 2023 Verified Jul 14, 2026 Notes UNODC series via the World Bank: 2.54 in 2023 (latest), down from 2.47 (2022) and 2.18 (2021), and from ~10 per 100k in 2000. Moldova is not in the Eurostat EU crime set, so the UNODC/World Bank series is used. Moderate by regional standards and falling.
Private healthcare cost	$450/yr i Georgian insurers (Ardi, GPI, Imedi L) — comprehensive-tier plans Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Jul 3, 2026 Verified Jul 3, 2026 Method Midpoint of comprehensive local plans: Ardi Medi Premium from ~$340/yr up to market comprehensive ~$795/yr (converted at 2.6431 GEL/USD). Expat international plans run higher ($1,000–2,000/yr). Notes Georgian insurers quote by callback rather than public age-rated engines, so this is a curated market midpoint for local comprehensive cover, not a bound quote.	no verified data
English proficiency	★High i EF EPI 2025 (score 541, rank 35/123 — High band) Research Data as of Nov 1, 2025 Verified Jul 3, 2026 Notes Own band informed by EF EPI (attribution: EF Education First). English is workable in Tbilisi/Batumi tourism and the younger service sector; less so in government and older generations. Russian remains widely understood.	Moderate i EF EPI 2025 — Moldova (score 531, rank 43/123, Moderate band) Research Data as of Nov 1, 2025 Verified Jul 14, 2026 Notes Own band informed by EF EPI 2025 (attribution: EF Education First): Moldova score 531, rank 43/123 — 'Moderate' band (cutoffs 500–549), above the global average (488). Romanian and Russian dominate daily life; English is workable among younger and urban/tech workers, thinner in public offices and rural areas.

Optimising tax, banking and crypto rules.

Georgia fits better — 3 of 3

	Georgia	Moldova
Crypto regulation	★Legal friendly i National Bank of Georgia — Virtual Asset Service Providers Official source Data as of Jul 1, 2023 Verified Jul 3, 2026 Notes Individuals pay 0% income tax on crypto gains (Minister of Finance Public Decision N201, 2019 — crypto is not Georgian-source income for individuals) and crypto↔fiat exchange is VAT-exempt. Service providers must register as VASPs with the NBG (regime since 1 July 2023). Very favourable for individual holders, hence legal-friendly.	Restricted i National Bank of Moldova — regulatory and authorization position on virtual currency (no authorizations granted; not a means of payment) Official source Data as of Jul 1, 2026 Verified Jul 14, 2026 Notes The NBM's official position: virtual currencies are 'virtual assets without real coverage', not recognised as a means of payment, and the NBM has granted no authorisation to crypto platforms. Individuals may hold/trade crypto, but providing virtual-asset services domestically is unauthorised/unregulated (no consumer protection) and paying in crypto is not permitted — hence 'restricted'. A MiCA-based draft law is being prepared for 2026 (with a planned 12% tax on crypto income), not yet in force.
Financial control level	★Low i US State Dept 2025 Investment Climate Statement (Georgia) / trade.gov Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Dec 31, 2025 Verified Jul 3, 2026 Method GEL freely convertible (float since 1998; IMF Article VIII since 1996); no capital controls; funds transfer abroad freely (except sanctioned destinations); no routine cash caps or resident foreign-account exit restrictions. Notes Caveat: since Georgia joined CRS (2024) and post-2022 de-risking, non-resident bank account onboarding has become notably stricter (source-of-funds documentation, some rejections). The FX regime itself is open; the friction is at bank KYC.	Moderate i National Bank of Moldova — currency-regulation regime (Law 62/2008); Ministry of Finance cash-payment limits (Law 34/2024, from 1 April 2025) Official source Data as of Apr 1, 2026 Verified Jul 14, 2026 Method Composite: the MDL is convertible for current-account operations, but Moldova retains an active currency-regulation regime under the NBM (Law 62/2008) — certain capital operations require notification/authorisation, and the leu is effectively a closed currency (not traded outside Moldova). A cash-payment limit of 100,000 lei cumulatively per month applies to economic agents (Law 34/2024). Non-EU, so no EU free-movement-of-capital guarantee. More state oversight than the fully-liberalised EU peers, but not restrictive capital controls → 'moderate'.
Freelancer tax burden	★1% i SettleMetric tax engine over Tax Code (Small Business Status) Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Jan 1, 2026 Verified Jul 3, 2026 Method Best eligible scheme ge-small-business-1pct at €60,000 = 180,738 GEL (NBG 3.0123 GEL/EUR), below the 500,000 GEL threshold → 1% turnover tax = 1,807 GEL, no mandatory social/pension. Effective burden ≈ 1.0%.	7% i SettleMetric tax engine over official rules (Moldova IT Park single 7% tax, Law on IT Parks 77/2016) Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Jan 1, 2026 Verified Jul 14, 2026 Method Best eligible scheme at €60,000 (~1,206,858 MDL) = Moldova IT Park (scheme md-it-park): 7% single tax on turnover = 84,480 MDL, above the per-employee minimum (30% of the 2026 forecast average wage 17,400 MDL → 62,640 MDL/yr). Burden 7.0% — the single tax already covers income tax, social and health contributions. Outside the IT Park a standard SRL runs ~17.3% (12% + 6% dividend).

