Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sydney and Erdenet

For one person, living is cheaper in Erdenet: $377 a month against $3,182 in Sydney, rent and utilities included – about $33,700 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 Erdenet
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Erdenet Living Index

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Sydney

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,182

/mo nomad

Erdenet

🇲🇳 Mongolia

$377

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sydney and in Erdenet

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 Erdenet actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,182 in Sydney versus $377 in Erdenet.

Sydney $3,182
Erdenet $377

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,696 in Sydney versus $617 in Erdenet.

Sydney $4,696
Erdenet $617

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,210 in Sydney versus $858 in Erdenet.

Sydney $6,210
Erdenet $858

Living in Sydney is roughly 744% more expensive than in Erdenet, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sydney is 137% above, Erdenet is 72% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.66 A$25.28

$4.08 MNT 14.7K

332.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$97.1 A$139

$27.28 MNT 98.0K

255.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.94 A$17.09

$4.08 MNT 14.7K

192.65%

Cappuccino

$4.00 A$5.72

$2.29 MNT 8,214

74.67%

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

$2.84 A$4.06

$0.66 MNT 2,373

330.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.27 A$3.25

$0.40 MNT 1,454

467.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.89 A$11.29

$1.70 MNT 6,100

364.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.13 A$10.20

$1.63 MNT 5,840

337.42%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 A$2.38

$1.01 MNT 3,627

64.36%

White Bread (500g)

$2.79 A$4.00

$0.91 MNT 3,281

206.59%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.32 A$3.33

$2.85 MNT 10.3K

-18.60%

Eggs

$5.53 A$7.92

$2.02 MNT 7,270

173.76%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.08 A$17.28

$7.05 MNT 25.3K

71.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.84 A$14.09

$6.78 MNT 24.4K

45.13%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.61 A$23.78

$4.54 MNT 16.3K

265.86%

Apples (1kg)

$4.02 A$5.76

$2.24 MNT 8,038

79.46%

Banana (1kg)

$3.15 A$4.51

$1.68 MNT 6,054

87.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.50 A$5.01

$1.63 MNT 5,857

114.72%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.47 A$6.39

$1.37 MNT 4,925

226.28%

Potato (1kg)

$3.32 A$4.76

$1.43 MNT 5,136

132.17%

Onion (1kg)

$2.30 A$3.30

$0.85 MNT 3,040

170.59%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.34 A$3.35

$1.41 MNT 5,071

65.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 A$1.65

$0.98 MNT 3,539

17.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$45.02 A$64.4

$2.83 MNT 10.2K

1490.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.96 A$19.97

$5.67 MNT 20.4K

146.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.98 A$5.70

$1.62 MNT 5,830

145.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.07 A$5.82

$1.65 MNT 5,938

146.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.16 A$4.52

$0.15 MNT 549

2006.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$150 A$215

$19.59 MNT 70.4K

665.49%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.45 A$4.94

$0.61 MNT 2,209

465.57%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.63 A$2.33

$0.43 MNT 1,546

279.07%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.98 A$57.2

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 A$2.01

$0.75 MNT 2,689

86.67%

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

$28.4K A$40.7K

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

$29.4K A$42.1K

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

$220 A$315

$57.7 MNT 207.4K

280.89%

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

$27.70 A$39.64

$2.86 MNT 10.3K

868.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.5 A$79.5

$14.06 MNT 50.5K

294.95%

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

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

$2,157 A$3,087

$281 MNT 1.0M

668.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.3K A$40.5K

$2,474 MNT 8.9M

1043.31%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.4 A$112

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$70.5 A$101

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 A$159

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$132 A$189

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

$218 MNT 782.9K

1773.55%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.84

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

Last update for Sydney: October 5, 2026

Last update for Erdenet: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sydney

$1.7K 54.5%

Erdenet

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Sydney

$380 12%

Erdenet

$188 50.3% 50.5% $192

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sydney

$303 9.6%

Erdenet

$75 20% 75.4% $228

Eating Out

Sydney

$299 9.4%

Erdenet

$88 23.6% 70.5% $211

Clothing & Footwear

Sydney

$176 5.6%

Erdenet

- * 0% 100%

Getting Around

Sydney

$174 5.5%

Erdenet

$23 6.1% 86.8% $151

Sport & Entertainment

Sydney

$110 3.5%

Erdenet

- * 0% 100%

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

Cost Breakdown

Sydney pays 1774% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $97.0 in Sydney vs $27.00 in Erdenet for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $380 vs $188 per month, with Erdenet cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Sydney

🇲🇳 Erdenet

🕒 Local time

23:09 11:09 PM

20:09 8:09 PM

3 h behind Sydney

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,840,600

86,866

💱 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 →

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Between locations

Sydney Erdenet 10,330 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

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Sydney
Erdenet

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 Erdenet: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sydney and Erdenet differ by about 744% in total monthly costs ($3,182 vs $377 including rent). Erdenet is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 1774% higher in Sydney, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Childcare runs $2,157 in Sydney versus $281 in Erdenet. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 102% higher in Sydney. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $377 in Erdenet versus $3,182 in Sydney, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Erdenet but tight or insufficient in Sydney. The gap between the two cities makes Erdenet 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 Erdenet 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 Erdenet gentler on the wallet – expenses run 744% less than in Sydney. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.