Cost of living comparison

Mongolia

compared to

Japan

Tokyo vs. Ulaanbaatar Cost of Living Summary

Tokyo is 54.3% more expensive than Ulaanbaatar.

Restaurants: pay 23.8% more in Tokyo
Groceries: pay 51.8% more in Tokyo
Transportation: pay 53.1% more in Tokyo
Housing: pay 91.9% more in Tokyo
Childcare: pay 90.4% more in Tokyo
Entertainment and Sports: pay 69.9% more in Tokyo
Clothing: pay 41.5% less in Tokyo

The cost of housing, childcare, entertainment and sports, transportation, groceries, and restaurants in Tokyo are more expensive than in Ulaanbaatar. Notably, housing and childcare are significantly more expensive in Tokyo.

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Tokyo vs. Ulaanbaatar Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 23.8% more for restaurants

	Ulaanbaatar	Tokyo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.56 MNT20,000.00	$7.59 ¥1,191	+36.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.56 MNT20,000.00	$5.06 ¥794	-8.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.86 MNT3,083.33	$1.64 ¥257	+91.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.59 MNT2,125.00	$0.89 ¥139	+50.0%
Average			+23.8%

Ulaanbaatar vs. Tokyo - Cost of restaurants

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pay 51.8% more for groceries

	Ulaanbaatar	Tokyo
Bread 1 loaf	$1.00 MNT3,588.33	$1.71 ¥268	+71.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.18 MNT22,248.75	$5.29 ¥830	-14.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.49 MNT19,758.34	$5.75 ¥902	+4.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.10 MNT7,573.96	$2.26 ¥355	+7.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.22 MNT7,975.68	$3.08 ¥483	+39.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.39 MNT5,003.76	$2.15 ¥337	+54.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.09 MNT3,926.41	$1.07 ¥168	-1.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.69 MNT6,091.75	$1.96 ¥307	+15.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.37 MNT4,944.16	$2.39 ¥375	+73.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.33 MNT1,188.41	$1.53 ¥240	+362.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.48 MNT1,730.24	$1.46 ¥229	+203.9%
Average			+51.8%

Ulaanbaatar vs. Tokyo - Cost of groceries

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pay 53.1% more for transportation

	Ulaanbaatar	Tokyo
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.32 MNT15,549.41	$4.08 ¥640	-5.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$16.67 MNT60,000.00	$63.27 ¥9,924	+279.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,896.36 MNT97M	$21,725.38 ¥3M	-19.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.86 MNT17,500.00	$28.47 ¥4,466	+485.5%
Average			+53.1%

Ulaanbaatar vs. Tokyo - Cost of transportation

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pay 91.9% more for housing

	Ulaanbaatar	Tokyo
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$13.63 MNT49,062.50	$30.33 ¥4,758	+122.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$569.30 MNT2M	$1,280.34 ¥201K	+124.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$444.50 MNT2M	$692.48 ¥109K	+55.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$54.38 MNT196K	$113.45 ¥17,796	+108.6%
Average			+91.9%

Ulaanbaatar vs. Tokyo - Cost of housing

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pay 90.4% more for childcare

	Ulaanbaatar	Tokyo
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$817.79 MNT3M	$1,341.43 ¥210K	+64.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,262.71 MNT30M	$18,252.10 ¥3M	+120.9%
Average			+90.4%

Ulaanbaatar vs. Tokyo - Cost of childcare

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pay 69.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Ulaanbaatar	Tokyo
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.36 MNT8,500.00	$3.80 ¥595	+60.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.42 MNT8,692.31	$3.56 ¥559	+47.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.68 MNT6,044.89	$3.92 ¥615	+133.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$67.73 MNT244K	$66.31 ¥10,401	-2.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.17 MNT15,000.00	$12.65 ¥1,985	+203.6%
Average			+69.9%

Ulaanbaatar vs. Tokyo - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 41.5% less for clothing

	Ulaanbaatar	Tokyo
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$81.73 MNT294K	$55.50 ¥8,706	-32.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$45.38 MNT163K	$32.95 ¥5,169	-27.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$102.93 MNT370K	$65.04 ¥10,203	-36.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$187.55 MNT675K	$70.74 ¥11,097	-62.3%
Average			-41.5%

Ulaanbaatar vs. Tokyo - 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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