Prioritising safety, air, and an easy daily life.

Georgia fits better — 1 of 2

	Georgia	Moldova
Homicide rate	★2.03/100k i UNODC (via World Bank mirror) — intentional homicide, Georgia Open data Data as of Dec 31, 2019 Verified Jul 3, 2026 Notes 2019 is the latest year UNODC publishes for Georgia. Low by global standards (world average ≈ 5.8); Georgia is widely regarded as very safe for residents. No city-level series is published.	2.54/100k i World Bank / UNODC — intentional homicides per 100,000 (Moldova, VC.IHR.PSRC.P5) Open data Data as of Dec 31, 2023 Verified Jul 14, 2026 Notes UNODC series via the World Bank: 2.54 in 2023 (latest), down from 2.47 (2022) and 2.18 (2021), and from ~10 per 100k in 2000. Moldova is not in the Eurostat EU crime set, so the UNODC/World Bank series is used. Moderate by regional standards and falling.
Cost of living (single, excl. rent)	$220/mo i Geostat — Households Expenditures survey 2025 Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Dec 31, 2025 Verified Jul 3, 2026 Method Geostat 2025 average per-capita monthly consumption (603 GEL) split by the survey's COICOP category shares, with the imputed-housing portion removed, converted at 2.6431 GEL/USD (NBG 2026-07-02). Categories sum to this figure. Geostat has no clean single-person-excl-rent basket, so treat as a curated estimate.	$283/mo i National Bureau of Statistics — Population incomes and expenditures in 2025 (average monthly consumption expenditure per capita) Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Dec 31, 2025 Verified Jul 14, 2026 Method NBS Household Budget Survey: average consumption expenditure = 4,995.5 lei per person per month in 2025 (+13.3% vs 2024). Converted at 17.6457 MDL/USD (BNM 2026-07-02) → $283. Utilities are kept in the basket (consistent with the Romania/Czechia peer method); pure rent is excluded — Moldova's HBS does not separately publish actual rentals and homeownership is very high (~95%+, post-Soviet privatization), so paid rent is a minor, non-separable component. Notes National all-households per-capita basis (same low-reading basis as peers). One of the cheapest countries in Europe. Chișinău runs above the national average.

Details

Taxes

CriterionGeorgiaMoldova

Freelancer tax burden% effective burden at €60k/year self-employed profile110.079.6

What this measures

Effective total burden (income tax + mandatory social and health contributions) for a solo IT freelancer with €60,000/year revenue and 10% deductible expenses, using the most favourable eligible scheme in the country's tax-schemes data. Computed by the SettleMetric tax engine; recorded as a curated value with the winning scheme id in method.

