Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sydney and Darkhan

For one person, living is cheaper in Darkhan: $655 a month against $3,182 in Sydney, rent and utilities included – about $30,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

155

Cost of Living Index in Sydney
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Sydney Living Index
31

Cost of Living Index in Darkhan
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Darkhan Living Index

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Sydney

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,182

/mo nomad

Darkhan

🇲🇳 Mongolia

$655

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sydney and in Darkhan

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Sydney and in Darkhan actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,182 in Sydney versus $655 in Darkhan.

Sydney $3,182
Darkhan $655

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,696 in Sydney versus $1,075 in Darkhan.

Sydney $4,696
Darkhan $1,075

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,210 in Sydney versus $1,496 in Darkhan.

Sydney $6,210
Darkhan $1,496

Living in Sydney is roughly 386% more expensive than in Darkhan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sydney is 137% above, Darkhan is 51% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.66 A$25.28

$5.46 MNT 19.6K

223.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$97.1 A$139

$31.74 MNT 114.0K

205.89%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.94 A$17.09

$5.62 MNT 20.2K

112.46%

Cappuccino

$4.00 A$5.72

$2.39 MNT 8,575

67.36%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 A$4.06

$0.87 MNT 3,140

226.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.27 A$3.25

$0.57 MNT 2,065

298.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.89 A$11.29

$2.35 MNT 8,427

235.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.13 A$10.20

$3.41 MNT 12.3K

109.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 A$2.38

$1.44 MNT 5,184

15.28%

White Bread (500g)

$2.79 A$4.00

$1.02 MNT 3,653

173.53%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.32 A$3.33

$2.06 MNT 7,389

12.62%

Eggs

$5.53 A$7.92

$2.16 MNT 7,750

156.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.08 A$17.28

$12.46 MNT 44.8K

-3.05%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.84 A$14.09

$4.87 MNT 17.5K

102.05%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.61 A$23.78

$7.44 MNT 26.7K

123.25%

Apples (1kg)

$4.02 A$5.76

$3.21 MNT 11.5K

25.23%

Banana (1kg)

$3.15 A$4.51

$2.39 MNT 8,592

31.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.50 A$5.01

$3.84 MNT 13.8K

-8.85%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.47 A$6.39

$3.07 MNT 11.0K

45.60%

Potato (1kg)

$3.32 A$4.76

$0.71 MNT 2,567

367.61%

Onion (1kg)

$2.30 A$3.30

$1.05 MNT 3,772

119.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.34 A$3.35

$1.71 MNT 6,146

36.84%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 A$1.65

$0.73 MNT 2,626

57.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$45.02 A$64.4

$1.67 MNT 5,985

2595.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.96 A$19.97

$10.29 MNT 37.0K

35.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.98 A$5.70

$1.43 MNT 5,126

178.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.07 A$5.82

$1.80 MNT 6,455

126.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.16 A$4.52

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$150 A$215

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.45 A$4.94

$0.55 MNT 1,967

527.27%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.63 A$2.33

$0.54 MNT 1,950

201.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.98 A$57.2

$6.48 MNT 23.3K

516.98%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 A$2.01

$1.07 MNT 3,852

30.84%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$28.4K A$40.7K

$27.3K MNT 98.2M

3.98%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$29.4K A$42.1K

$35.4K MNT 127.4M

-17.04%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$220 A$315

$70.6 MNT 253.8K

211.33%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$27.70 A$39.64

$7.68 MNT 27.6K

260.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.5 A$79.5

$13.82 MNT 49.7K

301.81%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$74.3 A$106

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.95 A$34.28

Cinema Ticket

$17.73 A$25.37

$4.24 MNT 15.2K

318.16%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$2,157 A$3,087

$831 MNT 3.0M

159.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.3K A$40.5K

$8,568 MNT 30.8M

230.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.4 A$112

$83.5 MNT 299.8K

-6.04%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$70.5 A$101

$45.49 MNT 163.5K

55.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 A$159

$103 MNT 371.8K

7.60%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$132 A$189

$185 MNT 665.6K

-28.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,514 A$3,598

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,732 A$2,478

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,889 A$6,996

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,039 A$4,349

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.2K A$18.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,117 A$11.6K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,082 A$5,842

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.84

10.32

-43.41%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Sydney: October 5, 2026

Last update for Darkhan: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Sydney

$1.7K 54.5%

Darkhan

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Sydney

$380 12%

Darkhan

$238 37% 37.5% $143

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sydney

$303 9.6%

Darkhan

$92 14.3% 69.6% $211

Eating Out

Sydney

$299 9.4%

Darkhan

$114 17.7% 62.1% $186

Clothing & Footwear

Sydney

$176 5.6%

Darkhan

$188 29.2% 6.5% $12

Getting Around

Sydney

$174 5.5%

Darkhan

$3.3 * 0.5% 98.1% $171

Sport & Entertainment

Sydney

$110 3.5%

Darkhan

$8.5 * 1.3% 92.3% $101

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $97.0 in Sydney vs $32.00 in Darkhan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $380 vs $238 per month, with Darkhan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Sydney

🇲🇳 Darkhan

🕒 Local time

22:14 10:14 PM

19:14 7:14 PM

3 h behind Sydney

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,840,600

74,738

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Mongolian Tögrög MNT ₮

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.699 USD

1 AUD = 0.624 EUR

10,000 MNT = 2.78 USD

10,000 MNT = 2.48 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MNT, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.699 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 AUD (1 AUD = 0.624 EUR).

Mongolian Tögrög exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3,593 MNT (10,000 MNT = 2.78 USD). 1 EUR = 4,026 MNT (10,000 MNT = 2.48 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sydney Darkhan 10,290 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

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Darkhan

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Sydney vs Darkhan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Darkhan wins on cost – living expenses run 386% lower than in Sydney. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Darkhan the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $4,774 in Sydney and $983 in Darkhan to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Childcare runs $2,157 in Sydney versus $831 in Darkhan. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Darkhan – a meal for two runs $32.00 versus $97.0 in Sydney. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $655 in Darkhan versus $3,182 in Sydney, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Darkhan but tight or insufficient in Sydney. The gap between the two cities makes Darkhan the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Sydney and Darkhan are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Darkhan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 386% less than in Sydney. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.