Cost of living comparison

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

compared to

Sofia, Bulgaria

Sofia vs. Ulaanbaatar Cost of Living Summary

Sofia is 49.5% more expensive than Ulaanbaatar.

Restaurants: pay 89.7% more in Sofia
Groceries: pay 4.7% more in Sofia
Transportation: pay 80.2% more in Sofia
Housing: pay 22.2% more in Sofia
Childcare: pay 2.2 times more in Sofia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 35.3% more in Sofia
Clothing: pay 10.8% less in Sofia

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

Sofia vs. Ulaanbaatar Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 89.7% more for restaurants

	Ulaanbaatar	Sofia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.08 MNT17,250.00	$10.96 BGN18.82	+115.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.86 MNT16,500.00	$8.22 BGN14.11	+69.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.84 MNT2,852.94	$1.48 BGN2.54	+76.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.52 MNT1,773.33	$1.03 BGN1.77	+97.4%
Average			+89.7%

Ulaanbaatar vs. Sofia - Cost of restaurants

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pay 4.7% more for groceries

	Ulaanbaatar	Sofia
Bread 1 loaf	$0.92 MNT3,124.01	$1.12 BGN1.93	+22.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.82 MNT23,187.50	$5.28 BGN9.06	-22.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.44 MNT18,498.60	$6.60 BGN11.33	+21.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.21 MNT7,518.68	$3.55 BGN6.09	+60.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.04 MNT6,945.64	$3.50 BGN6.01	+71.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.69 MNT5,745.51	$0.80 BGN1.37	-52.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.30 MNT4,430.09	$0.85 BGN1.47	-34.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.91 MNT6,503.39	$0.81 BGN1.39	-57.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.47 MNT5,003.13	$1.11 BGN1.90	-24.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.31 MNT1,037.72	$0.51 BGN0.87	+65.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.46 MNT1,547.26	$0.47 BGN0.81	+3.1%
Average			+4.7%

Ulaanbaatar vs. Sofia - Cost of groceries

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pay 80.2% more for transportation

	Ulaanbaatar	Sofia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.00 MNT13,586.19	$5.66 BGN9.71	+41.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$8.09 MNT27,500.00	$27.40 BGN47.04	+238.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$30,311.95 MNT103,000,000.00	$29,952.87 BGN51,421.29	-1.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.30 MNT18,000.00	$7.51 BGN12.89	+41.7%
Average			+80.2%

Ulaanbaatar vs. Sofia - Cost of transportation

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pay 22.2% more for housing

	Ulaanbaatar	Sofia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$14.66 MNT49,800.00	$13.48 BGN23.14	-8.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$559.15 MNT1,900,000.00	$570.94 BGN980.15	+2.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$428.82 MNT1,457,142.86	$430.23 BGN738.60	+0.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$58.64 MNT199,261.01	$114.12 BGN195.92	+94.6%
Average			+22.2%

Ulaanbaatar vs. Sofia - Cost of housing

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pay 2.2 times more for childcare

	Ulaanbaatar	Sofia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$153.03 MNT520,000.00	$554.43 BGN951.81	+262.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$7,690.11 MNT26,131,000.00	$6,747.31 BGN11,583.39	-12.3%
Average			+125.0%

Ulaanbaatar vs. Sofia - Cost of childcare

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pay 35.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Ulaanbaatar	Sofia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.77 MNT6,000.00	$2.74 BGN4.70	+55.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.52 MNT8,557.14	$2.26 BGN3.88	-10.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.77 MNT6,000.00	$3.34 BGN5.74	+89.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$59.96 MNT203,750.00	$37.04 BGN63.59	-38.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.56 MNT15,500.00	$8.22 BGN14.11	+80.2%
Average			+35.3%

Ulaanbaatar vs. Sofia - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 10.8% less for clothing

	Ulaanbaatar	Sofia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$66.51 MNT226,000.00	$70.63 BGN121.26	+6.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$50.62 MNT171,999.80	$33.57 BGN57.63	-33.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$88.29 MNT300,000.00	$99.28 BGN170.43	+12.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$142.24 MNT483,333.33	$102.16 BGN175.38	-28.2%
Average			-10.8%

Ulaanbaatar vs. Sofia - 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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