Cost of living comparison

Thimphu, Bhutan

compared to

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Ulaanbaatar vs. Thimphu Cost of Living Summary

Ulaanbaatar is 2.9 times more expensive than Thimphu.

Restaurants: pay 92.1% more in Ulaanbaatar
Groceries: pay 99.3% more in Ulaanbaatar
Transportation: pay 20.9% more in Ulaanbaatar
Housing: pay 3.5 times more in Ulaanbaatar
Childcare: pay 6.0 times more in Ulaanbaatar
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.2% less in Ulaanbaatar
Clothing: pay 4.6 times more in Ulaanbaatar

The cost of childcare, clothing, housing, groceries, restaurants, and transportation in Ulaanbaatar are more expensive than in Thimphu. Notably, childcare, clothing, and housing are significantly more expensive in Ulaanbaatar.

Ulaanbaatar vs. Thimphu Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 92.1% more for restaurants

	Thimphu	Ulaanbaatar
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.95 BTN251.51	$5.08 MNT17,250.00	+72.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$2.95 BTN251.51	$4.86 MNT16,500.00	+64.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.55 BTN47.28	$0.84 MNT2,852.94	+51.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.19 BTN15.93	$0.52 MNT1,773.33	+179.6%
Average			+92.1%

Thimphu vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of restaurants

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pay 99.3% more for groceries

	Thimphu	Ulaanbaatar
Bread 1 loaf	$0.94 BTN80.48	$0.92 MNT3,124.01	-2.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$1.68 BTN143.36	$6.82 MNT23,187.50	+306.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.17 BTN270.39	$5.44 MNT18,498.60	+71.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.20 BTN188.13	$2.21 MNT7,518.68	+0.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.74 BTN148.31	$2.04 MNT6,945.64	+17.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.07 BTN91.27	$1.69 MNT5,745.51	+58.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.65 BTN55.90	$1.30 MNT4,430.09	+99.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.82 BTN70.28	$1.91 MNT6,503.39	+132.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.37 BTN31.49	$1.47 MNT5,003.13	+299.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.23 BTN19.62	$0.31 MNT1,037.72	+32.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.26 BTN21.90	$0.46 MNT1,547.26	+77.4%
Average			+99.3%

Thimphu vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of groceries

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pay 20.9% more for transportation

	Thimphu	Ulaanbaatar
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.93 BTN335.09	$4.00 MNT13,586.19	+1.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$3.97 BTN338.56	$8.09 MNT27,500.00	+104.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,215.98 BTN1,810,872.24	$30,311.95 MNT103,000,000.00	+42.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$15.09 BTN1,287.73	$5.30 MNT18,000.00	-64.9%
Average			+20.9%

Thimphu vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.5 times more for housing

	Thimphu	Ulaanbaatar
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$31.25 BTN2,666.94	$14.66 MNT49,800.00	-53.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$124.45 BTN10,622.43	$559.15 MNT1,900,000.00	+349.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$79.38 BTN6,775.60	$428.82 MNT1,457,142.86	+440.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$16.69 BTN1,424.32	$58.64 MNT199,261.01	+251.4%
Average			+246.9%

Thimphu vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of housing

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pay 6.0 times more for childcare

	Thimphu	Ulaanbaatar
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$246.05 BTN21,001.09	$153.03 MNT520,000.00	-37.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$677.73 BTN57,847.31	$7,690.11 MNT26,131,000.00	+1034.7%
Average			+498.5%

Thimphu vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Thimphu	Ulaanbaatar
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.43 BTN548.95	$1.77 MNT6,000.00	-72.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.53 BTN130.79	$2.52 MNT8,557.14	+64.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.83 BTN326.96	$1.77 MNT6,000.00	-53.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$49.11 BTN4,191.83	$59.96 MNT203,750.00	+22.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.54 BTN301.81	$4.56 MNT15,500.00	+29.0%
Average			-2.2%

Thimphu vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 4.6 times more for clothing

	Thimphu	Ulaanbaatar
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$9.43 BTN804.83	$66.51 MNT226,000.00	+605.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$11.79 BTN1,006.04	$50.62 MNT171,999.80	+329.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$32.41 BTN2,766.61	$88.29 MNT300,000.00	+172.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$32.41 BTN2,766.61	$142.24 MNT483,333.33	+338.8%
Average			+361.5%

Thimphu 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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