Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ulaanbaatar and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Ulaanbaatar: $1,175 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $12,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Ulaanbaatar
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Ulaanbaatar Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Ulaanbaatar

🇲🇳 Mongolia

$1,175

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Ulaanbaatar and in Lisbon

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,175 in Ulaanbaatar versus $2,223 in Lisbon.

Ulaanbaatar $1,175
Lisbon $2,223

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,910 in Ulaanbaatar versus $3,271 in Lisbon.

Ulaanbaatar $1,910
Lisbon $3,271

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,645 in Ulaanbaatar versus $4,319 in Lisbon.

Ulaanbaatar $2,645
Lisbon $4,319

Living in Ulaanbaatar costs roughly 47% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ulaanbaatar is 13% below, Lisbon is 65% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.63 MNT 20.2K

$16.50 €14.67

-65.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.37 MNT 116.4K

$61.3 €54.5

-47.15%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.72 MNT 20.6K

$11.27 €10.03

-49.25%

Cappuccino

$2.37 MNT 8,520

$3.06 €2.72

-22.55%

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

$0.84 MNT 3,016

$2.26 €2.01

-62.83%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.57 MNT 2,053

$1.73 €1.54

-67.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.34 MNT 8,420

$3.39 €3.02

-30.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.25 MNT 11.7K

$3.40 €3.02

-4.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MNT 5,082

$1.12 €1.00

25.89%

White Bread (500g)

$0.99 MNT 3,552

$1.86 €1.65

-46.77%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.14 MNT 7,704

$1.53 €1.36

39.87%

Eggs

$2.12 MNT 7,619

$3.96 €3.53

-46.46%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.56 MNT 45.2K

$12.76 €11.35

-1.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.79 MNT 17.2K

$7.90 €7.02

-39.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.94 MNT 24.9K

$16.97 €15.09

-59.10%

Apples (1kg)

$3.00 MNT 10.8K

$2.27 €2.02

32.16%

Banana (1kg)

$2.34 MNT 8,431

$1.75 €1.55

33.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.80 MNT 13.7K

$1.85 €1.64

105.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.00 MNT 10.8K

$2.57 €2.28

16.73%

Potato (1kg)

$0.75 MNT 2,700

$1.86 €1.65

-59.68%

Onion (1kg)

$1.08 MNT 3,879

$2.02 €1.80

-46.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.68 MNT 6,045

$1.44 €1.28

16.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.74 MNT 2,653

$0.82 €0.73

-9.76%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.72 MNT 6,174

$6.56 €5.83

-73.78%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.45 MNT 37.6K

$5.62 €5.00

85.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.44 MNT 5,167

$1.28 €1.14

12.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 MNT 6,213

$2.07 €1.84

-16.43%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.27 MNT 960

$2.35 €2.09

-88.51%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$16.87 MNT 60.7K

$44.18 €39.30

-61.82%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.54 MNT 1,957

$3.99 €3.55

-86.47%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.56 MNT 2,009

$1.09 €0.97

-48.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.52 MNT 23.5K

$16.64 €14.81

-60.82%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.15 MNT 4,142

$2.28 €2.03

-49.56%

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

$26.8K MNT 96.5M

$33.7K €30.0K

-20.35%

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

$34.4K MNT 123.6M

$39.3K €35.0K

-12.49%

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

$70.9 MNT 255.1K

$167 €149

-57.65%

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

$7.48 MNT 26.9K

$18.80 €16.72

-60.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.84 MNT 49.8K

$33.09 €29.43

-58.17%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.3 MNT 245.5K

$46.01 €40.93

48.36%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.03 MNT 64.8K

$19.19 €17.07

-6.04%

Cinema Ticket

$4.27 MNT 15.3K

$9.84 €8.75

-56.61%

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

$827 MNT 3.0M

$677 €602

22.08%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,182 MNT 29.4M

$16.9K €15.1K

-51.64%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$82.2 MNT 295.7K

$101 €90.1

-18.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.68 MNT 164.3K

$45.76 €40.70

-0.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 MNT 373.5K

$100.0 €88.9

3.89%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$191 MNT 686.1K

$123 €109

55.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$566 MNT 2.0M

$1,614 €1,436

-64.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$446 MNT 1.6M

$1,197 €1,065

-62.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,657 MNT 6.0M

$2,862 €2,545

-42.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$983 MNT 3.5M

$1,990 €1,770

-50.60%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,895 MNT 6.8M

$7,577 €6,740

-74.99%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$976 MNT 3.5M

$4,307 €3,831

-77.33%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$579 MNT 2.1M

$1,588 €1,412

-63.53%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.32

3.85

168.05%

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

Last update for Ulaanbaatar: October 13, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ulaanbaatar

$446 38%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9% 168% $751

Groceries & Markets

Ulaanbaatar

$234 19.9%

Lisbon

$269 12.1% 15% $35

Clothing & Footwear

Ulaanbaatar

$190 16.2%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 12.5% $24

Eating Out

Ulaanbaatar

$114 9.7%

Lisbon

$242 10.9% 112% $128

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ulaanbaatar

$92 7.9%

Lisbon

$219 9.9% 138% $127

Sport & Entertainment

Ulaanbaatar

$77 6.5%

Lisbon

$66 3% 14.5% $11

Getting Around

Ulaanbaatar

$21 1.8%

Lisbon

$63 2.8% 196% $42

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $566 in Ulaanbaatar and $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 174% 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: $32.00 in Ulaanbaatar vs $61.0 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $234 vs $269 per month, with Ulaanbaatar cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇳 Ulaanbaatar

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

01:35 1:35 AM

18:35 6:35 PM

7 h behind Ulaanbaatar

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,401,200 Capital

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Mongolian Tögrög MNT ₮

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 MNT = 2.78 USD

10,000 MNT = 2.47 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to MNT – Mongolian Tögrög Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇳 Mongolian Tögrög (₮)

Mongolian Tögrög exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 3,596 MNT (10,000 MNT = 2.78 USD). 1 EUR = 4,043 MNT (10,000 MNT = 2.47 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MNT in detail →

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Between locations

Ulaanbaatar Lisbon 8,500 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Ulaanbaatar
Lisbon

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

Ulaanbaatar vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ulaanbaatar and Lisbon differ by about 89% in total monthly costs ($1,175 vs $2,223 including rent). Ulaanbaatar is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 174% lower in Lisbon. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $566 in Ulaanbaatar versus $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $827 in Ulaanbaatar versus $677 in Lisbon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 15% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,175 in Ulaanbaatar versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Ulaanbaatar but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Ulaanbaatar 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, Ulaanbaatar and Lisbon 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 Ulaanbaatar gentler on the wallet – expenses run 89% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.