Cost of living comparison

Mongolia

compared to

Afghanistan

Kabul vs. Ulaanbaatar Cost of Living Summary

Kabul is 62.8% cheaper than Ulaanbaatar.

Restaurants: pay 43.6% less in Kabul
Groceries: pay 60.0% less in Kabul
Transportation: pay 24.9% less in Kabul
Housing: pay 68.5% less in Kabul
Childcare: pay 94.4% less in Kabul
Entertainment and Sports: pay 51.7% less in Kabul
Clothing: pay 75.8% less in Kabul

Expenses including childcare, clothing, housing, groceries, entertainment and sports, and restaurants are lower in Kabul.

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Kabul vs. Ulaanbaatar Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 43.6% less for restaurants

	Ulaanbaatar	Kabul
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.56 MNT20,000.00	$2.77 AFN179	-50.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.56 MNT20,000.00	$4.62 AFN298	-16.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.86 MNT3,083.33	$0.47 AFN31	-44.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.59 MNT2,125.00	$0.15 AFN10	-73.9%
Average			-43.6%

Ulaanbaatar vs. Kabul - Cost of restaurants

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pay 60.0% less for groceries

	Ulaanbaatar	Kabul
Bread 1 loaf	$1.00 MNT3,588.33	$0.24 AFN15	-75.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.18 MNT22,248.75	$2.19 AFN141	-64.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.49 MNT19,758.34	$3.21 AFN207	-41.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.10 MNT7,573.96	$1.55 AFN100	-26.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.22 MNT7,975.68	$1.81 AFN117	-18.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.39 MNT5,003.76	$0.32 AFN21	-77.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.09 MNT3,926.41	$0.40 AFN26	-63.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.69 MNT6,091.75	$0.42 AFN27	-75.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.37 MNT4,944.16	$0.24 AFN15	-82.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.33 MNT1,188.41	$0.28 AFN18	-15.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.48 MNT1,730.24	$0.22 AFN14	-53.6%
Average			-60.0%

Ulaanbaatar vs. Kabul - Cost of groceries

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pay 24.9% less for transportation

	Ulaanbaatar	Kabul
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.32 MNT15,549.41	$4.19 AFN270	-3.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$16.67 MNT60,000.00	$20.77 AFN1,340	+24.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,896.36 MNT97M	$8,461.54 AFN546K	-68.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.86 MNT17,500.00	$5.77 AFN372	+18.6%
Average			-24.9%

Ulaanbaatar vs. Kabul - Cost of transportation

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pay 68.5% less for housing

	Ulaanbaatar	Kabul
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$13.63 MNT49,062.50	$96.92 AFN6,252	+611.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$569.30 MNT2M	$123.08 AFN7,938	-78.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$444.50 MNT2M	$108.80 AFN7,018	-75.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$54.38 MNT196K	$32.46 AFN2,094	-40.3%
Average			-68.5%

Ulaanbaatar vs. Kabul - Cost of housing

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pay 94.4% less for childcare

	Ulaanbaatar	Kabul
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$817.79 MNT3M	$20.26 AFN1,307	-97.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,262.71 MNT30M	$1,046.15 AFN67,477	-87.3%
Average			-94.4%

Ulaanbaatar vs. Kabul - Cost of childcare

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pay 51.7% less for entertainment and sports

	Ulaanbaatar	Kabul
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.36 MNT8,500.00	$2.31 AFN149	-2.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.42 MNT8,692.31	$1.10 AFN71	-54.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.68 MNT6,044.89	$2.38 AFN154	+42.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$67.73 MNT244K	$11.08 AFN714	-83.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.17 MNT15,000.00	$2.31 AFN149	-44.6%
Average			-51.7%

Ulaanbaatar vs. Kabul - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 75.8% less for clothing

	Ulaanbaatar	Kabul
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$81.73 MNT294K	$10.64 AFN686	-87.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$45.38 MNT163K	$16.00 AFN1,032	-64.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$102.93 MNT370K	$57.69 AFN3,721	-44.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$187.55 MNT675K	$25.08 AFN1,617	-86.6%
Average			-75.8%

Ulaanbaatar vs. Kabul - 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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