Lower is better· % effective burden at €60k/year self-employed profile· re-verified every 365 days

Georgia

SettleMetric tax engine over Tax Code (Small Business Status)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of: Jan 1, 2026
Verified: Jul 3, 2026
Method: Best eligible scheme ge-small-business-1pct at €60,000 = 180,738 GEL (NBG 3.0123 GEL/EUR), below the 500,000 GEL threshold → 1% turnover tax = 1,807 GEL, no mandatory social/pension. Effective burden ≈ 1.0%.

Moldova

SettleMetric tax engine over official rules (Moldova IT Park single 7% tax, Law on IT Parks 77/2016)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of: Jan 1, 2026
Verified: Jul 14, 2026
Method: Best eligible scheme at €60,000 (~1,206,858 MDL) = Moldova IT Park (scheme md-it-park): 7% single tax on turnover = 84,480 MDL, above the per-employee minimum (30% of the 2026 forecast average wage 17,400 MDL → 62,640 MDL/yr). Burden 7.0% — the single tax already covers income tax, social and health contributions. Outside the IT Park a standard SRL runs ~17.3% (12% + 6% dividend).

Legalization

CriterionGeorgiaMoldova

Remote-work legalization easeLong stay path6.0Long stay path6.0

What this measures

Best available legalization route for a location-independent earner with a median (non-EU, non-US) passport, classified from this country's legalization-paths data: dedicated digital-nomad visa; general freelance/self-employment permit; realistic long-stay path (e.g. renewable temporary residence); only short visa-free/tourist stays; effectively none.

Rated by category· re-verified every 180 days

Georgia

Government Ordinance N255 — visa-free entry

Official source

Data as of: Jul 3, 2026
Verified: Jul 3, 2026
Notes: Exceptionally easy in practice: ~94 nationalities (incl. all EU, US, UK, Ukraine, Russia) may stay visa-free for a full year and register an Individual Entrepreneur with 1% Small Business Status the same day — no residence permit needed. Scored as a long-stay path; there is no formal 'digital nomad visa' and the year of visa-free stay does not itself build toward permanent residence.

Moldova

Moldova IT Park — IT Visa program for foreign IT specialists; General Inspectorate for Migration (residence card)

Official source

Data as of: Jan 1, 2026
Verified: Jul 14, 2026
Notes: Moldova has no dedicated digital-nomad visa. Most of our audience enters visa-free for 90/180 (a base that doesn't burn Schengen days). For long-term stay the standout route is the IT Visa: found or join a Moldova IT Park company for a streamlined residence permit, while the 7% single tax covers your salary taxes. General work/business residence (Residence Card) is the fallback. Classified 'long-stay-path'.

Cost of living

CriterionGeorgiaMoldova

Cost of living (single, excl. rent)USD/month, single person, excluding rent22010.028310.0

What this measures

Monthly cost of a defined single-person basket (food, transport, utilities, mobile+internet, modest leisure) excluding rent, curated from national statistics office price data and large local retailers' published prices, converted to USD at the ECB rate recorded in fx-rates. The method field of each value itemizes the basket inputs.

Lower is better· USD/month, single person, excluding rent· re-verified every 365 days

Georgia

Geostat — Households Expenditures survey 2025

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of: Dec 31, 2025
Verified: Jul 3, 2026
Method: Geostat 2025 average per-capita monthly consumption (603 GEL) split by the survey's COICOP category shares, with the imputed-housing portion removed, converted at 2.6431 GEL/USD (NBG 2026-07-02). Categories sum to this figure. Geostat has no clean single-person-excl-rent basket, so treat as a curated estimate.

Moldova

National Bureau of Statistics — Population incomes and expenditures in 2025 (average monthly consumption expenditure per capita)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of: Dec 31, 2025
Verified: Jul 14, 2026
Method: NBS Household Budget Survey: average consumption expenditure = 4,995.5 lei per person per month in 2025 (+13.3% vs 2024). Converted at 17.6457 MDL/USD (BNM 2026-07-02) → $283. Utilities are kept in the basket (consistent with the Romania/Czechia peer method); pure rent is excluded — Moldova's HBS does not separately publish actual rentals and homeownership is very high (~95%+, post-Soviet privatization), so paid rent is a minor, non-separable component.
Notes: National all-households per-capita basis (same low-reading basis as peers). One of the cheapest countries in Europe. Chișinău runs above the national average.

