Cost of living comparison

Turkmenistan

compared to

Mongolia

Ulaanbaatar vs. Ashgabat Cost of Living Summary

Ulaanbaatar is 50.1% cheaper than Ashgabat.

Restaurants: pay 69.0% less in Ulaanbaatar
Groceries: pay 57.9% less in Ulaanbaatar
Transportation: pay 28.9% more in Ulaanbaatar
Housing: pay 66.8% less in Ulaanbaatar
Childcare: pay 3.5 times more in Ulaanbaatar
Entertainment and Sports: pay 66.7% less in Ulaanbaatar
Clothing: pay 36.7% less in Ulaanbaatar

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

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Ulaanbaatar vs. Ashgabat Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 69.0% less for restaurants

	Ashgabat	Ulaanbaatar
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$31.43 TMT110.00	$5.56 MNT20,000.00	-82.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$12.86 TMT45.00	$5.56 MNT20,000.00	-56.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.57 TMT5.50	$0.86 MNT3,083.33	-45.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.86 TMT3.00	$0.59 MNT2,125.00	-31.1%
Average			-69.0%

Ashgabat vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of restaurants

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pay 57.9% less for groceries

	Ashgabat	Ulaanbaatar
Bread 1 loaf	$2.04 TMT7.13	$1.00 MNT3,588.33	-51.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$18.82 TMT65.88	$6.18 MNT22,248.75	-67.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$17.09 TMT59.81	$5.49 MNT19,758.34	-67.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.00 TMT21.00	$2.10 MNT7,573.96	-64.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$9.07 TMT31.75	$2.22 MNT7,975.68	-75.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.30 TMT8.05	$1.39 MNT5,003.76	-39.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$3.84 TMT13.45	$1.09 MNT3,926.41	-71.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$3.40 TMT11.91	$1.69 MNT6,091.75	-50.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.67 TMT5.85	$1.37 MNT4,944.16	-17.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.04 TMT3.63	$0.33 MNT1,188.41	-68.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.65 TMT2.27	$0.48 MNT1,730.24	-25.8%
Average			-57.9%

Ashgabat vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of groceries

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pay 28.9% more for transportation

	Ashgabat	Ulaanbaatar
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.62 TMT5.68	$4.32 MNT15,549.41	+166.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$10.00 TMT35.00	$16.67 MNT60,000.00	+66.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$43,928.57 TMT154K	$26,896.36 MNT97M	-38.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.71 TMT34.00	$4.86 MNT17,500.00	-49.9%
Average			+28.9%

Ashgabat vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of transportation

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pay 66.8% less for housing

	Ashgabat	Ulaanbaatar
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$102.86 TMT360.00	$13.63 MNT49,062.50	-86.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,414.29 TMT4,950.00	$569.30 MNT2M	-59.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,000.00 TMT3,500.00	$444.50 MNT2M	-55.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$436.97 TMT1,529.41	$54.38 MNT196K	-87.6%
Average			-66.8%

Ashgabat vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of housing

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pay 3.5 times more for childcare

	Ashgabat	Ulaanbaatar
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$22.86 TMT80.00	$817.79 MNT3M	+3477.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$24,807.14 TMT86,825.00	$8,262.71 MNT30M	-66.7%
Average			+245.2%

Ashgabat vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of childcare

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pay 66.7% less for entertainment and sports

	Ashgabat	Ulaanbaatar
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.71 TMT20.00	$2.36 MNT8,500.00	-58.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$6.79 TMT23.75	$2.42 MNT8,692.31	-64.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$25.71 TMT90.00	$1.68 MNT6,044.89	-93.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$195.24 TMT683.33	$67.73 MNT244K	-65.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.57 TMT30.00	$4.17 MNT15,000.00	-51.4%
Average			-66.7%

Ashgabat vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 36.7% less for clothing

	Ashgabat	Ulaanbaatar
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$55.71 TMT195.00	$81.73 MNT294K	+46.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$114.29 TMT400.00	$45.38 MNT163K	-60.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$364.29 TMT1,275.00	$102.93 MNT370K	-71.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$192.86 TMT675.00	$187.55 MNT675K	-2.8%
Average			-36.7%

Ashgabat vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

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