Cost of living comparison

Tonga

compared to

Mongolia

Ulaanbaatar vs. Nuku'alofa Cost of Living Summary

Ulaanbaatar is 10.5% cheaper than Nuku'alofa.

Restaurants: pay 48.4% less in Ulaanbaatar
Groceries: pay 25.6% less in Ulaanbaatar
Transportation: pay 1.2% more in Ulaanbaatar
Housing: pay 38.5% less in Ulaanbaatar
Childcare: pay 13.1 times more in Ulaanbaatar
Entertainment and Sports: pay 48.6% less in Ulaanbaatar
Clothing: pay 4.6 times more in Ulaanbaatar

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

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Ulaanbaatar vs. Nuku'alofa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Ulaanbaatar instead of Nuku'alofa, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 48.4% less for restaurants

	Nuku'alofa	Ulaanbaatar
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.31 TOP20.00	$5.56 MNT20,000.00	-33.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.38 TOP25.00	$5.56 MNT20,000.00	-46.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.84 TOP6.83	$0.86 MNT3,083.33	-69.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.46 TOP5.92	$0.59 MNT2,125.00	-76.0%
Average			-48.4%

Nuku'alofa vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of restaurants

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pay 25.6% less for groceries

	Nuku'alofa	Ulaanbaatar
Bread 1 loaf	$1.04 TOP2.50	$1.00 MNT3,588.33	-4.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.50 TOP10.83	$6.18 MNT22,248.75	+37.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.92 TOP14.26	$5.49 MNT19,758.34	-7.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.09 TOP12.27	$2.10 MNT7,573.96	-58.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.67 TOP6.43	$2.22 MNT7,975.68	-17.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.26 TOP3.02	$1.39 MNT5,003.76	+10.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.26 TOP3.02	$1.09 MNT3,926.41	-13.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.32 TOP3.18	$1.69 MNT6,091.75	+28.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.70 TOP4.08	$1.37 MNT4,944.16	-19.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.44 TOP3.48	$0.33 MNT1,188.41	-77.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.19 TOP2.87	$0.48 MNT1,730.24	-59.7%
Average			-25.6%

Nuku'alofa vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of groceries

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pay 1.2% more for transportation

	Nuku'alofa	Ulaanbaatar
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.50 TOP13.25	$4.32 MNT15,549.41	-21.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$41.53 TOP100.00	$16.67 MNT60,000.00	-59.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$5,814.53 TOP14,000.00	$26,896.36 MNT97M	+362.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.69 TOP45.00	$4.86 MNT17,500.00	-74.0%
Average			+1.2%

Nuku'alofa vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of transportation

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pay 38.5% less for housing

	Nuku'alofa	Ulaanbaatar
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$124.60 TOP300.00	$13.63 MNT49,062.50	-89.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$622.99 TOP1,500.00	$569.30 MNT2M	-8.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	??	$444.50 MNT2M
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$142.92 TOP344.12	$54.38 MNT196K	-61.9%
Average			-38.5%

Nuku'alofa vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of housing

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pay 13.1 times more for childcare

	Nuku'alofa	Ulaanbaatar
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$157.82 TOP380.00	$817.79 MNT3M	+418.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$249.19 TOP600.00	$8,262.71 MNT30M	+3215.8%
Average			+1210.8%

Nuku'alofa vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of childcare

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pay 48.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Nuku'alofa	Ulaanbaatar
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.32 TOP8.00	$2.36 MNT8,500.00	-28.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.91 TOP7.00	$2.42 MNT8,692.31	-16.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$10.18 TOP24.50	$1.68 MNT6,044.89	-83.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.15 TOP75.00	$67.73 MNT244K	+117.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$41.53 TOP100.00	$4.17 MNT15,000.00	-90.0%
Average			-48.6%

Nuku'alofa vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 4.6 times more for clothing

	Nuku'alofa	Ulaanbaatar
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$14.54 TOP35.00	$81.73 MNT294K	+462.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$17.65 TOP42.50	$45.38 MNT163K	+157.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$20.77 TOP50.00	$102.93 MNT370K	+395.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$29.07 TOP70.00	$187.55 MNT675K	+545.1%
Average			+363.7%

Nuku'alofa 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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