Cost of living comparison
compared to
Seoul vs. Ulaanbaatar Cost of Living Summary
Seoul is 88.5% more expensive than Ulaanbaatar.
- Restaurants
-
pay 66.7% more in Seoul
- Groceries
-
pay 2.3 times more in Seoul
- Transportation
-
pay 2.4 times more in Seoul
- Housing
-
pay 70.0% more in Seoul
- Childcare
-
pay 2.7 times more in Seoul
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 74.8% more in Seoul
- Clothing
-
pay 34.4% less in Seoul
The cost of childcare, transportation, groceries, entertainment and sports, housing, and restaurants in Seoul are more expensive than in Ulaanbaatar. Notably, childcare, transportation, and groceries are significantly more expensive in Seoul.
Seoul vs. Ulaanbaatar Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Seoul instead of Ulaanbaatar, you would:
pay 66.7% more for restaurants
|
Ulaanbaatar
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$5.56
MNT19,913.00
|
$8.49
₩12,514
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$5.41
MNT19,365.39
|
$6.30
₩9,281
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.72
MNT2,588.69
|
$1.64
₩2,415
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.46
MNT1,637.41
|
$0.78
₩1,151
|
|
Ulaanbaatar vs. Seoul - Cost of restaurants
pay 2.3 times more for groceries
|
Ulaanbaatar
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$0.92
MNT3,304.31
|
$3.24
₩4,772
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.86
MNT21,008.22
|
$6.79
₩10,011
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.29
MNT18,955.04
|
$7.85
₩11,566
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.05
MNT7,329.93
|
$2.93
₩4,321
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.65
MNT9,484.02
|
$4.67
₩6,880
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.34
MNT4,786.76
|
$3.45
₩5,078
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.03
MNT3,703.28
|
$1.52
₩2,246
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.87
MNT6,683.97
|
$2.35
₩3,466
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.17
MNT4,177.48
|
$2.77
₩4,086
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.31
MNT1,106.47
|
$1.62
₩2,386
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.44
MNT1,580.67
|
$1.30
₩1,912
|
|
Ulaanbaatar vs. Seoul - Cost of groceries
pay 2.4 times more for transportation
|
Ulaanbaatar
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.78
MNT13,555.64
|
$4.43
₩6,530
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$8.34
MNT29,869.50
|
$45.99
₩67,782
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$28,628.61
MNT102,551,962.31
|
$25,072.36
₩36,951,647
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$5.00
MNT17,921.70
|
$10.50
₩15,475
|
|
Ulaanbaatar vs. Seoul - Cost of transportation
pay 70.0% more for housing
|
Ulaanbaatar
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$13.74
MNT49,201.71
|
$20.56
₩30,296
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$503.97
MNT1,805,294.99
|
$925.55
₩1,364,083
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$394.69
MNT1,413,823.17
|
$559.33
₩824,340
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$58.01
MNT207,795.08
|
$118.88
₩175,208
|
|
Ulaanbaatar vs. Seoul - Cost of housing
pay 2.7 times more for childcare
|
Ulaanbaatar
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$166.77
MNT597,390.07
|
$360.15
₩530,786
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$6,632.97
MNT23,760,294.02
|
$21,667.04
₩31,932,878
|
|
Ulaanbaatar vs. Seoul - Cost of childcare
pay 74.8% more for entertainment and sports
|
Ulaanbaatar
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$1.95
MNT6,969.55
|
$3.54
₩5,214
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.42
MNT8,675.43
|
$3.70
₩5,450
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$1.71
MNT6,142.65
|
$3.18
₩4,693
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$69.49
MNT248,912.53
|
$56.34
₩83,028
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$3.89
MNT13,939.10
|
$10.61
₩15,642
|
|
Ulaanbaatar vs. Seoul - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 34.4% less for clothing
|
Ulaanbaatar
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$81.91
MNT293,429.59
|
$49.77
₩73,344
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$65.60
MNT234,973.23
|
$39.49
₩58,201
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$98.97
MNT354,518.77
|
$74.94
₩110,450
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$150.55
MNT539,310.48
|
$99.06
₩145,992
|
|
Ulaanbaatar vs. Seoul - Cost of clothing
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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