Cost of living comparison

Turkey

compared to

Mongolia

Ulaanbaatar vs. Istanbul Cost of Living Summary

Ulaanbaatar is 26.5% cheaper than Istanbul.

Restaurants: pay 45.3% less in Ulaanbaatar
Groceries: pay 29.4% more in Ulaanbaatar
Transportation: pay 49.0% less in Ulaanbaatar
Housing: pay 34.2% less in Ulaanbaatar
Childcare: pay 49.6% less in Ulaanbaatar
Entertainment and Sports: pay 38.5% less in Ulaanbaatar
Clothing: pay 37.3% more in Ulaanbaatar

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

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Ulaanbaatar vs. Istanbul Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 45.3% less for restaurants

	Istanbul	Ulaanbaatar
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.19 TRY606.11	$5.56 MNT20,000.00	-54.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.35 TRY464.68	$5.56 MNT20,000.00	-40.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.73 TRY86.04	$0.86 MNT3,083.33	-50.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.58 TRY28.76	$0.59 MNT2,125.00	+2.0%
Average			-45.3%

Istanbul vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of restaurants

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pay 29.4% more for groceries

	Istanbul	Ulaanbaatar
Bread 1 loaf	$0.92 TRY45.76	$1.00 MNT3,588.33	+8.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.28 TRY262.29	$6.18 MNT22,248.75	+17.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.69 TRY232.86	$5.49 MNT19,758.34	+17.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.41 TRY119.84	$2.10 MNT7,573.96	-12.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.54 TRY126.19	$2.22 MNT7,975.68	-12.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.85 TRY42.32	$1.39 MNT5,003.76	+63.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.03 TRY51.06	$1.09 MNT3,926.41	+6.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.57 TRY28.45	$1.69 MNT6,091.75	+195.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.84 TRY41.53	$1.37 MNT4,944.16	+64.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.31 TRY15.42	$0.33 MNT1,188.41	+6.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.29 TRY14.22	$0.48 MNT1,730.24	+68.0%
Average			+29.4%

Istanbul vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of groceries

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pay 49.0% less for transportation

	Istanbul	Ulaanbaatar
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.43 TRY270.07	$4.32 MNT15,549.41	-20.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$67.03 TRY3,331.58	$16.67 MNT60,000.00	-75.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$50,810.11 TRY3M	$26,896.36 MNT97M	-47.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.40 TRY417.69	$4.86 MNT17,500.00	-42.1%
Average			-49.0%

Istanbul vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of transportation

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pay 34.2% less for housing

	Istanbul	Ulaanbaatar
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$16.15 TRY802.49	$13.63 MNT49,062.50	-15.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$996.85 TRY49,547.03	$569.30 MNT2M	-42.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$647.83 TRY32,199.56	$444.50 MNT2M	-31.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$68.87 TRY3,423.14	$54.38 MNT196K	-21.0%
Average			-34.2%

Istanbul vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of housing

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pay 49.6% less for childcare

	Istanbul	Ulaanbaatar
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,021.62 TRY50,778.49	$817.79 MNT3M	-20.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$25,999.20 TRY1M	$8,262.71 MNT30M	-68.2%
Average			-49.6%

Istanbul vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of childcare

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pay 38.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Istanbul	Ulaanbaatar
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.78 TRY237.39	$2.36 MNT8,500.00	-50.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.31 TRY214.45	$2.42 MNT8,692.31	-44.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.34 TRY116.17	$1.68 MNT6,044.89	-28.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$76.22 TRY3,788.18	$67.73 MNT244K	-11.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.13 TRY404.07	$4.17 MNT15,000.00	-48.7%
Average			-38.5%

Istanbul vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 37.3% more for clothing

	Istanbul	Ulaanbaatar
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$53.35 TRY2,651.47	$81.73 MNT294K	+53.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$39.62 TRY1,969.15	$45.38 MNT163K	+14.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$99.91 TRY4,966.02	$102.93 MNT370K	+3.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$95.52 TRY4,747.86	$187.55 MNT675K	+96.3%
Average			+37.3%

Istanbul 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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