Cost of living comparison

Mongolia

compared to

China

Beijing vs. Ulaanbaatar Cost of Living Summary

Beijing is 6.0% more expensive than Ulaanbaatar.

Restaurants: pay 21.8% less in Beijing
Groceries: pay 15.1% less in Beijing
Transportation: pay 13.5% more in Beijing
Housing: pay 27.4% more in Beijing
Childcare: pay 53.2% more in Beijing
Entertainment and Sports: pay 6.2% more in Beijing
Clothing: pay 18.8% less in Beijing

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

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Beijing vs. Ulaanbaatar Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 21.8% less for restaurants

	Ulaanbaatar	Beijing
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.56 MNT20,000.00	$4.47 CN¥29.86	-19.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.56 MNT20,000.00	$5.22 CN¥34.84	-6.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.86 MNT3,083.33	$0.52 CN¥3.48	-39.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.59 MNT2,125.00	$0.27 CN¥1.82	-53.9%
Average			-21.8%

Ulaanbaatar vs. Beijing - Cost of restaurants

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pay 15.1% less for groceries

	Ulaanbaatar	Beijing
Bread 1 loaf	$1.00 MNT3,588.33	$1.73 CN¥11.53	+73.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.18 MNT22,248.75	$7.22 CN¥48.15	+16.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.49 MNT19,758.34	$6.41 CN¥42.77	+16.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.10 MNT7,573.96	$2.02 CN¥13.49	-3.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.22 MNT7,975.68	$1.47 CN¥9.78	-33.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.39 MNT5,003.76	$0.93 CN¥6.23	-32.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.09 MNT3,926.41	$0.79 CN¥5.27	-27.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.69 MNT6,091.75	$0.93 CN¥6.19	-45.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.37 MNT4,944.16	$0.71 CN¥4.74	-48.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.33 MNT1,188.41	$0.32 CN¥2.14	-2.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.48 MNT1,730.24	$0.40 CN¥2.65	-17.4%
Average			-15.1%

Ulaanbaatar vs. Beijing - Cost of groceries

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pay 13.5% more for transportation

	Ulaanbaatar	Beijing
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.32 MNT15,549.41	$4.96 CN¥33.11	+14.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$16.67 MNT60,000.00	$34.30 CN¥228.95	+105.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,896.36 MNT97M	$19,374.76 CN¥129K	-28.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.86 MNT17,500.00	$4.68 CN¥31.26	-3.7%
Average			+13.5%

Ulaanbaatar vs. Beijing - Cost of transportation

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pay 27.4% more for housing

	Ulaanbaatar	Beijing
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$13.63 MNT49,062.50	$14.27 CN¥95.23	+4.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$569.30 MNT2M	$936.67 CN¥6,251.34	+64.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$444.50 MNT2M	$530.98 CN¥3,543.75	+19.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$54.38 MNT196K	$44.49 CN¥296.91	-18.2%
Average			+27.4%

Ulaanbaatar vs. Beijing - Cost of housing

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pay 53.2% more for childcare

	Ulaanbaatar	Beijing
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$817.79 MNT3M	$653.29 CN¥4,360.04	-20.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,262.71 MNT30M	$24,281.96 CN¥162K	+193.9%
Average			+53.2%

Ulaanbaatar vs. Beijing - Cost of childcare

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pay 6.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Ulaanbaatar	Beijing
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.36 MNT8,500.00	$1.19 CN¥7.96	-49.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.42 MNT8,692.31	$3.60 CN¥24.03	+49.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.68 MNT6,044.89	$4.33 CN¥28.87	+157.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$67.73 MNT244K	$41.45 CN¥276.62	-38.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.17 MNT15,000.00	$7.46 CN¥49.77	+78.9%
Average			+6.2%

Ulaanbaatar vs. Beijing - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 18.8% less for clothing

	Ulaanbaatar	Beijing
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$81.73 MNT294K	$70.55 CN¥470.84	-13.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$45.38 MNT163K	$40.41 CN¥269.68	-11.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$102.93 MNT370K	$86.99 CN¥580.54	-15.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$187.55 MNT675K	$125.40 CN¥836.91	-33.1%
Average			-18.8%

Ulaanbaatar vs. Beijing - 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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