Cost of living comparison

Vientiane, Laos

compared to

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Ulaanbaatar vs. Vientiane Cost of Living Summary

Ulaanbaatar is 19.2% more expensive than Vientiane.

Restaurants: pay 75.4% more in Ulaanbaatar
Groceries: pay 34.9% more in Ulaanbaatar
Transportation: pay 37.3% less in Ulaanbaatar
Housing: pay 10.1% less in Ulaanbaatar
Childcare: pay 35.5% less in Ulaanbaatar
Entertainment and Sports: pay 43.3% more in Ulaanbaatar
Clothing: pay 63.8% more in Ulaanbaatar

The cost of restaurants, clothing, entertainment and sports, and groceries in Ulaanbaatar are more expensive than in Vientiane. Expenses including transportation, childcare, and housing are lower in Ulaanbaatar. Notably, restaurants is significantly more expensive in Ulaanbaatar.

Ulaanbaatar vs. Vientiane Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 75.4% more for restaurants

	Vientiane	Ulaanbaatar
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$1.98 LAK42,963	$5.08 MNT17,250.00	+156.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$2.97 LAK64,444	$4.86 MNT16,500.00	+63.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.53 LAK11,458	$0.84 MNT2,852.94	+58.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.42 LAK9,167	$0.52 MNT1,773.33	+23.4%
Average			+75.4%

Vientiane vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of restaurants

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pay 34.9% more for groceries

	Vientiane	Ulaanbaatar
Bread 1 loaf	$0.91 LAK19,763	$0.92 MNT3,124.01	+0.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$13.72 LAK297,259	$6.82 MNT23,187.50	-50.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.42 LAK139,114	$5.44 MNT18,498.60	-15.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.75 LAK37,934	$2.21 MNT7,518.68	+26.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.95 LAK63,941	$2.04 MNT6,945.64	-30.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.88 LAK19,110	$1.69 MNT5,745.51	+91.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.49 LAK10,668	$1.30 MNT4,430.09	+164.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.92 LAK20,009	$1.91 MNT6,503.39	+107.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.60 LAK12,911	$1.47 MNT5,003.13	+147.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.73 LAK15,731	$0.31 MNT1,037.72	-57.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.46 LAK9,926	$0.46 MNT1,547.26	-0.6%
Average			+34.9%

Vientiane vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of groceries

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pay 37.3% less for transportation

	Vientiane	Ulaanbaatar
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.00 LAK108,434	$4.00 MNT13,586.19	-20.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$49.23 LAK1,066,861	$8.09 MNT27,500.00	-83.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$28,330.27 LAK613,898,678	$30,311.95 MNT103,000,000.00	+7.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$11.18 LAK242,311	$5.30 MNT18,000.00	-52.6%
Average			-37.3%

Vientiane vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of transportation

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pay 10.1% less for housing

	Vientiane	Ulaanbaatar
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$11.17 LAK242,106	$14.66 MNT49,800.00	+31.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$859.15 LAK18,617,272	$559.15 MNT1,900,000.00	-34.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$775.98 LAK16,814,927	$428.82 MNT1,457,142.86	-44.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$54.31 LAK1,176,824	$58.64 MNT199,261.01	+8.0%
Average			-10.1%

Vientiane vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of housing

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pay 35.5% less for childcare

	Vientiane	Ulaanbaatar
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$332.66 LAK7,208,522	$153.03 MNT520,000.00	-54.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,252.41 LAK200,493,696	$7,690.11 MNT26,131,000.00	-16.9%
Average			-35.5%

Vientiane vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of childcare

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pay 43.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Vientiane	Ulaanbaatar
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.95 LAK20,556	$1.77 MNT6,000.00	+86.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.50 LAK32,408	$2.52 MNT8,557.14	+68.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.59 LAK34,370	$1.77 MNT6,000.00	+11.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$49.74 LAK1,077,800	$59.96 MNT203,750.00	+20.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.50 LAK75,927	$4.56 MNT15,500.00	+30.2%
Average			+43.3%

Vientiane vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 63.8% more for clothing

	Vientiane	Ulaanbaatar
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$85.86 LAK1,860,466	$66.51 MNT226,000.00	-22.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$62.88 LAK1,362,539	$50.62 MNT171,999.80	-19.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$57.29 LAK1,241,385	$88.29 MNT300,000.00	+54.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$41.48 LAK898,787	$142.24 MNT483,333.33	+242.9%
Average			+63.8%

Vientiane 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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