Seoul vs Ulaanbaatar - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 02, 2025

	Seoul	Ulaanbaatar
🚶 Cost of living one person	$1334	$906
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$3862	$2335
🏠 One person rent	$608	$471
🏘️ Family rent	$1634	$1016
🍽️ Food expenses	$488	$307
🚐 Transport expenses	$144	$44.9
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$2911	$407
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	18 km	14 km
🎓 Higher education	100	43
😀 Quality of life	95	56
🏙️ Population	9.67M	1.4M

The cost of living in Seoul is 47% more expensive than in Ulaanbaatar. Cities ranked 4104th and 6004th ($1334 vs $906) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 3rd and 1st in South Korea and Mongolia, respectively. Check South Korea vs Mongolia comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 2.2 months in Seoul compared to 0.4 months in Ulaanbaatar. Seoul ranked 1st best city to live in South Korea vs Ulaanbaatar ranked 1st in Mongolia, while ranked 30th and 5778th among best cities to live in the world.

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the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Seoul vs Ulaanbaatar infographic

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<img src="https://livingcost.org/assets/photo/cost/seoul/ulaanbaatar.jpg" alt="Cost of living in Seoul vs Ulaanbaatar infographic" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"><p>Source: <a href="https://livingcost.org/cost/seoul/ulaanbaatar" target="_blank">Seoul vs Ulaanbaatar - Cost of Living Comparison</a></p>

Prices in Seoul vs Ulaanbaatar

Prices for goods and services in Seoul and Ulaanbaatar are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

	Seoul	Ulaanbaatar
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$7.53	$4.74
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$40.1	$29.2
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$5.87	$5.27
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$3.5	$1.62
☕ Cappuccino	$3.57	$2.59
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$1.58	$0.69
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$754	$503
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$422	$385
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$2293	$1382
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1250	$815
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$99.6	$45.6
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$155	$70.1
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$20.3	$17.2
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	4.85%	6.34%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$19682	$1765
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$11168	$978
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$1.05	$0.15
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$44.5	$8.74
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$8.29	$5.26
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.17	$1.04
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$2.06	$1.45
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$3.08	$0.95
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.06	$1.67
🥚 Eggs, x12	$3.38	$2.18
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$12.7	$13.8
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$8.56	$4.98
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$32	$5.77
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$7.25	$3.44
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.37	$2.77
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.31	$4.43
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.9	$2.99
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.54	$0.71
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.82	$0.95
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.81	$0.45
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$2.18	$1.25
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$20.3	$9.15
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.46	$1.14
🚬 Cigarette pack	$3.17	$1.76
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$4.67	$10.4
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$5.75	$3.74
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$2.16	$2.59
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$2.86	$1.89
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$48.3	$63.6
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$10.5	$4.41
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$22.9	$20
💇 Haircut, simple	$9.53	$4.81
👖 Brand Jeans	$58.3	$65.9
👟 Brand Sneakers	$82.4	$90.3
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$420	$175
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$20197	$6410

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

$349

$907

$6.64K

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Seoul

Distance	City	Cost of living
13 km or 7.9 mi	Guri	$1122
17 km or 10 mi	Goyang	$1171
17 km or 10 mi	Gwangmyeong	$1089
17 km or 11 mi	Gwacheon	$1070
19 km or 12 mi	Uijeongbu	$955
20 km or 12 mi	Hanam	$1161
20 km or 12 mi	Namyangju	$1129
20 km or 13 mi	Seongnam	$1400
21 km or 13 mi	Siheung	$1283
21 km or 13 mi	Bucheon	$1163
22 km or 14 mi	Anyang	$1022
23 km or 14 mi	Yangju	$974
24 km or 15 mi	Gunpo	$1098
26 km or 16 mi	Gimpo	$1099
27 km or 17 mi	Uiwang	$1063
30 km or 19 mi	Gwangju	$1165
32 km or 20 mi	Paju	$1075
33 km or 20 mi	Ansan	$1070
33 km or 21 mi	Suwon	$1022
34 km or 21 mi	Incheon	$1092
37 km or 23 mi	Dongducheon	$1055
39 km or 24 mi	Pocheon	$1040
42 km or 26 mi	Yongin	$1127
47 km or 29 mi	Hwaseong	$1089
49 km or 31 mi	Osan	$1042
52 km or 32 mi	Icheon	$1020
58 km or 36 mi	Kaesong	$1565
65 km or 40 mi	Yeoju	$1026
66 km or 41 mi	Pyeongtaek	$984
69 km or 43 mi	Anseong	$1026
72 km or 45 mi	Chuncheon	$865
83 km or 52 mi	Dangjin	$1033
86 km or 53 mi	Wonju	$1074
87 km or 54 mi	Cheonan	$1151
101 km or 63 mi	Seosan	$1036
107 km or 66 mi	Chungju	$900
114 km or 71 mi	Cheongju	$936
118 km or 73 mi	Jecheon	$1016
123 km or 77 mi	Haeju	$1550
124 km or 77 mi	Sejong	$1019

Cities near Ulaanbaatar

Distance	City	Cost of living
268 km or 167 mi	Bulgan	$879
437 km or 272 mi	Ulan-Ude	$616
520 km or 323 mi	Irkutsk	$770
559 km or 347 mi	Angarsk	$624
656 km or 408 mi	Chita	$651
794 km or 493 mi	Manzhouli	$612
798 km or 496 mi	Bayannur	$979
835 km or 519 mi	Xilinhot	$660
840 km or 522 mi	Baotou	$648
875 km or 544 mi	Hohhot	$563
914 km or 568 mi	Ulanqab	$620
917 km or 570 mi	Wuhai	$1339
934 km or 581 mi	Ordos	$651
954 km or 593 mi	Hulunbuir	$639
969 km or 602 mi	Fengzhen	$616
985 km or 612 mi	Bratsk	$470
992 km or 616 mi	Shizuishan	$781
1008 km or 626 mi	Datong	$703
1012 km or 629 mi	Zhangjiakou	$634
1025 km or 637 mi	Yakeshi	$603
1028 km or 639 mi	Huairen	$624
1050 km or 652 mi	Shenmu	$588
1051 km or 653 mi	Yinchuan	$549
1051 km or 653 mi	Shuozhou	$600
1094 km or 680 mi	Lingwu	$566
1103 km or 685 mi	Qingtongxia	$563
1106 km or 687 mi	Wuzhong	$592
1113 km or 692 mi	Jinchang	$469
1124 km or 698 mi	Yuanping	$550
1126 km or 700 mi	Zhangye	$469
1131 km or 703 mi	Chifeng	$623
1131 km or 703 mi	Jiuquan	$458
1156 km or 718 mi	Xinzhou	$555
1164 km or 723 mi	Wuwei	$403
1165 km or 724 mi	Chengde	$711
1166 km or 724 mi	Ulanhot	$532
1166 km or 724 mi	Zhongwei	$586
1169 km or 726 mi	Beijing	$1016
1169 km or 727 mi	Yumen	$426
1176 km or 731 mi	Zalantun	$598