Cost of living comparison

compared to

Ulaanbaatar vs. Helsinki Cost of Living Summary

Ulaanbaatar is 46.3% cheaper than Helsinki.

Restaurants
pay 67.5% less in Ulaanbaatar
Groceries
pay 23.4% less in Ulaanbaatar
Transportation
pay 59.8% less in Ulaanbaatar
Housing
pay 51.0% less in Ulaanbaatar
Childcare
pay 5.7% more in Ulaanbaatar
Entertainment and Sports
pay 60.8% less in Ulaanbaatar
Clothing
pay 3.2% more in Ulaanbaatar

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

Ulaanbaatar vs. Helsinki Cost Breakdown

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

pay 67.5% less for restaurants

 
Helsinki
Ulaanbaatar
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $17.92
€15.99
$5.56
MNT20,000.00
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$13.44
€11.99
$5.56
MNT20,000.00
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $3.45
€3.08
$0.86
MNT3,083.33

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pay 23.4% less for groceries

 
Helsinki
Ulaanbaatar
Bread
1 loaf
$2.76
€2.46
$1.00
MNT3,588.33
Local cheese (8 oz) $4.96
€4.42
$6.18
MNT22,248.75
Milk (1 gallon) $5.08
€4.54
$5.49
MNT19,758.34

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pay 59.8% less for transportation

 
Helsinki
Ulaanbaatar
Gasoline (1 gallon) $8.89
€7.93
$4.32
MNT15,549.41
Monthly public transit pass $81.74
€72.96
$16.67
MNT60,000.00
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $36,622.07
€32,686.59
$26,896.36
MNT97M

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pay 51.0% less for housing

 
Helsinki
Ulaanbaatar
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$24.77
€22.11
$13.63
MNT49,062.50
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,207.26
€1,077.53
$569.30
MNT2M
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $904.00
€806.85
$444.50
MNT2M

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pay 5.7% more for childcare

 
Helsinki
Ulaanbaatar
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $476.51
€425.30
$817.79
MNT3M
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $12,685.20
€11,322.03
$8,262.71
MNT30M

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pay 60.8% less for entertainment and sports

 
Helsinki
Ulaanbaatar
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $10.08
€8.99
$2.36
MNT8,500.00
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.23
€4.67
$2.42
MNT8,692.31
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$14.00
€12.49
$1.68
MNT6,044.89

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pay 3.2% more for clothing

 
Helsinki
Ulaanbaatar
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$92.46
€82.52
$81.73
MNT294K
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$43.55
€38.87
$45.38
MNT163K
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$104.85
€93.58
$102.93
MNT370K

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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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