Ulaanbaatar vs. Phnom Penh Cost of Living Summary

Ulaanbaatar is 0.7% more expensive than Phnom Penh.

Restaurants
pay 1.6% less in Ulaanbaatar
Groceries
pay 11.6% less in Ulaanbaatar
Transportation
pay 5.9% less in Ulaanbaatar
Housing
pay 6.6% less in Ulaanbaatar
Childcare
pay 3.6% less in Ulaanbaatar
Entertainment and Sports
pay 22.5% more in Ulaanbaatar
Clothing
pay 2.1 times more in Ulaanbaatar

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

Ulaanbaatar vs. Phnom Penh Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Ulaanbaatar instead of Phnom Penh, you would:

pay 1.6% less for restaurants

 
Phnom Penh
Ulaanbaatar
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $4.00
KHR16,329.21
$5.56
MNT20,000.00
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$7.00
KHR28,576.12
$5.56
MNT20,000.00
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.82
KHR7,450.20
$0.86
MNT3,083.33

Improve prices ·

pay 11.6% less for groceries

 
Phnom Penh
Ulaanbaatar
Bread
1 loaf
$1.62
KHR6,601.82
$1.00
MNT3,588.33
Local cheese (8 oz) $7.46
KHR30,447.17
$6.18
MNT22,248.75
Milk (1 gallon) $8.16
KHR33,310.23
$5.49
MNT19,758.34

Improve prices ·

pay 5.9% less for transportation

 
Phnom Penh
Ulaanbaatar
Gasoline (1 gallon) $5.09
KHR20,762.20
$4.32
MNT15,549.41
Monthly public transit pass $9.60
KHR39,190.10
$16.67
MNT60,000.00
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $35,000.00
KHR143M
$26,896.36
MNT97M

Improve prices ·

pay 6.6% less for housing

 
Phnom Penh
Ulaanbaatar
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$24.89
KHR102K
$13.63
MNT49,062.50
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $646.36
KHR3M
$569.30
MNT2M
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $370.33
KHR2M
$444.50
MNT2M

Improve prices ·

pay 3.6% less for childcare

 
Phnom Penh
Ulaanbaatar
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $661.77
KHR3M
$817.79
MNT3M
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $10,987.71
KHR45M
$8,262.71
MNT30M

Improve prices ·

pay 22.5% more for entertainment and sports

 
Phnom Penh
Ulaanbaatar
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $1.00
KHR4,082.30
$2.36
MNT8,500.00
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.95
KHR12,027.09
$2.42
MNT8,692.31
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$1.89
KHR7,715.55
$1.68
MNT6,044.89

Improve prices ·

pay 2.1 times more for clothing

 
Phnom Penh
Ulaanbaatar
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$28.00
KHR114K
$81.73
MNT294K
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$24.00
KHR97,975.26
$45.38
MNT163K
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$90.83
KHR371K
$102.93
MNT370K

Improve prices ·

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

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Cambodia vs. Mongolia. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Cambodia and Mongolia.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Ulaanbaatar or Phnom Penh. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.