Cost of living comparison

compared to

Ulaanbaatar vs. Colombo Cost of Living Summary

Ulaanbaatar is 2.6 times more expensive than Colombo.

Restaurants: pay 15.4% more in Ulaanbaatar
Groceries: pay 20.9% more in Ulaanbaatar
Transportation: pay 14.3% more in Ulaanbaatar
Housing: pay 62.3% more in Ulaanbaatar
Childcare: pay 9.2 times more in Ulaanbaatar
Entertainment and Sports: pay 53.7% more in Ulaanbaatar
Clothing: pay 2.4 times more in Ulaanbaatar

The cost of childcare, clothing, housing, entertainment and sports, groceries, and restaurants in Ulaanbaatar are more expensive than in Colombo. Notably, childcare and clothing are significantly more expensive in Ulaanbaatar.

Ulaanbaatar vs. Colombo Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Ulaanbaatar instead of Colombo, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 15.4% more for restaurants

	Colombo	Ulaanbaatar
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.40 LKR1,005.33	$5.08 MNT17,250.00	+49.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.48 LKR2,211.73	$4.86 MNT16,500.00	-35.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.74 LKR218.66	$0.84 MNT2,852.94	+13.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.39 LKR115.61	$0.52 MNT1,773.33	+33.6%
Average			+15.4%

Colombo vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of restaurants

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pay 20.9% more for groceries

	Colombo	Ulaanbaatar
Bread 1 loaf	$0.57 LKR168.53	$0.92 MNT3,124.01	+61.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.94 LKR2,052.02	$6.82 MNT23,187.50	-1.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.54 LKR1,934.77	$5.44 MNT18,498.60	-16.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.22 LKR656.05	$2.21 MNT7,518.68	-0.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.38 LKR704.39	$2.04 MNT6,945.64	-14.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.28 LKR969.33	$1.69 MNT5,745.51	-48.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.51 LKR150.96	$1.30 MNT4,430.09	+155.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.65 LKR782.65	$1.91 MNT6,503.39	-27.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.53 LKR156.67	$1.47 MNT5,003.13	+178.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.51 LKR150.42	$0.31 MNT1,037.72	-39.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.55 LKR161.44	$0.46 MNT1,547.26	-16.5%
Average			+20.9%

Colombo vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of groceries

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pay 14.3% more for transportation

	Colombo	Ulaanbaatar
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.84 LKR1,430.65	$4.00 MNT13,586.19	-17.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$6.80 LKR2,010.66	$8.09 MNT27,500.00	+19.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,303.89 LKR10,445,398.66	$30,311.95 MNT103,000,000.00	-14.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$3.13 LKR924.91	$5.30 MNT18,000.00	+69.5%
Average			+14.3%

Colombo vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of transportation

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pay 62.3% more for housing

	Colombo	Ulaanbaatar
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$16.40 LKR4,851.92	$14.66 MNT49,800.00	-10.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$297.60 LKR88,050.32	$559.15 MNT1,900,000.00	+87.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$180.09 LKR53,282.49	$428.82 MNT1,457,142.86	+138.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$43.85 LKR12,972.90	$58.64 MNT199,261.01	+33.7%
Average			+62.3%

Colombo vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of housing

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pay 9.2 times more for childcare

	Colombo	Ulaanbaatar
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$28.60 LKR8,461.54	$153.03 MNT520,000.00	+435.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$586.98 LKR173,671.09	$7,690.11 MNT26,131,000.00	+1210.1%
Average			+822.6%

Colombo vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of childcare

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pay 53.7% more for entertainment and sports

	Colombo	Ulaanbaatar
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.04 LKR603.20	$1.77 MNT6,000.00	-13.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.59 LKR766.48	$2.52 MNT8,557.14	-2.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$9.34 LKR2,764.66	$1.77 MNT6,000.00	-81.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$13.89 LKR4,108.33	$59.96 MNT203,750.00	+331.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.40 LKR1,005.33	$4.56 MNT15,500.00	+34.2%
Average			+53.7%

Colombo vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.4 times more for clothing

	Colombo	Ulaanbaatar
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$29.69 LKR8,784.59	$66.51 MNT226,000.00	+124.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$22.31 LKR6,601.68	$50.62 MNT171,999.80	+126.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$68.77 LKR20,347.04	$88.29 MNT300,000.00	+28.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$37.51 LKR11,097.32	$142.24 MNT483,333.33	+279.2%
Average			+139.6%

Colombo vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: January 2025

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