Cost of living comparison

Vietnam

compared to

Kazakhstan

Almaty vs. Ho Chi Minh City Cost of Living Summary

Almaty is 43.3% more expensive than Ho Chi Minh City.

Restaurants: pay 3.7 times more in Almaty
Groceries: pay 14.9% more in Almaty
Transportation: pay 2.1% less in Almaty
Housing: pay 42.1% more in Almaty
Childcare: pay 26.5% less in Almaty
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.3 times more in Almaty
Clothing: pay 54.9% more in Almaty

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

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Almaty vs. Ho Chi Minh City Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 3.7 times more for restaurants

	Ho Chi Minh City	Almaty
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$1.92 ₫49,832	$13.42 KZT6,082.92	+597.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.62 ₫120K	$8.95 KZT4,055.28	+93.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.54 ₫13,905	$1.36 KZT615.44	+152.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.33 ₫8,590	$0.91 KZT410.90	+173.3%
Average			+266.5%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Almaty - Cost of restaurants

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pay 14.9% more for groceries

	Ho Chi Minh City	Almaty
Bread 1 loaf	$1.08 ₫27,843	$0.94 KZT425.21	-12.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.05 ₫157K	$6.46 KZT2,925.52	+6.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.13 ₫159K	$6.48 KZT2,938.79	+5.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.62 ₫42,008	$2.45 KZT1,109.97	+51.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.64 ₫42,570	$3.09 KZT1,401.59	+88.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.36 ₫35,261	$0.86 KZT387.73	-37.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.58 ₫14,953	$1.06 KZT481.68	+84.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.72 ₫18,715	$1.37 KZT621.58	+89.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.58 ₫14,918	$1.34 KZT605.34	+131.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.54 ₫14,104	$0.35 KZT160.60	-34.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 ₫13,662	$0.26 KZT119.25	-50.1%
Average			+14.9%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Almaty - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.1% less for transportation

	Ho Chi Minh City	Almaty
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.55 ₫91,950	$2.64 KZT1,198.22	-25.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$11.55 ₫299K	$22.15 KZT10,036.82	+91.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$30,715.02 ₫795M	$22,370.46 KZT10M	-27.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.80 ₫150K	$6.71 KZT3,041.46	+15.7%
Average			-2.1%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Almaty - Cost of transportation

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pay 42.1% more for housing

	Ho Chi Minh City	Almaty
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.46 ₫271K	$18.11 KZT8,207.89	+73.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$585.86 ₫15M	$802.28 KZT364K	+36.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$297.81 ₫8M	$513.47 KZT233K	+72.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$79.24 ₫2M	$69.56 KZT31,526.07	-12.2%
Average			+42.1%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Almaty - Cost of housing

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pay 26.5% less for childcare

	Ho Chi Minh City	Almaty
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$438.36 ₫11M	$456.34 KZT207K	+4.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$23,561.82 ₫610M	$12,216.13 KZT6M	-48.2%
Average			-26.5%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Almaty - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.3 times more for entertainment and sports

	Ho Chi Minh City	Almaty
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.03 ₫26,762	$3.24 KZT1,470.04	+213.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.81 ₫46,978	$3.30 KZT1,497.69	+82.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.23 ₫31,892	$2.63 KZT1,191.24	+113.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$25.91 ₫671K	$70.49 KZT31,945.91	+172.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.46 ₫89,697	$6.71 KZT3,041.46	+93.7%
Average			+131.6%

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

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pay 54.9% more for clothing

	Ho Chi Minh City	Almaty
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$51.59 ₫1M	$96.07 KZT43,537.96	+86.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.61 ₫896K	$47.45 KZT21,502.09	+37.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$91.59 ₫2M	$145.68 KZT66,021.45	+59.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$94.62 ₫2M	$134.22 KZT60,829.24	+41.9%
Average			+54.9%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Almaty - 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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