Thimphu vs Ulaanbaatar - Cost of Living Comparison

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Livingcost

Thimphu Ulaanbaatar
🚶 Cost of living one person
$387
$907
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$1009
$2342
🏠 One person rent
$122
$472
🏘️ Family rent
$227
$1015
🍽️ Food expenses
$177
$305
🚐 Transport expenses
$32.7
$44.3
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$570
$408
😷 Air quality
Bad
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
22 km
14 km
🎓 Higher education
5
43
😀 Quality of life
50
55
🏙️ Population
115K
1.4M

The cost of living in Thimphu is 57% less expensive than in Ulaanbaatar. Cities ranked 9013th and 6109th ($387 vs $907) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 2nd and 1st in Bhutan and Mongolia, respectively. Check Bhutan vs Mongolia comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.5 months in Thimphu compared to 0.5 months in Ulaanbaatar. Thimphu ranked 1st best city to live in Bhutan vs Ulaanbaatar ranked 1st in Mongolia, while ranked 6232nd and 5802nd among best cities to live in the world.

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Cost of living in Thimphu vs Ulaanbaatar infographic

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Prices in Thimphu vs Ulaanbaatar

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

Thimphu Ulaanbaatar
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$2.99
$4.82
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$16.2
$29.5
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$3
$4.82
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$6.45
$1.69
☕ Cappuccino
$1.54
$2.51
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.56
$0.8
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$119
$507
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$65.3
$383
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$222
$1391
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$161
$806
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$13.9
$50.9
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$21.3
$78.3
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$32.3
$13.5
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
9.56%
6.39%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$625
$1637
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$869
$959
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1.52
$0.15
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$4
$7.32
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$15.4
$5.34
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.04
$1.07
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.85
$1.41
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$0.97
$0.91
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.74
$1.68
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.25
$2.17
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.43
$13.6
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.93
$4.55
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.33
$5.9
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.39
$3.71
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.47
$2.88
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.82
$4.22
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.82
$3.24
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.51
$0.65
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.57
$1.04
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.22
$0.44
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.07
$1.38
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$3.55
$9.09
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$0.73
$1.08
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.92
$1.79
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$1.64
$10.5
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.7
$3.86
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.27
$2.62
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$0.66
$1.89
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$49.6
$68.7
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$3.6
$4.69
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$29.9
$19.9
💇 Haircut, simple
$3.33
$5.6
👖 Brand Jeans
$33.2
$66.5
👟 Brand Sneakers
$32.8
$88.2
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$251
$154
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$691
$7750

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Thimphu

Distance City Cost of living
22 km or 14 mi Paro
$455
147 km or 91 mi Siliguri
$314
196 km or 122 mi Rangpur
$298
203 km or 126 mi Saidpur
$293
211 km or 131 mi Shigatse
$930
214 km or 133 mi Damak
$331
257 km or 159 mi Raiganj
$312
257 km or 160 mi Guwahati
$370
258 km or 160 mi Biratnagar
$339
259 km or 161 mi Dispur
$359
266 km or 166 mi Balurghat
$311
280 km or 174 mi Lhasa
$997
287 km or 178 mi Purnia
$303
294 km or 183 mi Bogra
$282
308 km or 191 mi Shillong
$390
313 km or 195 mi Malda
$311
313 km or 195 mi Mymensingh
$256
350 km or 217 mi Saharsa
$297
360 km or 224 mi Bhagalpur
$268
362 km or 225 mi Rajshahi
$279
364 km or 226 mi Sylhet
$296
377 km or 234 mi Janakpur
$321
401 km or 249 mi Berhampore
$309
413 km or 257 mi Narsingdi
$271
418 km or 260 mi Brahmanbaria
$290
421 km or 262 mi Kathmandu
$443
424 km or 264 mi Lalitpur
$350
426 km or 265 mi Dhaka
$428
438 km or 272 mi Agartala
$380
439 km or 273 mi Narayanganj
$301
444 km or 276 mi Muzaffarpur
$294
454 km or 282 mi Hetauda
$311
468 km or 291 mi Krishnanagar
$294
474 km or 295 mi Birgunj
$335
482 km or 299 mi Jessore
$290
486 km or 302 mi Shantipur
$307
493 km or 306 mi Patna
$356
495 km or 308 mi Durgapur
$288
500 km or 311 mi Asansol
$273
502 km or 312 mi Kulti
$284

Cities near Ulaanbaatar

Distance City Cost of living
268 km or 167 mi Bulgan
$875
437 km or 272 mi Ulan-Ude
$568
520 km or 323 mi Irkutsk
$741
559 km or 347 mi Angarsk
$575
656 km or 408 mi Chita
$617
794 km or 493 mi Manzhouli
$629
798 km or 496 mi Bayannur
$1005
835 km or 519 mi Xilinhot
$677
840 km or 522 mi Baotou
$684
875 km or 544 mi Hohhot
$581
914 km or 568 mi Ulanqab
$644
917 km or 570 mi Wuhai
$1380
934 km or 581 mi Ordos
$676
954 km or 593 mi Hulunbuir
$646
969 km or 602 mi Fengzhen
$637
985 km or 612 mi Bratsk
$447
992 km or 616 mi Shizuishan
$806
1008 km or 626 mi Datong
$729
1012 km or 629 mi Zhangjiakou
$657
1025 km or 637 mi Yakeshi
$605
1028 km or 639 mi Huairen
$648
1050 km or 652 mi Shenmu
$602
1051 km or 653 mi Yinchuan
$561
1051 km or 653 mi Shuozhou
$619
1094 km or 680 mi Lingwu
$574
1103 km or 685 mi Qingtongxia
$573
1106 km or 687 mi Wuzhong
$601
1113 km or 692 mi Jinchang
$603
1124 km or 698 mi Yuanping
$570
1126 km or 700 mi Zhangye
$515
1131 km or 703 mi Chifeng
$628
1131 km or 703 mi Jiuquan
$502
1156 km or 718 mi Xinzhou
$577
1164 km or 723 mi Wuwei
$589
1165 km or 724 mi Chengde
$760
1166 km or 724 mi Ulanhot
$537
1166 km or 724 mi Zhongwei
$623
1169 km or 726 mi Beijing
$1067
1169 km or 727 mi Yumen
$629
1176 km or 731 mi Zalantun
$594