Cost of living comparison

Kathmandu, Nepal

compared to

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Ulaanbaatar vs. Kathmandu Cost of Living Summary

Ulaanbaatar is 94.1% more expensive than Kathmandu.

Restaurants: pay 2.3 times more in Ulaanbaatar
Groceries: pay 2.1 times more in Ulaanbaatar
Transportation: pay 24.2% less in Ulaanbaatar
Housing: pay 2.7 times more in Ulaanbaatar
Childcare: pay 93.8% more in Ulaanbaatar
Entertainment and Sports: pay 36.4% more in Ulaanbaatar
Clothing: pay 2.5 times more in Ulaanbaatar

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

Ulaanbaatar vs. Kathmandu Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.3 times more for restaurants

	Kathmandu	Ulaanbaatar
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$1.47 NPR201.37	$5.08 MNT17,250.00	+244.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.36 NPR1,005.86	$4.86 MNT16,500.00	-34.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.46 NPR62.35	$0.84 MNT2,852.94	+84.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.16 NPR22.11	$0.52 MNT1,773.33	+222.8%
Average			+129.4%

Kathmandu vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.1 times more for groceries

	Kathmandu	Ulaanbaatar
Bread 1 loaf	$0.57 NPR77.36	$0.92 MNT3,124.01	+62.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.70 NPR641.95	$6.82 MNT23,187.50	+45.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.17 NPR433.74	$5.44 MNT18,498.60	+71.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.62 NPR222.09	$2.21 MNT7,518.68	+36.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 NPR202.09	$2.04 MNT6,945.64	+38.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.09 NPR148.66	$1.69 MNT5,745.51	+55.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.47 NPR64.34	$1.30 MNT4,430.09	+177.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.52 NPR71.40	$1.91 MNT6,503.39	+266.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.33 NPR44.77	$1.47 MNT5,003.13	+349.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.22 NPR29.72	$0.31 MNT1,037.72	+40.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.29 NPR40.04	$0.46 MNT1,547.26	+55.5%
Average			+109.0%

Kathmandu vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of groceries

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pay 24.2% less for transportation

	Kathmandu	Ulaanbaatar
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.85 NPR663.47	$4.00 MNT13,586.19	-17.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$9.94 NPR1,359.28	$8.09 MNT27,500.00	-18.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$33,138.99 NPR4,530,919.64	$30,311.95 MNT103,000,000.00	-8.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$11.05 NPR1,510.31	$5.30 MNT18,000.00	-52.0%
Average			-24.2%

Kathmandu vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.7 times more for housing

	Kathmandu	Ulaanbaatar
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.42 NPR1,425.11	$14.66 MNT49,800.00	+40.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$191.60 NPR26,197.11	$559.15 MNT1,900,000.00	+191.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$102.03 NPR13,949.36	$428.82 MNT1,457,142.86	+320.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$26.40 NPR3,609.19	$58.64 MNT199,261.01	+122.1%
Average			+168.7%

Kathmandu vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of housing

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pay 93.8% more for childcare

	Kathmandu	Ulaanbaatar
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$91.89 NPR12,563.00	$153.03 MNT520,000.00	+66.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,479.59 NPR475,746.56	$7,690.11 MNT26,131,000.00	+121.0%
Average			+93.8%

Kathmandu vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of childcare

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pay 36.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Kathmandu	Ulaanbaatar
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.58 NPR352.40	$1.77 MNT6,000.00	-31.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.66 NPR226.93	$2.52 MNT8,557.14	+51.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.95 NPR402.75	$1.77 MNT6,000.00	-40.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$22.71 NPR3,104.52	$59.96 MNT203,750.00	+164.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.31 NPR453.09	$4.56 MNT15,500.00	+37.6%
Average			+36.4%

Kathmandu vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.5 times more for clothing

	Kathmandu	Ulaanbaatar
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$24.02 NPR3,283.95	$66.51 MNT226,000.00	+176.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$31.19 NPR4,264.39	$50.62 MNT171,999.80	+62.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$53.29 NPR7,286.57	$88.29 MNT300,000.00	+65.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$37.76 NPR5,162.50	$142.24 MNT483,333.33	+276.7%
Average			+145.4%

Kathmandu 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: April 2025

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