Monthly spending by category (excl. rent)

Category	Georgia i Geostat — Households Expenditures survey 2025 (category shares) Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Dec 31, 2025 Verified Jul 3, 2026 Method Geostat 2025 per-capita consumption shares (food 38.7%, transport 11.4%, healthcare 11.0%, etc.) applied to the ~$220/mo excl-rent base and converted at 2.6431 GEL/USD. Georgia's very high food share is characteristic of the income level. National average — rent shown separately.	Moldova i National Bureau of Statistics — consumption expenditure structure 2024 applied to the 2025 per-capita total Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Dec 31, 2025 Verified Jul 14, 2026 Method NBS 2024 consumption structure (food 39.9%, housing/utilities 17.2%, clothing 7.7%, transport 7.6%, furnishings 5.4%, health 4.5%, communications 3.9%, remainder ≈13.8%) applied to the 2025 per-capita total 4,995.5 lei/mo, converted at 17.6457 MDL/USD. Housing shown as utilities only (rent excluded). Items sum to ≈$283. Food's very high 39.9% share is typical of a low-income economy. Notes 2024 structure is the latest categorical split published; the 2025 release gives the total but not the full re-split. The 'Other' bucket is the NBS residual not itemized on the accessible page.
Food & non-alcoholic beverages	—	$113
Food & non-alcoholic drinks	$88	—
Housing utilities (water, electricity, gas, heating) excl. rent	—	$49
Transport	$26	$21
Restaurants, recreation & communications	$41	—
Other (alcohol & tobacco, recreation, restaurants, education, misc.)	—	$39
Clothing & footwear	$13	$22
Healthcare (out-of-pocket)	$25	—
Utilities & energy	$18	—
Furnishings & household maintenance	—	$15
Health (out-of-pocket)	—	$13
Household goods	$12	—
Communications	—	$11
Education	$7	—
Total (excl. rent)	$230/mo	$283/mo

Housing

Rent by apartment type

Asking rent, central price with outside-centre in parentheses ($/mo).

Apartment	Georgia i SettleMetric — population-weighted average of covered cities (Batumi, Tbilisi) Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Jul 3, 2026 Verified Jul 3, 2026 Method Population-weighted mean of the rent-breakdown matrices of Batumi, Tbilisi; each cell averages the cities that report it. See each city page for its exact local matrix.	Moldova i SettleMetric — population-weighted average of covered cities (Chișinău) Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Dec 5, 2024 Verified Jul 14, 2026 Method Population-weighted mean of the rent-breakdown matrices of Chișinău; each cell averages the cities that report it. See each city page for its exact local matrix.
Studio	$450 ($303)	$320 ($252)
1-bedroom	$592 ($471)	$486 ($389)
2-bedroom	$892 ($635)	$600 ($480)
3-bedroom	$1,370 ($970)	$715 ($572)

Safety

CriterionGeorgiaMoldova

Homicide rateintentional homicides per 100,000/year27.02.56.6

What this measures

Intentional homicide victims per 100,000 population, latest available year. Country level: UNODC national series. City level: official municipal/police statistics where published; otherwise null (country value shown as country-level).

Lower is better· intentional homicides per 100,000/year· re-verified every 730 days

Georgia

UNODC (via World Bank mirror) — intentional homicide, Georgia

Open data

Data as of: Dec 31, 2019
Verified: Jul 3, 2026
Notes: 2019 is the latest year UNODC publishes for Georgia. Low by global standards (world average ≈ 5.8); Georgia is widely regarded as very safe for residents. No city-level series is published.

