Cost of living comparison

Lusaka, Zambia

compared to

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Ulaanbaatar vs. Lusaka Cost of Living Summary

Ulaanbaatar is 46.4% more expensive than Lusaka.

Restaurants: pay 18.2% more in Ulaanbaatar
Groceries: pay 38.4% more in Ulaanbaatar
Transportation: pay 32.0% more in Ulaanbaatar
Housing: pay 78.9% more in Ulaanbaatar
Childcare: pay 1.8% more in Ulaanbaatar
Entertainment and Sports: pay 30.2% more in Ulaanbaatar
Clothing: pay 2.2 times more in Ulaanbaatar

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

Ulaanbaatar vs. Lusaka Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 18.2% more for restaurants

	Lusaka	Ulaanbaatar
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.21 ZMW177.72	$5.08 MNT17,250.00	-29.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$3.82 ZMW94.18	$4.86 MNT16,500.00	+27.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.71 ZMW17.59	$0.84 MNT2,852.94	+17.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.33 ZMW8.15	$0.52 MNT1,773.33	+57.7%
Average			+18.2%

Lusaka vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of restaurants

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pay 38.4% more for groceries

	Lusaka	Ulaanbaatar
Bread 1 loaf	$0.74 ZMW18.23	$0.92 MNT3,124.01	+24.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.64 ZMW89.61	$6.82 MNT23,187.50	+87.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.85 ZMW119.59	$5.44 MNT18,498.60	+12.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.92 ZMW47.43	$2.21 MNT7,518.68	+15.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.80 ZMW44.28	$2.04 MNT6,945.64	+13.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.20 ZMW29.60	$1.69 MNT5,745.51	+40.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.60 ZMW14.88	$1.30 MNT4,430.09	+116.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.27 ZMW31.18	$1.91 MNT6,503.39	+51.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.56 ZMW13.88	$1.47 MNT5,003.13	+161.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.96 ZMW23.56	$0.31 MNT1,037.72	-68.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.67 ZMW16.61	$0.46 MNT1,547.26	-32.4%
Average			+38.4%

Lusaka vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of groceries

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pay 32.0% more for transportation

	Lusaka	Ulaanbaatar
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.77 ZMW117.45	$4.00 MNT13,586.19	-16.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$37.04 ZMW912.79	$8.09 MNT27,500.00	-78.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$8,004.53 ZMW197,281.92	$30,311.95 MNT103,000,000.00	+278.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$12.13 ZMW298.95	$5.30 MNT18,000.00	-56.3%
Average			+32.0%

Lusaka vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of transportation

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pay 78.9% more for housing

	Lusaka	Ulaanbaatar
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$125.92 ZMW3,103.44	$14.66 MNT49,800.00	-88.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$214.42 ZMW5,284.72	$559.15 MNT1,900,000.00	+160.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$114.96 ZMW2,833.31	$428.82 MNT1,457,142.86	+273.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$83.50 ZMW2,058.01	$58.64 MNT199,261.01	-29.8%
Average			+78.9%

Lusaka vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of housing

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pay 1.8% more for childcare

	Lusaka	Ulaanbaatar
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$176.79 ZMW4,357.20	$153.03 MNT520,000.00	-13.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,570.42 ZMW161,936.58	$7,690.11 MNT26,131,000.00	+17.0%
Average			+1.8%

Lusaka vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of childcare

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pay 30.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Lusaka	Ulaanbaatar
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.97 ZMW23.83	$1.77 MNT6,000.00	+82.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.07 ZMW51.10	$2.52 MNT8,557.14	+21.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.49 ZMW61.35	$1.77 MNT6,000.00	-29.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.21 ZMW1,015.73	$59.96 MNT203,750.00	+45.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.50 ZMW86.25	$4.56 MNT15,500.00	+30.3%
Average			+30.2%

Lusaka vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.2 times more for clothing

	Lusaka	Ulaanbaatar
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$18.43 ZMW454.35	$66.51 MNT226,000.00	+260.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$18.78 ZMW462.96	$50.62 MNT171,999.80	+169.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$90.18 ZMW2,222.51	$88.29 MNT300,000.00	-2.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$82.76 ZMW2,039.76	$142.24 MNT483,333.33	+71.9%
Average			+125.0%

Lusaka 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: June 2025

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