Cost of living comparison

Mongolia

compared to

Tonga

Nuku'alofa vs. Ulaanbaatar Cost of Living Summary

Nuku'alofa is 11.7% more expensive than Ulaanbaatar.

Restaurants: pay 93.9% more in Nuku'alofa
Groceries: pay 34.4% more in Nuku'alofa
Transportation: pay 1.2% less in Nuku'alofa
Housing: pay 62.6% more in Nuku'alofa
Childcare: pay 92.4% less in Nuku'alofa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 94.7% more in Nuku'alofa
Clothing: pay 78.4% less in Nuku'alofa

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

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Nuku'alofa vs. Ulaanbaatar Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Nuku'alofa instead of Ulaanbaatar, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 93.9% more for restaurants

	Ulaanbaatar	Nuku'alofa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.56 MNT20,000.00	$8.31 TOP20.00	+49.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.56 MNT20,000.00	$10.38 TOP25.00	+86.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.86 MNT3,083.33	$2.84 TOP6.83	+231.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.59 MNT2,125.00	$2.46 TOP5.92	+316.2%
Average			+93.9%

Ulaanbaatar vs. Nuku'alofa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 34.4% more for groceries

	Ulaanbaatar	Nuku'alofa
Bread 1 loaf	$1.00 MNT3,588.33	$1.04 TOP2.50	+4.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.18 MNT22,248.75	$4.50 TOP10.83	-27.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.49 MNT19,758.34	$5.92 TOP14.26	+7.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.10 MNT7,573.96	$5.09 TOP12.27	+142.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.22 MNT7,975.68	$2.67 TOP6.43	+20.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.39 MNT5,003.76	$1.26 TOP3.02	-9.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.09 MNT3,926.41	$1.26 TOP3.02	+15.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.69 MNT6,091.75	$1.32 TOP3.18	-22.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.37 MNT4,944.16	$1.70 TOP4.08	+23.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.33 MNT1,188.41	$1.44 TOP3.48	+337.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.48 MNT1,730.24	$1.19 TOP2.87	+148.2%
Average			+34.4%

Ulaanbaatar vs. Nuku'alofa - Cost of groceries

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pay 1.2% less for transportation

	Ulaanbaatar	Nuku'alofa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.32 MNT15,549.41	$5.50 TOP13.25	+27.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$16.67 MNT60,000.00	$41.53 TOP100.00	+149.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,896.36 MNT97M	$5,814.53 TOP14,000.00	-78.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.86 MNT17,500.00	$18.69 TOP45.00	+284.4%
Average			-1.2%

Ulaanbaatar vs. Nuku'alofa - Cost of transportation

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pay 62.6% more for housing

	Ulaanbaatar	Nuku'alofa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$13.63 MNT49,062.50	$124.60 TOP300.00	+814.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$569.30 MNT2M	$622.99 TOP1,500.00	+9.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$444.50 MNT2M	??
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$54.38 MNT196K	$142.92 TOP344.12	+162.8%
Average			+62.6%

Ulaanbaatar vs. Nuku'alofa - Cost of housing

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pay 92.4% less for childcare

	Ulaanbaatar	Nuku'alofa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$817.79 MNT3M	$157.82 TOP380.00	-80.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,262.71 MNT30M	$249.19 TOP600.00	-97.0%
Average			-92.4%

Ulaanbaatar vs. Nuku'alofa - Cost of childcare

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pay 94.7% more for entertainment and sports

	Ulaanbaatar	Nuku'alofa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.36 MNT8,500.00	$3.32 TOP8.00	+40.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.42 MNT8,692.31	$2.91 TOP7.00	+20.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.68 MNT6,044.89	$10.18 TOP24.50	+505.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$67.73 MNT244K	$31.15 TOP75.00	-54.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.17 MNT15,000.00	$41.53 TOP100.00	+896.5%
Average			+94.7%

Ulaanbaatar vs. Nuku'alofa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 78.4% less for clothing

	Ulaanbaatar	Nuku'alofa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$81.73 MNT294K	$14.54 TOP35.00	-82.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$45.38 MNT163K	$17.65 TOP42.50	-61.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$102.93 MNT370K	$20.77 TOP50.00	-79.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$187.55 MNT675K	$29.07 TOP70.00	-84.5%
Average			-78.4%

Ulaanbaatar vs. Nuku'alofa - 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 November 2026). How we calculate this

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