Georgia and Bulgaria sit on opposite shores of the Black Sea and are both popular with remote workers looking for low costs and low taxes. Bulgaria is an EU and euro member with a new digital nomad visa; Georgia is outside the EU but famously easy to enter. Here is how they compare in 2026.

Entry and residence

  • Georgia: citizens of around 95 countries, including the EU, UK and US, can stay visa-free for up to 365 days and work remotely for foreign clients. There is no digital nomad visa, and from 2026 working for Georgian clients generally requires a labour permit.
  • Bulgaria: EU citizens move freely. Others can apply for the digital nomad visa, opened in December 2025, which requires income of about €31,000 a year and lasts up to a year, renewable once. Bulgaria is in Schengen, so the visa also allows travel across the area.

Georgia is far easier to enter without paperwork; Bulgaria offers formal residence inside the EU.

Cost of living

From our data for Georgia and Bulgaria:

  • Cost of living index: Georgia 28, Bulgaria 32 (New York = 100).
  • Average one-bedroom rent: Georgia (Tbilisi) about $550, Bulgaria about $450.
  • Groceries for one: Georgia about $180, Bulgaria about $200.

Both are cheap. Tbilisi rents rose sharply after 2022, so Bulgaria can be cheaper for housing, especially outside Sofia in Plovdiv or Varna.

Tax

  • Georgia: personal income tax is a flat 20%, but individual entrepreneurs with small business status can pay just 1% on turnover up to GEL 500,000 a year for eligible activities. Tax residency starts after 183 days in 12 months.
  • Bulgaria: a flat 10% income tax, with freelancers often able to deduct 25% as standard expenses, plus social contributions. Tax residency generally starts after 183 days in a year.

Georgia's 1% regime is hard to beat if you qualify; Bulgaria's 10% is the EU's lowest and comes with EU legal certainty. Consider your home country's rules and get advice. Try our tax calculator.

Currency and banking

Bulgaria adopted the euro on 1 January 2026, which simplifies life for anyone earning in euros. Georgia uses the lari (GEL), and opening a bank account is usually straightforward, though rules have tightened for some nationalities.

Lifestyle

Tbilisi is atmospheric and creative, with legendary food, natural wine and the Caucasus mountains nearby. Batumi offers a Black Sea resort scene. Bulgaria offers Sofia's mountains on the doorstep, Plovdiv's old town, cheap skiing in Bansko and Black Sea beaches, plus easy travel across the EU.

Stability

Georgia has seen large protests since late 2024, when the government suspended EU accession talks, and its relations with Western governments are strained. Bulgaria has had frequent elections, but as an EU and euro member it offers more institutional certainty.

Which should you choose?

  • Choose Georgia if you want easy, paperwork-light entry, the 1% small business tax and outstanding food and wine.
  • Choose Bulgaria if you want EU residence, Schengen travel, the euro and a simple 10% flat tax.

Compare Georgia and Bulgaria side by side in our comparison tool.