Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ulaanbaatar and Melbourne

For one person, living is cheaper in Ulaanbaatar: $1,159 a month against $2,852 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $20,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Ulaanbaatar
Learn more

Ulaanbaatar Living Index
137

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
Learn more

Melbourne Living Index

Jump to prices

Ulaanbaatar

🇲🇳 Mongolia

$1,159

/mo nomad

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,852

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Ulaanbaatar and in Melbourne

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,159 in Ulaanbaatar versus $2,852 in Melbourne.

Ulaanbaatar $1,159
Melbourne $2,852

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,881 in Ulaanbaatar versus $4,297 in Melbourne.

Ulaanbaatar $1,881
Melbourne $4,297

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,602 in Ulaanbaatar versus $5,742 in Melbourne.

Ulaanbaatar $2,602
Melbourne $5,742

Living in Ulaanbaatar costs roughly 59% less than in Melbourne, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ulaanbaatar is 13% below, Melbourne is 113% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.62 MNT 20.2K

$17.75 A$25.49

-68.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.97 MNT 114.9K

$84.8 A$122

-62.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.59 MNT 20.1K

$12.16 A$17.46

-54.03%

Cappuccino

$2.35 MNT 8,452

$3.93 A$5.64

-40.20%

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

$0.87 MNT 3,130

$3.14 A$4.51

-72.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.62 MNT 2,225

$2.43 A$3.49

-74.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.29 MNT 8,233

$9.90 A$14.22

-76.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.30 MNT 11.9K

$8.29 A$11.91

-60.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MNT 5,064

$1.55 A$2.22

-9.03%

White Bread (500g)

$0.98 MNT 3,508

$3.01 A$4.32

-67.44%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.14 MNT 7,672

$2.88 A$4.14

-25.69%

Eggs

$2.11 MNT 7,596

$5.44 A$7.82

-61.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.32 MNT 44.3K

$10.59 A$15.22

16.34%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.91 MNT 17.6K

$9.61 A$13.81

-48.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.76 MNT 24.3K

$14.99 A$21.54

-54.90%

Apples (1kg)

$3.16 MNT 11.4K

$4.15 A$5.96

-23.86%

Banana (1kg)

$2.36 MNT 8,492

$3.05 A$4.38

-22.62%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.65 MNT 13.1K

$3.30 A$4.74

10.61%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.11 MNT 11.2K

$4.76 A$6.83

-34.66%

Potato (1kg)

$0.72 MNT 2,586

$3.04 A$4.36

-76.32%

Onion (1kg)

$1.03 MNT 3,700

$2.55 A$3.66

-59.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.75 MNT 6,281

$2.48 A$3.56

-29.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.73 MNT 2,610

$1.63 A$2.34

-55.21%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.66 MNT 5,961

$44.07 A$63.3

-96.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.34 MNT 37.2K

$12.43 A$17.85

-16.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.50 MNT 5,403

$5.33 A$7.65

-71.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 MNT 6,246

$5.16 A$7.41

-66.28%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.29 MNT 1,045

$3.84 A$5.52

-92.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$16.73 MNT 60.1K

$142 A$203

-88.18%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.54 MNT 1,952

$4.40 A$6.32

-87.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.52 MNT 1,863

$1.40 A$2.01

-62.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.49 MNT 23.3K

$29.83 A$42.84

-78.24%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.12 MNT 4,016

$1.46 A$2.09

-23.29%

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

$27.4K MNT 98.4M

$28.1K A$40.4K

-2.71%

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

$34.3K MNT 123.1M

$25.9K A$37.3K

32.07%

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

$71.1 MNT 255.5K

$233 A$334

-69.43%

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

$7.56 MNT 27.2K

$27.28 A$39.19

-72.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.87 MNT 49.8K

$57.0 A$81.9

-75.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.0 MNT 240.7K

$52.7 A$75.7

27.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.98 MNT 64.6K

$22.62 A$32.49

-20.51%

Cinema Ticket

$4.24 MNT 15.2K

$17.10 A$24.57

-75.20%

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

$814 MNT 2.9M

$2,373 A$3,409

-65.70%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,372 MNT 30.1M

$30.5K A$43.8K

-72.52%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$81.3 MNT 292.0K

$78.2 A$112

3.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.60 MNT 163.8K

$50.5 A$72.5

-9.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 MNT 364.2K

$121 A$173

-15.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$184 MNT 661.7K

$133 A$191

38.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$578 MNT 2.1M

$1,713 A$2,460

-66.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$443 MNT 1.6M

$1,402 A$2,014

-68.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,661 MNT 6.0M

$3,339 A$4,796

-50.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$992 MNT 3.6M

$2,529 A$3,632

-60.79%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,901 MNT 6.8M

$7,018 A$10.1K

-72.91%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$973 MNT 3.5M

$6,767 A$9,721

-85.62%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$593 MNT 2.1M

$4,228 A$6,074

-85.98%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.32

5.9

74.92%

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

Last update for Ulaanbaatar: October 3, 2026

Last update for Melbourne: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ulaanbaatar

$443 38%

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3% 217% $959

Groceries & Markets

Ulaanbaatar

$234 20.1%

Melbourne

$385 13.5% 64.4% $151

Clothing & Footwear

Ulaanbaatar

$186 15.9%

Melbourne

$172 6.1% 7.3% $13

Eating Out

Ulaanbaatar

$114 9.8%

Melbourne

$314 11% 175% $200

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ulaanbaatar

$93 7.9%

Melbourne

$317 11.1% 243% $224

Sport & Entertainment

Ulaanbaatar

$75 6.5%

Melbourne

$87 3.1% 15.1% $11

Getting Around

Ulaanbaatar

$21 1.8%

Melbourne

$168 5.9% 701% $147

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $578 in Ulaanbaatar and $1,713 in Melbourne. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 613% 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 $85.0 in Melbourne for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $234 vs $385 per month, with Ulaanbaatar cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇳 Ulaanbaatar

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🕒 Local time

14:17 2:17 PM

17:17 5:17 PM

3 h ahead of Ulaanbaatar

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,401,200 Capital

5,031,195

💱 Currency

Mongolian Tögrög MNT ₮

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 MNT = 2.78 USD

10,000 MNT = 2.48 EUR

1 AUD = 0.696 USD

1 AUD = 0.621 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AUD, USD, EUR to MNT – Mongolian Tögrög Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇳 Mongolian Tögrög (₮)

Mongolian Tögrög exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3,593 MNT (10,000 MNT = 2.78 USD). 1 EUR = 4,030 MNT (10,000 MNT = 2.48 EUR).

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.696 USD). 1 EUR = 1.61 AUD (1 AUD = 0.621 EUR).

USD to MNT in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ulaanbaatar Melbourne 10,250 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Ulaanbaatar
Melbourne

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 Melbourne: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ulaanbaatar and Melbourne differ by about 146% in total monthly costs ($1,159 vs $2,852 including rent). Ulaanbaatar is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 613% lower in Melbourne. 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: $578 in Ulaanbaatar versus $1,713 in Melbourne. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $814 in Ulaanbaatar versus $2,373 in Melbourne. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 64% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,159 in Ulaanbaatar versus $2,852 in Melbourne, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Ulaanbaatar but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. 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 Melbourne 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 146% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.