Cost of living comparison

United Arab Emirates

compared to

Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Abu Dhabi Cost of Living Summary

Ho Chi Minh City is 54.7% cheaper than Abu Dhabi.

Restaurants: pay 63.3% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Groceries: pay 23.8% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Transportation: pay 21.0% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Housing: pay 72.8% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Childcare: pay 6.1% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 79.4% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Clothing: pay 19.6% less in Ho Chi Minh City

Expenses including entertainment and sports, housing, restaurants, groceries, transportation, and clothing are lower in Ho Chi Minh City.

Planning a move to Vietnam? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Abu Dhabi Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Ho Chi Minh City instead of Abu Dhabi, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 63.3% less for restaurants

	Abu Dhabi	Ho Chi Minh City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.17 AED30.00	$1.92 ₫49,832	-76.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.53 AED35.00	$4.62 ₫120K	-51.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.15 AED4.24	$0.54 ₫13,905	-53.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.42 AED1.53	$0.33 ₫8,590	-20.2%
Average			-63.3%

Abu Dhabi vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 23.8% less for groceries

	Abu Dhabi	Ho Chi Minh City
Bread 1 loaf	$1.62 AED5.94	$1.08 ₫27,843	-33.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.81 AED21.35	$6.05 ₫157K	+4.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.38 AED27.10	$6.13 ₫159K	-17.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.49 AED12.81	$1.62 ₫42,008	-53.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.40 AED16.16	$1.64 ₫42,570	-62.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.12 AED4.13	$1.36 ₫35,261	+21.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.95 AED3.48	$0.58 ₫14,953	-39.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.84 AED3.09	$0.72 ₫18,715	-14.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 AED2.60	$0.58 ₫14,918	-18.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.55 AED2.03	$0.54 ₫14,104	-1.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 AED1.96	$0.53 ₫13,662	-1.1%
Average			-23.8%

Abu Dhabi vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 21.0% less for transportation

	Abu Dhabi	Ho Chi Minh City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.63 AED13.32	$3.55 ₫91,950	-2.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$26.55 AED97.49	$11.55 ₫299K	-56.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,949.09 AED110K	$30,715.02 ₫795M	+2.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.62 AED28.00	$5.80 ₫150K	-23.9%
Average			-21.0%

Abu Dhabi vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 72.8% less for housing

	Abu Dhabi	Ho Chi Minh City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$88.30 AED324.28	$10.46 ₫271K	-88.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,966.33 AED7,221.36	$585.86 ₫15M	-70.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,399.56 AED5,139.88	$297.81 ₫8M	-78.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$148.00 AED543.52	$79.24 ₫2M	-46.5%
Average			-72.8%

Abu Dhabi vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 6.1% less for childcare

	Abu Dhabi	Ho Chi Minh City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$790.93 AED2,904.68	$438.36 ₫11M	-44.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$14,819.26 AED54,423.74	$23,561.82 ₫610M	+59.0%
Average			-6.1%

Abu Dhabi vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 79.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Abu Dhabi	Ho Chi Minh City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$11.57 AED42.50	$1.03 ₫26,762	-91.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.96 AED21.87	$1.81 ₫46,978	-69.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.67 AED24.50	$1.23 ₫31,892	-81.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$95.29 AED349.96	$25.91 ₫671K	-72.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.97 AED54.99	$3.46 ₫89,697	-76.9%
Average			-79.4%

Abu Dhabi vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 19.6% less for clothing

	Abu Dhabi	Ho Chi Minh City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$61.46 AED225.73	$51.59 ₫1M	-16.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$49.09 AED180.30	$34.61 ₫896K	-29.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$111.63 AED409.96	$91.59 ₫2M	-18.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$110.14 AED404.50	$94.62 ₫2M	-14.1%
Average			-19.6%

Abu Dhabi vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Abu Dhabi vs. Ho Chi Minh City

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Ho Chi Minh City?

More cost comparisons

Abu Dhabi vs.

Cairo

Abu Dhabi vs.

Warsaw

Abu Dhabi vs.

Madrid

Abu Dhabi vs.

Quito

Abu Dhabi vs.

Sydney

Abu Dhabi vs.

Lima

Abu Dhabi vs.

Reykjavik

Abu Dhabi vs.

Berlin

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in United Arab Emirates vs. Vietnam. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within United Arab Emirates and Vietnam.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Abu Dhabi

Add prices for Ho Chi Minh City

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Ho Chi Minh City or Abu Dhabi. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.