Every investor who buys an apartment in Tbilisi eventually faces the same fork: list it on Airbnb and chase nightly rates, or sign a long-term tenant and collect quiet monthly rent. Both camps overstate their case. Short-term evangelists quote peak-season numbers as if August lasted all year; long-term advocates ignore that some central apartments genuinely earn half again more on nightly stays. If you own (or are about to buy) an investment apartment in Tbilisi, here’s the honest comparison for 2026.
The Short Answer
Long-term rental in Tbilisi typically produces a gross yield of roughly 7-9% on well-bought apartments (among the strongest in Europe) with minimal effort. Short-term rental can gross 10-14% in the right central location, but only after real work and real costs: cleaning, platform fees, management, furnishing refreshes, and empty winter weeks. Short-term wins on paper more often than it wins in practice. The deciding factors are location, your tolerance for involvement, and honest math about occupancy.
The Numbers, Honestly
Long-term rental
- A one-bedroom in Saburtalo bought around $75,000-90,000 rents for roughly $450-700/month as of 2026; comparable Vake apartments cost more but rent for $600-1,000+.
- Occupancy is near-continuous: Tbilisi’s rental demand from students, professionals, and relocators keeps vacancies short, especially near metro stations.
- Costs are light: minor maintenance, occasional repainting between tenants, and management at 8% of monthly rent if you don’t want the phone calls.
- Tax for individual landlords on residential long-term rent is a flat 5% of rental income when registered properly: simple and predictable (confirm current rules for your situation).
Short-term rental
- Central one-bedrooms typically achieve $35-70/night depending on district, quality, and season.
- Realistic annual occupancy is 55-75%; Tbilisi’s tourism is strongly seasonal, and January is not August. The listings quoting 90% are cherry-picking months.
- Costs stack up: platform commissions (~15%), cleaning and linen, utilities you now pay yourself, faster wear, and short-term management fees that typically run 20-25% of revenue if outsourced.
- Taxes and rules for short-term hosting differ from long-term renting and change more often, so budget time for compliance or get advice before choosing this route.
Run both models on the same apartment and the gap narrows fast: a $60,000 Saburtalo one-bedroom netting $5,000/year long-term often nets a similar figure short-term after all costs, with ten times the operational load. In prime walkable districts, though, short-term genuinely pulls ahead.
Location Decides More Than Strategy
- Best for short-term: Vera, Sololaki, Mtatsminda, Marjanishvili/Chugureti: guests pay for walking to dinner. Old-town character earns a premium per night that long-term tenants won’t pay for.
- Best for long-term: Saburtalo, Didi Dighomi, Isani: metro access, universities, hospitals. Tenants stay for years; nightly guests rarely choose these areas.
- Vake plays both ways: executives rent long-term at premium rates, while quality short-term units near the park do well with family travelers and longer stays.
Mistakes Tbilisi Investors Make With This Decision
- Buying a short-term apartment in a long-term district, then discovering guests won’t book Gldani no matter how nice the renovation is.
- Modeling peak-season occupancy as the annual average. Use 60-65% for planning; be pleasantly surprised, not quietly broke.
- Ignoring their own time. Self-managed Airbnb is a part-time job with 2 a.m. lockout calls. If you live abroad, subtract management fees from the model before comparing.
- Furnishing to their own taste instead of the market’s. Long-term tenants want neutral and durable; short-term guests want photogenic. These are different budgets.
- Never re-checking the model. The right answer can flip when the neighborhood, season patterns, or your life changes. Rerun the numbers yearly.
How to Decide: A Simple Framework
- Score your location honestly. Would a tourist walk from your door to Old Town or a café district? If not, long-term is almost certainly your answer.
- Model a full year, not a good month: 60% occupancy short-term vs. 11.5 months long-term, all costs included on both sides.
- Price your involvement. Add management fees to whichever model you won’t run yourself (8% long-term, 20-25% short-term).
- Check the fit with your ownership goals. If your property also anchors residency in Georgia or a future family use, flexibility matters more than peak yield.
- Choose, commit for a year, measure. The worst returns come from half-hearted switching between models every season.
How Tbilisi Home Helps Investors Get This Right
Tbilisi Home is a real estate agency in Tbilisi, Georgia helping foreign and local investors buy and operate rental property. We’ll tell you before you buy which model an apartment actually supports, based on what comparable units in that building and street really earn, not brochure numbers. For long-term landlords, our property management service runs everything for 8% of rent: tenant screening, contracts, rent collection, repairs, and monthly statements to wherever in the world you live.
Want the numbers for a specific apartment? Message us on WhatsApp with the address or listing, and we’ll give you an honest long-term vs. short-term projection before you commit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Airbnb profitable in Tbilisi?
Yes, in the right location: central, walkable districts like Vera, Sololaki, and Marjanishvili can gross 10-14% annually on well-run short-term rentals. Outside the walkable center, long-term rental almost always nets more after costs.
What rental yield can I expect in Tbilisi in 2026?
Well-bought apartments typically produce 7-9% gross yield on long-term rental, high by European standards. Short-term can exceed this in prime areas but carries higher costs and seasonality.
What tax do landlords pay on rental income in Georgia?
Individual landlords renting residential property long-term pay a flat 5% tax on rental income when registered. Short-term hosting is treated differently; confirm the current rules for your setup before choosing a model.
Which Tbilisi districts are best for Airbnb?
Vera, Sololaki, Mtatsminda, and the Marjanishvili area of Chugureti: districts where guests can walk to restaurants, sights, and nightlife. Character and location beat apartment size in short-term performance.
Can I switch my apartment from Airbnb to long-term rental later?
Yes. This flexibility is one of Tbilisi’s advantages. Many owners run short-term in summer and sign longer winter leases, or switch models entirely as their circumstances change. Just commit to each model long enough to measure it properly.