Moldova

World Bank / UNODC — intentional homicides per 100,000 (Moldova, VC.IHR.PSRC.P5)

Open data

Data as of: Dec 31, 2023
Verified: Jul 14, 2026
Notes: UNODC series via the World Bank: 2.54 in 2023 (latest), down from 2.47 (2022) and 2.18 (2021), and from ~10 per 100k in 2000. Moldova is not in the Eurostat EU crime set, so the UNODC/World Bank series is used. Moderate by regional standards and falling.

Healthcare

CriterionGeorgiaMoldova

Private healthcare costUSD/year, comprehensive private insurance premium, healthy 35-year-old45010.0no verified data

What this measures

Median of at least three publicly quoted annual premiums for comprehensive private medical insurance (outpatient + inpatient, ~$100k coverage, small deductible) for a healthy 35-year-old resident foreigner, from local and international insurers. Method field lists the insurers quoted.

Lower is better· USD/year, comprehensive private insurance premium, healthy 35-year-old· re-verified every 365 days

Georgia

Georgian insurers (Ardi, GPI, Imedi L) — comprehensive-tier plans

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of: Jul 3, 2026
Verified: Jul 3, 2026
Method: Midpoint of comprehensive local plans: Ardi Medi Premium from ~$340/yr up to market comprehensive ~$795/yr (converted at 2.6431 GEL/USD). Expat international plans run higher ($1,000–2,000/yr).
Notes: Georgian insurers quote by callback rather than public age-rated engines, so this is a curated market midpoint for local comprehensive cover, not a bound quote.

Moldova

Honest gap on the private figure. Moldova runs mandatory public health insurance (AOAM/CNAM): the 2026 self-payer fixed premium is 12,636 lei/year (≈$716), and foreigners with residence rights qualify for the 80%-reduced premium (~2,527 lei ≈ $143). Private voluntary insurance exists (Moldasig, Grawe, Donaris, Asito) but premiums are quoted only on request and no comprehensive figure is publicly listed → null. The public mandatory premium above is the closest sourced anchor.

Money & crypto

CriterionGeorgiaMoldova

Crypto regulationLegal friendly10.0Restricted4.0

What this measures

Own classification of the legal status of holding, trading and cashing out cryptocurrency for individuals: legal-friendly (legal with clear, favourable rules or explicit tax exemptions), legal-regulated (legal under standard licensing/AML and taxation), restricted (partial bans: payments or banking access prohibited), banned (holding/trading prohibited). Classified from national regulators' and central banks' official positions.

Rated by category· re-verified every 180 days

Georgia

National Bank of Georgia — Virtual Asset Service Providers

Official source

Data as of: Jul 1, 2023
Verified: Jul 3, 2026
Notes: Individuals pay 0% income tax on crypto gains (Minister of Finance Public Decision N201, 2019 — crypto is not Georgian-source income for individuals) and crypto↔fiat exchange is VAT-exempt. Service providers must register as VASPs with the NBG (regime since 1 July 2023). Very favourable for individual holders, hence legal-friendly.

Moldova

National Bank of Moldova — regulatory and authorization position on virtual currency (no authorizations granted; not a means of payment)

Official source

Data as of: Jul 1, 2026
Verified: Jul 14, 2026
Notes: The NBM's official position: virtual currencies are 'virtual assets without real coverage', not recognised as a means of payment, and the NBM has granted no authorisation to crypto platforms. Individuals may hold/trade crypto, but providing virtual-asset services domestically is unauthorised/unregulated (no consumer protection) and paying in crypto is not permitted — hence 'restricted'. A MiCA-based draft law is being prepared for 2026 (with a planned 12% tax on crypto income), not yet in force.

Financial control levelLow10.0Moderate7.0

What this measures

Own composite of state control over personal money flows: currency/capital controls (IMF AREAER), restrictions on foreign accounts and transfers, mandatory income declaration scope for residents, cash payment limits, banking access for foreigners. Low = free movement of personal funds and easy non-resident banking; very-high = strict capital controls and pervasive reporting. Method field on each value lists the inputs used.

