Cost of living comparison

Vietnam

compared to

Sao Tome and Principe

Sao Tome vs. Hanoi Cost of Living Summary

Sao Tome is 28.1% more expensive than Hanoi.

Restaurants: pay 3.1 times more in Sao Tome
Groceries: pay 2.1 times more in Sao Tome
Transportation: pay 48.0% more in Sao Tome
Housing: pay 3.8% less in Sao Tome
Childcare: pay 84.7% less in Sao Tome
Entertainment and Sports: pay 91.1% more in Sao Tome
Clothing: pay 18.4% less in Sao Tome

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

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Sao Tome vs. Hanoi Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Sao Tome instead of Hanoi, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 3.1 times more for restaurants

	Hanoi	Sao Tome
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.12 ₫54,815	$8.96 STD200K	+323.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.41 ₫114K	$7.89 STD176K	+79.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.49 ₫12,707	$1.84 STD41,004	+275.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.31 ₫7,911	$1.25 STD27,770	+307.9%
Average			+208.2%

Hanoi vs. Sao Tome - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.1 times more for groceries

	Hanoi	Sao Tome
Bread 1 loaf	$1.08 ₫28,093	$1.00 STD22,187	-8.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.21 ₫135K	$9.80 STD218K	+88.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.70 ₫148K	$5.87 STD131K	+2.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.47 ₫38,071	$4.85 STD108K	+230.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.68 ₫43,626	$8.89 STD198K	+427.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.52 ₫39,415	$1.70 STD37,881	+11.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.48 ₫12,449	$0.79 STD17,644	+64.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.61 ₫15,804	$1.63 STD36,419	+167.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.51 ₫13,206	$1.57 STD34,958	+207.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.43 ₫11,217	$1.31 STD29,299	+203.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.50 ₫13,012	$1.08 STD23,986	+114.2%
Average			+107.4%

Hanoi vs. Sao Tome - Cost of groceries

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pay 48.0% more for transportation

	Hanoi	Sao Tome
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.47 ₫89,815	$6.46 STD144K	+86.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$9.24 ₫239K	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$30,715.02 ₫795M	$24,634.18 STD549M	-19.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.39 ₫140K	$22.43 STD500K	+316.3%
Average			+48.0%

Hanoi vs. Sao Tome - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.8% less for housing

	Hanoi	Sao Tome
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$8.84 ₫229K	$66.91 STD1M	+656.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$407.99 ₫11M	$284.91 STD6M	-30.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$278.92 ₫7M	$195.02 STD4M	-30.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$65.57 ₫2M	$174.83 STD4M	+166.6%
Average			-3.8%

Hanoi vs. Sao Tome - Cost of housing

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pay 84.7% less for childcare

	Hanoi	Sao Tome
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$771.38 ₫20M	$228.62 STD5M	-70.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,672.00 ₫717M	$2,194.77 STD49M	-92.1%
Average			-84.7%

Hanoi vs. Sao Tome - Cost of childcare

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pay 91.1% more for entertainment and sports

	Hanoi	Sao Tome
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.08 ₫27,896	$1.70 STD37,799	+57.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.88 ₫48,672	$2.26 STD50,442	+20.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.40 ₫36,277	$2.26 STD50,420	+61.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$24.48 ₫634K	$33.92 STD756K	+38.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.23 ₫110K	$20.16 STD449K	+376.0%
Average			+91.1%

Hanoi vs. Sao Tome - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 18.4% less for clothing

	Hanoi	Sao Tome
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$48.20 ₫1M	??
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$26.30 ₫681K	$75.02 STD2M	+185.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$83.83 ₫2M	??
Men's business shoes (leather)	$78.65 ₫2M	$18.36 STD409K	-76.7%
Average			-18.4%

Hanoi vs. Sao Tome - 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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