The 8 Best Moving Companies in Tbilisi

Local work is cheap and quoted by the job. From the rates these firms publish, a one-room move with two loaders starts around 50 to 150 GEL, and a two-bedroom flat with packing, disassembly and a walk-up usually lands between 300 and 700 GEL. Loaders on their own run about 40 GEL an hour and a single van run is often quoted flat at 150 to 800 GEL depending on size and floors. Storage starts near 90 GEL a month for a small unit and scales by cubic metre. International shipping is a different order of magnitude and nobody publishes it, so treat all of these as bands to check a quote against, not as prices you are owed.

Assume you might, and get it answered in writing before the container sails. One Tbilisi expat services firm states that Georgia charges import tariffs of up to 30%, made up of up to 12% import duty plus 18% VAT, on shipments valued above 300 GEL. Treatment of used personal effects can differ from treatment of new goods, and the mover's customs desk is the only party who can confirm how your specific shipment will be classified. Keep an itemised inventory with honest values, because that document is what the declaration is built from. Firms with their own customs handling, like Gosselin and TBS Movers, are worth the premium here.

If everything stays inside Georgia, a local crew is almost always the right answer and a fraction of the price. International movers earn their fee on export documentation, freight booking, customs at both ends and liability across a border, none of which a Tbilisi van company can do. The awkward middle case is a part-load to Europe or Turkey, where a consolidated groupage service like Territoria is usually cheaper than a full container and slower than air. Work out the cubic metres first, because that single number decides which of the three products you are buying.

Volume in cubic metres or a written item inventory, not just a total. The crew size and the number of vehicles. Whether packing materials are included or billed after the job. Floor numbers at both ends and whether a lift is usable, since walk-up surcharges are the most common source of moving-day arguments. For international jobs it should also separate origin services, freight, destination services and duties, so you can see which part of the number is actually the mover's.

Badly, if you do not warn them. Large parts of Sololaki, Mtatsminda and Old Tbilisi have stairwells that will not take a three-seat sofa, lifts sized for two people and streets where a Sprinter cannot legally stop. Send photos or a video walkthrough of the stairwell, the lift interior and the street outside before anyone quotes. Firms that price from photos, such as MY Garage, are doing this for their own protection as much as yours. A crew that quotes over the phone without asking is a crew that will renegotiate on the day.

Not automatically, and not to the value you assume. Local Georgian movers typically carry limited liability rather than full replacement cover, and the cap can be low per item. International movers usually offer marine or transit insurance as a separate priced product, quoted as a percentage of your declared value. Ask for the liability limit in writing and decide whether the laptop, the artwork or the instrument justifies buying cover. If a firm will not answer that question clearly, that is the answer.