Cost of living comparison

Moldova

compared to

Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Chisinau Cost of Living Summary

Ho Chi Minh City is 24.8% cheaper than Chisinau.

Restaurants: pay 69.7% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Groceries: pay 11.6% more in Ho Chi Minh City
Transportation: pay 19.7% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Housing: pay 28.8% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Childcare: pay 2.0 times more in Ho Chi Minh City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 46.9% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Clothing: pay 25.2% less in Ho Chi Minh City

The cost of childcare and groceries in Ho Chi Minh City are more expensive than in Chisinau. Expenses including restaurants, entertainment and sports, housing, clothing, and transportation are lower in Ho Chi Minh City. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive 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. Chisinau Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 69.7% less for restaurants

	Chisinau	Ho Chi Minh City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$11.22 MDL201.58	$1.92 ₫49,832	-82.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.70 MDL156.22	$4.62 ₫120K	-46.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.21 MDL21.71	$0.54 ₫13,905	-55.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.89 MDL16.00	$0.33 ₫8,590	-62.7%
Average			-69.7%

Chisinau vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 11.6% more for groceries

	Chisinau	Ho Chi Minh City
Bread 1 loaf	$0.71 MDL12.77	$1.08 ₫27,843	+51.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.89 MDL87.82	$6.05 ₫157K	+23.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.73 MDL85.03	$6.13 ₫159K	+29.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.79 MDL50.06	$1.62 ₫42,008	-41.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.36 MDL42.34	$1.64 ₫42,570	-30.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.44 MDL7.87	$1.36 ₫35,261	+210.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.87 MDL15.68	$0.58 ₫14,953	-33.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.94 MDL16.87	$0.72 ₫18,715	-23.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.01 MDL18.06	$0.58 ₫14,918	-42.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.31 MDL5.61	$0.54 ₫14,104	+74.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.25 MDL4.42	$0.53 ₫13,662	+114.5%
Average			+11.6%

Chisinau vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 19.7% less for transportation

	Chisinau	Ho Chi Minh City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.44 MDL115.64	$3.55 ₫91,950	-44.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$13.52 MDL242.90	$11.55 ₫299K	-14.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,507.41 MDL530K	$30,715.02 ₫795M	+4.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.94 MDL88.69	$5.80 ₫150K	+17.5%
Average			-19.7%

Chisinau vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 28.8% less for housing

	Chisinau	Ho Chi Minh City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.59 MDL190.33	$10.46 ₫271K	-1.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$679.74 MDL12,212.58	$585.86 ₫15M	-13.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$435.34 MDL7,821.60	$297.81 ₫8M	-31.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$185.85 MDL3,339.13	$79.24 ₫2M	-57.4%
Average			-28.8%

Chisinau vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.0 times more for childcare

	Chisinau	Ho Chi Minh City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$434.06 MDL7,798.47	$438.36 ₫11M	+1.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,841.67 MDL105K	$23,561.82 ₫610M	+303.3%
Average			+101.8%

Chisinau vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 46.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Chisinau	Ho Chi Minh City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.24 MDL40.32	$1.03 ₫26,762	-53.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.16 MDL38.87	$1.81 ₫46,978	-16.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.42 MDL61.48	$1.23 ₫31,892	-64.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.67 MDL748.71	$25.91 ₫671K	-37.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.41 MDL151.18	$3.46 ₫89,697	-58.8%
Average			-46.9%

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

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 25.2% less for clothing

	Chisinau	Ho Chi Minh City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$79.80 MDL1,433.71	$51.59 ₫1M	-35.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$47.07 MDL845.61	$34.61 ₫896K	-26.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$114.14 MDL2,050.64	$91.59 ₫2M	-19.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$115.56 MDL2,076.23	$94.62 ₫2M	-18.1%
Average			-25.2%

Chisinau 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: Chisinau vs. Ho Chi Minh City

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Ho Chi Minh City?

More cost comparisons

Chisinau vs.

Moscow

Chisinau vs.

Bangkok

Chisinau vs.

Berlin

Chisinau vs.

London

Chisinau vs.

Washington

Chisinau vs.

Hanoi

Chisinau vs.

Rome

Chisinau vs.

Madrid

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Moldova vs. Vietnam. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Moldova 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 Chisinau

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 Chisinau. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.