Cost of living comparison

compared to

Mongolia vs. South Africa Cost of Living Summary

Mongolia is 9.4% more expensive than South Africa overall.

Restaurants: pay 26.9% less in Mongolia
Groceries: pay 34.7% more in Mongolia
Transportation: pay 30.2% less in Mongolia
Housing: pay 16.4% less in Mongolia
Childcare: pay 31.8% more in Mongolia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 10.4% more in Mongolia
Clothing: pay 62.7% more in Mongolia

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

Mongolia vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Mongolia instead of South Africa, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 26.9% less for restaurants

	South Africa	Mongolia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.33 ZAR159.73	$5.56 MNT19,913.00	-40.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.11 ZAR87.49	$5.41 MNT19,365.39	+5.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.03 ZAR17.65	$0.72 MNT2,588.69	-29.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.80 ZAR13.74	$0.46 MNT1,637.41	-43.1%
Average			-26.9%

South Africa vs. Mongolia - Cost of restaurants

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pay 34.7% more for groceries

	South Africa	Mongolia
Bread 1 loaf	$1.00 ZAR17.16	$0.92 MNT3,304.31	-8.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.88 ZAR66.47	$5.86 MNT21,008.22	+51.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.37 ZAR74.79	$5.29 MNT18,955.04	+21.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.33 ZAR39.93	$2.05 MNT7,329.93	-12.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.13 ZAR36.52	$2.65 MNT9,484.02	+24.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.73 ZAR12.46	$1.34 MNT4,786.76	+83.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.65 ZAR11.16	$1.03 MNT3,703.28	+58.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.68 ZAR11.70	$1.87 MNT6,683.97	+173.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 ZAR12.14	$1.17 MNT4,177.48	+64.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 ZAR10.02	$0.31 MNT1,106.47	-47.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.60 ZAR10.27	$0.44 MNT1,580.67	-26.5%
Average			+34.7%

South Africa vs. Mongolia - Cost of groceries

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pay 30.2% less for transportation

	South Africa	Mongolia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.92 ZAR84.25	$3.78 MNT13,555.64	-23.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$56.18 ZAR961.29	$8.34 MNT29,869.50	-85.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,394.82 ZAR366,106.47	$28,628.61 MNT102,551,962.31	+33.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.34 ZAR159.79	$5.00 MNT17,921.70	-46.4%
Average			-30.2%

South Africa vs. Mongolia - Cost of transportation

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pay 16.4% less for housing

	South Africa	Mongolia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.36 ZAR673.48	$13.74 MNT49,201.71	-65.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$404.16 ZAR6,915.94	$503.97 MNT1,805,294.99	+24.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$361.59 ZAR6,187.51	$394.69 MNT1,413,823.17	+9.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$88.13 ZAR1,508.04	$58.01 MNT207,795.08	-34.2%
Average			-16.4%

South Africa vs. Mongolia - Cost of housing

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pay 31.8% more for childcare

	South Africa	Mongolia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$173.48 ZAR2,968.50	$166.77 MNT597,390.07	-3.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,962.11 ZAR67,799.29	$6,632.97 MNT23,760,294.02	+67.4%
Average			+31.8%

South Africa vs. Mongolia - Cost of childcare

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pay 10.4% more for entertainment and sports

	South Africa	Mongolia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.18 ZAR37.27	$1.95 MNT6,969.55	-10.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.05 ZAR35.06	$2.42 MNT8,675.43	+18.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.96 ZAR50.72	$1.71 MNT6,142.65	-42.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$30.26 ZAR517.83	$69.49 MNT248,912.53	+129.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.85 ZAR117.19	$3.89 MNT13,939.10	-43.2%
Average			+10.4%

South Africa vs. Mongolia - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 62.7% more for clothing

	South Africa	Mongolia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$50.74 ZAR868.31	$81.91 MNT293,429.59	+61.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.75 ZAR560.46	$65.60 MNT234,973.23	+100.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$94.19 ZAR1,611.79	$98.97 MNT354,518.77	+5.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$81.80 ZAR1,399.67	$150.55 MNT539,310.48	+84.1%
Average			+62.7%

South Africa vs. Mongolia - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025

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