Cost of living comparison

Vietnam

compared to

Moldova

Balti vs. Ho Chi Minh City Cost of Living Summary

Balti is 2.7% more expensive than Ho Chi Minh City.

Restaurants: pay 3.0 times more in Balti
Groceries: pay 18.1% less in Balti
Transportation: pay 33.3% more in Balti
Housing: pay 6.3% less in Balti
Childcare: pay 76.2% less in Balti
Entertainment and Sports: pay 47.6% more in Balti
Clothing: pay 27.5% less in Balti

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

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

Balti vs. Ho Chi Minh City Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 3.0 times more for restaurants

	Ho Chi Minh City	Balti
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$1.92 ₫49,832	$8.41 MDL151.18	+337.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.62 ₫120K	$10.52 MDL188.98	+127.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.54 ₫13,905	$1.08 MDL19.49	+102.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.33 ₫8,590	$0.67 MDL12.09	+102.9%
Average			+198.3%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Balti - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 18.1% less for groceries

	Ho Chi Minh City	Balti
Bread 1 loaf	$1.08 ₫27,843	$0.48 MDL8.57	-55.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.05 ₫157K	$3.37 MDL60.47	-44.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.13 ₫159K	$4.67 MDL83.94	-23.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.62 ₫42,008	$2.22 MDL39.91	+36.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.64 ₫42,570	$2.12 MDL38.08	+28.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.36 ₫35,261	$0.46 MDL8.23	-66.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.58 ₫14,953	$1.02 MDL18.29	+76.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.72 ₫18,715	$0.84 MDL15.06	+16.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.58 ₫14,918	$1.05 MDL18.95	+83.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.54 ₫14,104	$0.34 MDL6.03	-38.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 ₫13,662	$0.23 MDL4.11	-56.6%
Average			-18.1%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Balti - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 33.3% more for transportation

	Ho Chi Minh City	Balti
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.55 ₫91,950	$6.01 MDL107.94	+69.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$11.55 ₫299K	$16.83 MDL302.36	+45.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$30,715.02 ₫795M	$33,658.64 MDL605K	+9.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.80 ₫150K	$4.82 MDL86.68	-16.9%
Average			+33.3%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Balti - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 6.3% less for housing

	Ho Chi Minh City	Balti
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.46 ₫271K	$11.22 MDL201.58	+7.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$585.86 ₫15M	$392.43 MDL7,050.49	-33.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$297.81 ₫8M	$280.49 MDL5,039.39	-5.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$79.24 ₫2M	$171.59 MDL3,082.92	+116.5%
Average			-6.3%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Balti - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 76.2% less for childcare

	Ho Chi Minh City	Balti
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$438.36 ₫11M	$112.20 MDL2,015.76	-74.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$23,561.82 ₫610M	$5,236.33 MDL94,078.34	-77.8%
Average			-76.2%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Balti - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 47.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Ho Chi Minh City	Balti
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.03 ₫26,762	$1.12 MDL20.16	+8.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.81 ₫46,978	$1.74 MDL31.24	-4.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.23 ₫31,892	$3.37 MDL60.47	+173.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$25.91 ₫671K	$36.46 MDL655.12	+40.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.46 ₫89,697	$7.57 MDL136.06	+118.6%
Average			+47.6%

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

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 27.5% less for clothing

	Ho Chi Minh City	Balti
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$51.59 ₫1M	$44.88 MDL806.30	-13.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.61 ₫896K	$33.66 MDL604.73	-2.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$91.59 ₫2M	$56.10 MDL1,007.88	-38.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$94.62 ₫2M	$50.49 MDL907.09	-46.6%
Average			-27.5%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Balti - 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: Ho Chi Minh City vs. Balti

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Balti?

More cost comparisons

Ho Chi Minh City vs.

Paris

Ho Chi Minh City vs.

Vienna

Ho Chi Minh City vs.

Berlin

Ho Chi Minh City vs.

Cairo

Ho Chi Minh City vs.

Athens

Ho Chi Minh City vs.

Madrid

Ho Chi Minh City vs.

Reykjavik

Ho Chi Minh City vs.

Bangkok

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

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

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 Ho Chi Minh City

Add prices for Balti

Ask the Elsewhere Community

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