Thimphu vs Ulaanbaatar - Cost of Living Comparison

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Livingcost

Thimphu Ulaanbaatar
🚶 Cost of living one person
$420
$870
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$1031
$2091
🏠 One person rent
$152
$430
🏘️ Family rent
$236
$764
🍽️ Food expenses
$174
$306
🚐 Transport expenses
$39.4
$43.7
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$544
$516
😷 Air quality
Bad
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
22 km
14 km
🎓 Higher education
5
43
😀 Quality of life
42
61
🏙️ Population
115K
1.4M

The cost of living in Thimphu is 52% less expensive than in Ulaanbaatar. Cities ranked 8940th and 6373rd ($420 vs $870) 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 1.3 months in Thimphu compared to 0.6 months in Ulaanbaatar. Thimphu ranked 1st best city to live in Bhutan vs Ulaanbaatar ranked 1st in Mongolia, while ranked 7547th and 5856th among best cities to live in the world.

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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
$2.79
$5.45
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$17.1
$29.3
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$4.17
$5.44
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.28
$1.95
☕ Cappuccino
$1.77
$2.41
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.53
$0.69
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$168
$417
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$101
$358
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$255
$769
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$171
$656
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$17.1
$46
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$26.6
$70.7
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$20.9
$14.9
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
10.83%
6.05%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$600
$1651
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$947
$881
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1.71
$0.28
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$11.4
$8.29
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$18.7
$4.98
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$0.77
$1.01
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.82
$1.39
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$0.75
$0.85
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.61
$2.06
🥚 Eggs, x12
$1.85
$2.07
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.81
$11.6
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.15
$5.88
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.17
$5.32
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.19
$2.98
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.46
$2.22
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.81
$4.11
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.73
$2.58
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.48
$0.66
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.58
$1
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.21
$0.51
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.03
$1.2
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$5.99
$9.25
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$0.67
$1.39
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.72
$1.69
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$1.55
$9.31
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.54
$3.61
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.2
$2.49
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$0.62
$1.79
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$38.6
$70
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$3.16
$3.92
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$27.9
$19
💇 Haircut, simple
$3.19
$4.85
👖 Brand Jeans
$32
$81.1
👟 Brand Sneakers
$43.6
$97.9
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$235
$167
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$653
$6621

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Cities near Thimphu

Distance City Cost of living
22 km or 14 mi Paro
$450
147 km or 91 mi Siliguri
$297
196 km or 122 mi Rangpur
$308
203 km or 126 mi Saidpur
$311
211 km or 131 mi Shigatse
$918
214 km or 133 mi Damak
$316
257 km or 159 mi Raiganj
$298
257 km or 160 mi Guwahati
$348
258 km or 160 mi Biratnagar
$321
259 km or 161 mi Dispur
$338
266 km or 166 mi Balurghat
$297
280 km or 174 mi Lhasa
$981
287 km or 178 mi Purnia
$284
294 km or 183 mi Bogra
$287
308 km or 191 mi Shillong
$354
313 km or 195 mi Malda
$297
313 km or 195 mi Mymensingh
$282
350 km or 217 mi Saharsa
$281
360 km or 224 mi Bhagalpur
$257
362 km or 225 mi Rajshahi
$274
364 km or 226 mi Sylhet
$321
377 km or 234 mi Janakpur
$293
401 km or 249 mi Berhampore
$294
413 km or 257 mi Narsingdi
$352
418 km or 260 mi Brahmanbaria
$332
421 km or 262 mi Kathmandu
$427
424 km or 264 mi Lalitpur
$350
426 km or 265 mi Dhaka
$464
438 km or 272 mi Agartala
$362
439 km or 273 mi Narayanganj
$348
444 km or 276 mi Muzaffarpur
$284
454 km or 282 mi Hetauda
$293
468 km or 291 mi Krishnanagar
$272
474 km or 295 mi Birgunj
$328
482 km or 299 mi Jessore
$300
486 km or 302 mi Shantipur
$286
493 km or 306 mi Patna
$320
495 km or 308 mi Durgapur
$289
500 km or 311 mi Asansol
$286
502 km or 312 mi Kulti
$289

Cities near Ulaanbaatar

Distance City Cost of living
268 km or 167 mi Bulgan
$838
437 km or 272 mi Ulan-Ude
$676
520 km or 323 mi Irkutsk
$735
559 km or 347 mi Angarsk
$725
656 km or 408 mi Chita
$912
794 km or 493 mi Manzhouli
$631
798 km or 496 mi Bayannur
$986
835 km or 519 mi Xilinhot
$677
840 km or 522 mi Baotou
$659
875 km or 544 mi Hohhot
$541
914 km or 568 mi Ulanqab
$629
917 km or 570 mi Wuhai
$1365
934 km or 581 mi Ordos
$655
954 km or 593 mi Hulunbuir
$638
969 km or 602 mi Fengzhen
$642
985 km or 612 mi Bratsk
$518
992 km or 616 mi Shizuishan
$785
1008 km or 626 mi Datong
$748
1012 km or 629 mi Zhangjiakou
$652
1025 km or 637 mi Yakeshi
$614
1028 km or 639 mi Huairen
$654
1050 km or 652 mi Shenmu
$580
1051 km or 653 mi Yinchuan
$548
1051 km or 653 mi Shuozhou
$600
1094 km or 680 mi Lingwu
$564
1103 km or 685 mi Qingtongxia
$563
1106 km or 687 mi Wuzhong
$589
1113 km or 692 mi Jinchang
$480
1124 km or 698 mi Yuanping
$546
1126 km or 700 mi Zhangye
$484
1131 km or 703 mi Chifeng
$615
1131 km or 703 mi Jiuquan
$470
1156 km or 718 mi Xinzhou
$553
1164 km or 723 mi Wuwei
$411
1165 km or 724 mi Chengde
$694
1166 km or 724 mi Ulanhot
$532
1166 km or 724 mi Zhongwei
$597
1169 km or 726 mi Beijing
$1029
1169 km or 727 mi Yumen
$439
1176 km or 731 mi Zalantun
$600