Georgia deposit rates: lari, dollar and the apartment

Published November 9, 2026 · Fact-checked: November 9, 2026 · 6 min read · Levelvale · Methodology

Deal Breakdown

As of November 9, 2026, a 12-month deposit at Georgian banks pays about 9.6% a year in lari and 2.0% to 2.5% in dollars. The National Bank of Georgia puts the average rate on new resident term deposits in September 2026 at 9.4% in lari and 2.4% in dollars. A worked-example apartment bought for $60,000 and renting for $450 a month leaves you $3,550 in the first year, or 5.9% of the price. In dollars, the apartment is ahead of a dollar deposit. In lari, the deposit is ahead of the apartment, as long as the lari holds its value.

12-month rates

Term deposits for individuals, interest paid at maturity, rates from the banks' own websites.

Banks quote the nominal rate. With monthly interest payouts, Liberty Bank and Basisbank pay less in lari: 9.20% instead of 9.60%. For 24 months the same banks offer more: Basisbank 10.20% in lari and 2.40% in dollars, Terabank 10.00% and 2.85%. TBC Bank and Bank of Georgia are not in the table: on November 9, 2026, we could not read the rate tables on those banks' websites.

Why the lari rate is so much higher

On October 21, 2026, the National Bank of Georgia kept its policy rate at 8.25%, and the next meeting is scheduled for December 16, 2026. Banks pay slightly more than that rate on lari deposits. On dollars they pay several times less. The gap between 9.6% and 2.0% is the price of the exchange rate: a lari deposit comes back in lari. What that is worth in dollars a year later depends on the rate. The Levelvale calculator converts a lari deposit to dollars using exchange rate history: in its October 26, 2026 run, a 10.05% lari rate came out at about 8.3% a year in dollars.

What is insured

Since April 1, 2026, the state insures deposits at one bank up to 50,000 lari per depositor. A foreign currency deposit is insured too: under the law, the payout is calculated in lari at the National Bank's rate on the day of the insured event, and capped at the limit. At the official rate of 2.5949 lari per dollar on November 7, 2026, the limit equals about $19,269. To keep all of $60,000 under insurance, you would have to spread it across four banks.

What the apartment earns with the same money

On November 9, 2026, the Levelvale home page runs a worked-example apartment in Tbilisi: price $60,000, rent $450 a month, long-term rental, ready to move in, a 10-year horizon. The listing promises 9.0% a year: $450 times 12, divided by $60,000. In the first year, rent in today's money comes to $5,238, and after the agent fee, running costs and rental income tax you keep $3,550. That is 5.9% of the price. The payback period in the calculation is 16.6 years, not the 11.1 years the listing suggests.

Over 10 years the gap widens. In “An apartment in Georgia or a savings account”, the calculator's October 26, 2026 run showed, in today's money: the apartment without a sale returns 2.5% a year, the lari deposit converted to dollars 5.1% a year. The apartment falls behind because of vacant months, agent fees, repairs and inflation. A deposit has none of those costs.

Three options in one table

Deposit interest in the table is simple: $60,000 times the rate. We converted the lari deposit to dollars at the opening rate with no exchange rate movement, which is an assumption. The apartment's result comes from the Levelvale home page on November 9, 2026 and already includes Georgian taxes.

How Levelvale runs the numbers

For Georgia, the calculator compares the apartment with a savings account, bonds and an index fund in one currency and in today's money. It converts a lari deposit to dollars using exchange rate history and shows the rate next to it. It calculates the apartment's result after Georgian taxes, vacant months, agent fees and running costs. The comparison sits under the result.

The scenario below: long-term rental, price $60,000, rent $450 a month, a tenant from day one, a new tenant every 2 years, with 2 vacant months and an agent fee at each change.

Questions and answers

Where can I find average deposit rates in Georgia? The National Bank of Georgia publishes a Monthly Review with average rates on new resident term deposits in lari, dollars and euros. The September 2026 figures appeared in the November review: 9.4% in lari, 2.4% in dollars, 1.4% in euros.

Is a dollar deposit insured? Yes. There is one limit per depositor per bank, 50,000 lari since April 1, 2026. The payout on a foreign currency deposit is calculated in lari at the National Bank's rate on the day of the insured event.

Which deposit does the calculator use by default? For Georgia, the calculator uses a lari deposit: in the October 26, 2026 run, that was a Credo Bank deposit at 10.05% a year. On November 9, 2026, we could not read Credo Bank's current rate from its website, where the rate table is shown as an image.

Over 10 years, which comes out ahead, the deposit or the apartment? In today's money and with no price growth, the apartment returned 2.5% a year and the lari deposit 5.1% a year in the October 26, 2026 run. The apartment catches up with the deposit if its price grows 4.8% a year or more. No one can promise price growth.

Is interest on a deposit taxed? How Georgia taxes interest on individuals' deposits is outside the scope of this article. The rates in the table are before tax, as the banks show them.

Bank rates were taken from the banks' websites on November 9, 2026 and can change any day. The apartment results were produced in the Levelvale calculator on November 9, 2026 and October 26, 2026 and are not a forecast. This is a calculation, not investment advice.

REAL ESTATE I YIELD I TAXES · Levelvale

Guide: Georgia, buying, taxes and yield

This is a calculation, not investment, tax or legal advice.

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