Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Mongolia

Ulaanbaatar vs. Beijing Cost of Living Summary

Ulaanbaatar is 5.6% cheaper than Beijing.

Restaurants: pay 27.9% more in Ulaanbaatar
Groceries: pay 17.7% more in Ulaanbaatar
Transportation: pay 11.9% less in Ulaanbaatar
Housing: pay 21.5% less in Ulaanbaatar
Childcare: pay 34.7% less in Ulaanbaatar
Entertainment and Sports: pay 5.9% less in Ulaanbaatar
Clothing: pay 23.2% more in Ulaanbaatar

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

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Ulaanbaatar vs. Beijing Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 27.9% more for restaurants

	Beijing	Ulaanbaatar
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.86	$5.56 MNT20,000.00	+24.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.84	$5.56 MNT20,000.00	+6.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.52 CN¥3.48	$0.86 MNT3,083.33	+64.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.27 CN¥1.82	$0.59 MNT2,125.00	+116.8%
Average			+27.9%

Beijing vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of restaurants

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pay 17.7% more for groceries

	Beijing	Ulaanbaatar
Bread 1 loaf	$1.73 CN¥11.53	$1.00 MNT3,588.33	-42.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.22 CN¥48.15	$6.18 MNT22,248.75	-14.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.41 CN¥42.77	$5.49 MNT19,758.34	-14.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.02 CN¥13.49	$2.10 MNT7,573.96	+4.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.47 CN¥9.78	$2.22 MNT7,975.68	+51.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.93 CN¥6.23	$1.39 MNT5,003.76	+48.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.79 CN¥5.27	$1.09 MNT3,926.41	+38.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.93 CN¥6.19	$1.69 MNT6,091.75	+82.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 CN¥4.74	$1.37 MNT4,944.16	+93.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.32 CN¥2.14	$0.33 MNT1,188.41	+2.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.40 CN¥2.65	$0.48 MNT1,730.24	+21.1%
Average			+17.7%

Beijing vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of groceries

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pay 11.9% less for transportation

	Beijing	Ulaanbaatar
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.11	$4.32 MNT15,549.41	-12.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$34.30 CN¥228.95	$16.67 MNT60,000.00	-51.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥129K	$26,896.36 MNT97M	+38.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.68 CN¥31.26	$4.86 MNT17,500.00	+3.8%
Average			-11.9%

Beijing vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of transportation

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pay 21.5% less for housing

	Beijing	Ulaanbaatar
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$14.27 CN¥95.23	$13.63 MNT49,062.50	-4.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$936.67 CN¥6,251.34	$569.30 MNT2M	-39.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$530.98 CN¥3,543.75	$444.50 MNT2M	-16.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.49 CN¥296.91	$54.38 MNT196K	+22.2%
Average			-21.5%

Beijing vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of housing

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pay 34.7% less for childcare

	Beijing	Ulaanbaatar
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$653.29 CN¥4,360.04	$817.79 MNT3M	+25.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$24,281.96 CN¥162K	$8,262.71 MNT30M	-66.0%
Average			-34.7%

Beijing vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of childcare

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pay 5.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Beijing	Ulaanbaatar
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.96	$2.36 MNT8,500.00	+97.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.60 CN¥24.03	$2.42 MNT8,692.31	-32.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.33 CN¥28.87	$1.68 MNT6,044.89	-61.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.45 CN¥276.62	$67.73 MNT244K	+63.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.46 CN¥49.77	$4.17 MNT15,000.00	-44.1%
Average			-5.9%

Beijing vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 23.2% more for clothing

	Beijing	Ulaanbaatar
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$70.55 CN¥470.84	$81.73 MNT294K	+15.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$40.41 CN¥269.68	$45.38 MNT163K	+12.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$86.99 CN¥580.54	$102.93 MNT370K	+18.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$125.40 CN¥836.91	$187.55 MNT675K	+49.6%
Average			+23.2%

Beijing 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 October 2026). How we calculate this

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