Cost of living comparison

Vietnam

compared to

Nepal

Kathmandu vs. Hanoi Cost of Living Summary

Kathmandu is 36.4% cheaper than Hanoi.

Restaurants: pay 9.3% more in Kathmandu
Groceries: pay 33.4% less in Kathmandu
Transportation: pay 22.6% more in Kathmandu
Housing: pay 55.3% less in Kathmandu
Childcare: pay 87.1% less in Kathmandu
Entertainment and Sports: pay 10.2% more in Kathmandu
Clothing: pay 38.7% less in Kathmandu

The cost of transportation, entertainment and sports, and restaurants in Kathmandu are more expensive than in Hanoi. Expenses including childcare, housing, clothing, and groceries are lower in Kathmandu.

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Kathmandu vs. Hanoi Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Kathmandu instead of Hanoi, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 9.3% more for restaurants

	Hanoi	Kathmandu
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.12 ₫54,822	$1.94 NPR299.88	-8.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.41 ₫114K	$7.75 NPR1,199.54	+76.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.49 ₫12,709	$0.52 NPR80.05	+5.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.31 ₫7,912	$0.14 NPR22.35	-52.7%
Average			+9.3%

Hanoi vs. Kathmandu - Cost of restaurants

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pay 33.4% less for groceries

	Hanoi	Kathmandu
Bread 1 loaf	$1.08 ₫28,097	$0.59 NPR91.84	-45.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.21 ₫135K	$3.64 NPR563.12	-30.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.70 ₫148K	$2.79 NPR430.92	-51.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.47 ₫38,076	$1.69 NPR260.65	+14.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.68 ₫43,632	$1.40 NPR217.04	-16.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.52 ₫39,420	$0.91 NPR140.29	-40.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.48 ₫12,451	$0.53 NPR81.62	+9.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.61 ₫15,806	$0.63 NPR98.05	+3.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.51 ₫13,208	$0.25 NPR39.11	-50.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.43 ₫11,218	$0.18 NPR27.63	-58.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.50 ₫13,014	$0.23 NPR35.99	-53.7%
Average			-33.4%

Hanoi vs. Kathmandu - Cost of groceries

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pay 22.6% more for transportation

	Hanoi	Kathmandu
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.47 ₫89,826	$5.12 NPR791.84	+47.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$9.24 ₫239K	$9.69 NPR1,499.42	+4.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$30,715.02 ₫795M	$29,079.65 NPR4M	-5.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.39 ₫140K	$11.08 NPR1,714.34	+105.7%
Average			+22.6%

Hanoi vs. Kathmandu - Cost of transportation

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pay 55.3% less for housing

	Hanoi	Kathmandu
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$8.84 ₫229K	$8.95 NPR1,384.08	+1.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$407.99 ₫11M	$219.17 NPR33,903.54	-46.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$278.92 ₫7M	$101.02 NPR15,627.28	-63.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$65.57 ₫2M	$23.92 NPR3,700.44	-63.5%
Average			-55.3%

Hanoi vs. Kathmandu - Cost of housing

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pay 87.1% less for childcare

	Hanoi	Kathmandu
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$771.38 ₫20M	$65.27 NPR10,096.09	-91.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,672.00 ₫717M	$5,431.44 NPR840K	-80.4%
Average			-87.1%

Hanoi vs. Kathmandu - Cost of childcare

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pay 10.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Hanoi	Kathmandu
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.08 ₫27,900	$3.09 NPR477.32	+186.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.88 ₫48,678	$1.51 NPR234.28	-19.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.40 ₫36,282	$2.46 NPR379.85	+75.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$24.48 ₫634K	$21.54 NPR3,332.04	-12.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.23 ₫110K	$2.91 NPR449.83	-31.3%
Average			+10.2%

Hanoi vs. Kathmandu - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 38.7% less for clothing

	Hanoi	Kathmandu
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$48.20 ₫1M	$24.97 NPR3,862.14	-48.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$26.30 ₫681K	$26.44 NPR4,089.33	+0.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$83.83 ₫2M	$62.68 NPR9,696.25	-25.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$78.65 ₫2M	$28.43 NPR4,398.30	-63.8%
Average			-38.7%

Hanoi vs. Kathmandu - Cost of clothing

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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

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