Cost of living comparison

Mongolia

compared to

Turkey

Istanbul vs. Ulaanbaatar Cost of Living Summary

Istanbul is 36.0% more expensive than Ulaanbaatar.

Restaurants: pay 83.0% more in Istanbul
Groceries: pay 22.7% less in Istanbul
Transportation: pay 96.1% more in Istanbul
Housing: pay 52.0% more in Istanbul
Childcare: pay 98.3% more in Istanbul
Entertainment and Sports: pay 62.7% more in Istanbul
Clothing: pay 27.1% less in Istanbul

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

Planning a move to Turkey? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Istanbul vs. Ulaanbaatar Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 83.0% more for restaurants

	Ulaanbaatar	Istanbul
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.56 MNT20,000.00	$12.19 TRY606.11	+119.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.56 MNT20,000.00	$9.35 TRY464.68	+68.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.86 MNT3,083.33	$1.73 TRY86.04	+102.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.59 MNT2,125.00	$0.58 TRY28.76	-2.0%
Average			+83.0%

Ulaanbaatar vs. Istanbul - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 22.7% less for groceries

	Ulaanbaatar	Istanbul
Bread 1 loaf	$1.00 MNT3,588.33	$0.92 TRY45.76	-7.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.18 MNT22,248.75	$5.28 TRY262.29	-14.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.49 MNT19,758.34	$4.69 TRY232.86	-14.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.10 MNT7,573.96	$2.41 TRY119.84	+14.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.22 MNT7,975.68	$2.54 TRY126.19	+14.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.39 MNT5,003.76	$0.85 TRY42.32	-38.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.09 MNT3,926.41	$1.03 TRY51.06	-5.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.69 MNT6,091.75	$0.57 TRY28.45	-66.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.37 MNT4,944.16	$0.84 TRY41.53	-39.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.33 MNT1,188.41	$0.31 TRY15.42	-6.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.48 MNT1,730.24	$0.29 TRY14.22	-40.5%
Average			-22.7%

Ulaanbaatar vs. Istanbul - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 96.1% more for transportation

	Ulaanbaatar	Istanbul
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.32 MNT15,549.41	$5.43 TRY270.07	+25.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$16.67 MNT60,000.00	$67.03 TRY3,331.58	+302.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,896.36 MNT97M	$50,810.11 TRY3M	+88.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.86 MNT17,500.00	$8.40 TRY417.69	+72.8%
Average			+96.1%

Ulaanbaatar vs. Istanbul - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 52.0% more for housing

	Ulaanbaatar	Istanbul
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$13.63 MNT49,062.50	$16.15 TRY802.49	+18.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$569.30 MNT2M	$996.85 TRY49,547.03	+75.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$444.50 MNT2M	$647.83 TRY32,199.56	+45.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$54.38 MNT196K	$68.87 TRY3,423.14	+26.6%
Average			+52.0%

Ulaanbaatar vs. Istanbul - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 98.3% more for childcare

	Ulaanbaatar	Istanbul
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$817.79 MNT3M	$1,021.62 TRY50,778.49	+24.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,262.71 MNT30M	$25,999.20 TRY1M	+214.7%
Average			+98.3%

Ulaanbaatar vs. Istanbul - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 62.7% more for entertainment and sports

	Ulaanbaatar	Istanbul
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.36 MNT8,500.00	$4.78 TRY237.39	+102.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.42 MNT8,692.31	$4.31 TRY214.45	+78.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.68 MNT6,044.89	$2.34 TRY116.17	+39.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$67.73 MNT244K	$76.22 TRY3,788.18	+12.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.17 MNT15,000.00	$8.13 TRY404.07	+95.1%
Average			+62.7%

Ulaanbaatar vs. Istanbul - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 27.1% less for clothing

	Ulaanbaatar	Istanbul
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$81.73 MNT294K	$53.35 TRY2,651.47	-34.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$45.38 MNT163K	$39.62 TRY1,969.15	-12.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$102.93 MNT370K	$99.91 TRY4,966.02	-2.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$187.55 MNT675K	$95.52 TRY4,747.86	-49.1%
Average			-27.1%

Ulaanbaatar vs. Istanbul - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

Compare further: Ulaanbaatar vs. Istanbul

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Istanbul?

More cost comparisons

Ulaanbaatar vs.

Shanghai

Ulaanbaatar vs.

Toronto

Ulaanbaatar vs.

Paris

Ulaanbaatar vs.

Sydney

Ulaanbaatar vs.

Athens

Ulaanbaatar vs.

Cairo

Ulaanbaatar vs.

Berlin

Ulaanbaatar vs.

Vienna

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

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

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

Add prices for Ulaanbaatar

Add prices for Istanbul

Ask the Elsewhere Community

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