Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Mongolia

Ulaanbaatar vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Ulaanbaatar is 10.8% cheaper than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 22.4% more in Ulaanbaatar
Groceries: pay 12.5% more in Ulaanbaatar
Transportation: pay 10.5% less in Ulaanbaatar
Housing: pay 26.5% less in Ulaanbaatar
Childcare: pay 58.4% less in Ulaanbaatar
Entertainment and Sports: pay 17.5% less in Ulaanbaatar
Clothing: pay 45.2% more in Ulaanbaatar

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

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Ulaanbaatar vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 22.4% more for restaurants

	Shanghai	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)	$0.60 CN¥4.00	$0.86 MNT3,083.33	+42.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$0.59 MNT2,125.00	+59.6%
Average			+22.4%

Shanghai vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of restaurants

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pay 12.5% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Ulaanbaatar
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.18	$1.00 MNT3,588.33	-49.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.38	$6.18 MNT22,248.75	-28.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥45.90	$5.49 MNT19,758.34	-20.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.33	$2.10 MNT7,573.96	+24.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.86	$2.22 MNT7,975.68	+49.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.63	$1.39 MNT5,003.76	+39.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.14	$1.09 MNT3,926.41	+41.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.03	$1.69 MNT6,091.75	+87.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.13	$1.37 MNT4,944.16	+78.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.39	$0.33 MNT1,188.41	-7.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.89	$0.48 MNT1,730.24	+11.0%
Average			+12.5%

Shanghai vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of groceries

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pay 10.5% less for transportation

	Shanghai	Ulaanbaatar
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.13	$4.32 MNT15,549.41	-13.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.09	$16.67 MNT60,000.00	-44.1%
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)	$5.67 CN¥37.83	$4.86 MNT17,500.00	-14.2%
Average			-10.5%

Shanghai vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of transportation

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pay 26.5% less for housing

	Shanghai	Ulaanbaatar
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.41	$13.63 MNT49,062.50	+29.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,920.65	$569.30 MNT2M	-45.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,929.04	$444.50 MNT2M	-24.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.03	$54.38 MNT196K	+23.4%
Average			-26.5%

Shanghai vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of housing

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pay 58.4% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Ulaanbaatar
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,433.67	$817.79 MNT3M	-42.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$8,262.71 MNT30M	-70.2%
Average			-58.4%

Shanghai vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of childcare

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pay 17.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Ulaanbaatar
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.96	$2.36 MNT8,500.00	+97.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.36	$2.42 MNT8,692.31	-27.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.89	$1.68 MNT6,044.89	-55.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥438.41	$67.73 MNT244K	+3.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.73	$4.17 MNT15,000.00	-53.4%
Average			-17.5%

Shanghai vs. Ulaanbaatar - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 45.2% more for clothing

	Shanghai	Ulaanbaatar
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥362.87	$81.73 MNT294K	+50.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥247.57	$45.38 MNT163K	+22.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥503.82	$102.93 MNT370K	+36.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥705.47	$187.55 MNT675K	+77.4%
Average			+45.2%

Shanghai 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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