Rated by category· re-verified every 365 days

Georgia

US State Dept 2025 Investment Climate Statement (Georgia) / trade.gov

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of: Dec 31, 2025
Verified: Jul 3, 2026
Method: GEL freely convertible (float since 1998; IMF Article VIII since 1996); no capital controls; funds transfer abroad freely (except sanctioned destinations); no routine cash caps or resident foreign-account exit restrictions.
Notes: Caveat: since Georgia joined CRS (2024) and post-2022 de-risking, non-resident bank account onboarding has become notably stricter (source-of-funds documentation, some rejections). The FX regime itself is open; the friction is at bank KYC.

Moldova

National Bank of Moldova — currency-regulation regime (Law 62/2008); Ministry of Finance cash-payment limits (Law 34/2024, from 1 April 2025)

Official source

Data as of: Apr 1, 2026
Verified: Jul 14, 2026
Method: Composite: the MDL is convertible for current-account operations, but Moldova retains an active currency-regulation regime under the NBM (Law 62/2008) — certain capital operations require notification/authorisation, and the leu is effectively a closed currency (not traded outside Moldova). A cash-payment limit of 100,000 lei cumulatively per month applies to economic agents (Law 34/2024). Non-EU, so no EU free-movement-of-capital guarantee. More state oversight than the fully-liberalised EU peers, but not restrictive capital controls → 'moderate'.

Infrastructure

CriterionGeorgiaMoldova

Domestic delivery qualityGood7.0Good7.0

What this measures

Quality of in-country parcel delivery. excellent = nationwide next-day widely available, dense parcel-locker network, real-time tracking standard; good = 1–3 day delivery, lockers in major cities; basic = reliable but slow (3–7 days), mostly to-door or post-office pickup; poor = unreliable delivery, street addresses often unusable, informal workarounds common. Classified from official service/coverage data of the national postal operator and the two largest private carriers; inputs itemized in each value's method field.

Rated by category· re-verified every 730 days

Georgia

Georgian Post + courier service pages (composite)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of: Jul 3, 2026
Verified: Jul 3, 2026
Method: Georgian Post ~500 branches nationwide (1–3 day domestic parcels, some lockers/pickup points); Wolt Drive and Glovo last-mile in Tbilisi/Batumi; DHL/FedEx/UPS present. Dense and reliable in cities; locker density and nationwide same-day coverage thinner than EU leaders → good, not excellent.

Moldova

Poșta Moldovei + Nova Post (Posterminal lockers; Nova Post ~4M shipments in 2024)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of: Dec 31, 2025
Verified: Jul 14, 2026
Method: Poșta Moldovei (national postal operator) offers nationwide delivery and 24/7 'Posterminal' parcel lockers; Nova Post (Ukrainian) is expanding fast — ~4M shipments in 2024 (+237% YoY) with a growing locker/PUDO network; Sameday easybox and DHL/UPS operate. Cash-on-delivery is standard. Solid and improving, but locker density and rural coverage are below the top EU tier and concentrated in Chișinău → 'good' rather than 'excellent'.

International delivery easeMinor friction7.0Significant friction4.0

What this measures

Ease of receiving goods from abroad. seamless = major international carriers deliver door-to-door, meaningful duty-free de-minimis threshold, customs clearance predictable in days; minor-friction = carriers present but low de-minimis, extra paperwork or routine delays; significant-friction = frequent customs holds, high brokerage fees, some marketplaces refuse to ship; unreliable = parcels regularly lost or blocked, informal import channels dominate. De-minimis thresholds and clearance rules from the national customs authority (official source, cite the regulation); carrier presence from carriers' official pages.

Rated by category· re-verified every 365 days

Georgia

Revenue Service of Georgia — customs procedures

Official source

Data as of: Jul 3, 2026
Verified: Jul 3, 2026
Notes: Georgia is outside the EU/EAEU. Personal-import de minimis: 300 GEL (≈ $113) and ≤ 30 kg, once per calendar month, exempt; above that, 18% import VAT + 0–12% duty + a small customs fee. All major integrators (DHL, FedEx, UPS, Aramex) present. Predictable but the low monthly de-minimis cap adds friction.

Moldova

Moldova customs rules (MFA / Customs Service): €150 postal de-minimis, 20% import VAT above threshold

Official source

Data as of: Jul 14, 2026
Verified: Jul 14, 2026
Notes: Moldova is non-EU and non-Schengen, so every inbound international parcel clears customs. Personal postal consignments up to €150 are duty-exempt; above €150, customs duty + 20% VAT + a formal declaration apply. Clearance adds cost and days versus intra-EU peers → 'significant-friction'. DHL/UPS/FedEx and Nova Post handle international shipping.

Internet speedMbps, median fixed download15.80.730.12.5

What this measures

Median fixed-broadband download speed over the trailing 6 months from M-Lab NDT open data (CC0), aggregated at country or city level. Not comparable with Ookla figures (different test methodology) — do not mix sources within this criterion.

Higher is better· Mbps, median fixed download· re-verified every 365 days

Georgia

M-Lab NDT country aggregates for Georgia

Open data

Data as of: Dec 31, 2023
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Method: Median of 343 daily country medians (download_MED), 47,852 download tests (2023 — latest full year in M-Lab's public stats API; the 2024 file is only Jan–Mar, and 2025/2026 are not yet published). Georgia sits under continent code AS in M-Lab.
Notes: M-Lab NDT is single-stream and reads well below Ookla-style figures — comparable only within this criterion. Cross-check: the World Bank's July-2024 median of ~20 Mbps (Ookla-derived, so not citable here) is consistent with this once the M-Lab-reads-low offset is accounted for. Speeds are trending up (~10%/yr: M-Lab yearly medians ran 9.7 in 2020 → 15.8 in 2023), so multi-year pooling would understate current speed; the latest full year is used instead. GNCC/comcom.ge publishes operator quality-of-service measurements (e.g. Magticom fixed ~56 Mb/s advertised-tier average, 2025/26) but no national measured median, and its own speed commentary relies on the same Ookla data we can't redistribute.

Moldova

M-Lab NDT country aggregates for Moldova

Open data

Data as of: Dec 31, 2023
Verified: Jul 14, 2026
Method: Median of the 343 daily country-median download values for MD in 2023 = 30.09 Mbps (15,538 download tests; M-Lab files Moldova under the EU/MD path). M-Lab NDT is single-stream and reads well below real line speeds — Chișinău has very fast, cheap fibre (100–1000 Mbps plans common) — comparable only within this criterion. 2023 is the latest full year in M-Lab's public stats API.
Notes: Moldova (especially Chișinău) is known for fast, inexpensive fibre; the M-Lab single-stream median is used only for cross-country comparability on one consistent method.

Language

CriterionGeorgiaMoldova

English proficiencyHigh7.0Moderate5.0

What this measures

Own banding of how far English gets a resident in daily life (government offices, healthcare, housing, services). Informed by EF EPI band (research source, cited with attribution, not republished) plus official language status and service-sector realities. Values are our bands, not EF scores.

Rated by category· re-verified every 730 days

Georgia

EF EPI 2025 (score 541, rank 35/123 — High band)

Research

Data as of: Nov 1, 2025
Verified: Jul 3, 2026
Notes: Own band informed by EF EPI (attribution: EF Education First). English is workable in Tbilisi/Batumi tourism and the younger service sector; less so in government and older generations. Russian remains widely understood.

Moldova

EF EPI 2025 — Moldova (score 531, rank 43/123, Moderate band)

Research

Data as of: Nov 1, 2025
Verified: Jul 14, 2026
Notes: Own band informed by EF EPI 2025 (attribution: EF Education First): Moldova score 531, rank 43/123 — 'Moderate' band (cutoffs 500–549), above the global average (488). Romanian and Russian dominate daily life; English is workable among younger and urban/tech workers, thinner in public offices and rural areas.

Deep dives: taxes in Georgia ·taxes in Moldova ·net-income calculator