Cost of living comparison
compared to
Bangkok vs. Ho Chi Minh City Cost of Living Summary
Bangkok is 64.0% more expensive than Ho Chi Minh City.
- Restaurants
-
pay 49.7% more in Bangkok
- Groceries
-
pay 43.7% more in Bangkok
- Transportation
-
pay 95.0% more in Bangkok
- Housing
-
pay 28.1% more in Bangkok
- Childcare
-
pay 63.9% more in Bangkok
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 2.5 times more in Bangkok
- Clothing
-
pay 21.9% more in Bangkok
The cost of entertainment and sports, transportation, childcare, restaurants, groceries, and housing in Bangkok are more expensive than in Ho Chi Minh City. Notably, entertainment and sports and transportation are significantly more expensive in Bangkok.
Bangkok vs. Ho Chi Minh City Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Bangkok instead of Ho Chi Minh City, you would:
pay 49.7% more for restaurants
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
Bangkok
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$1.89
₫49,934
|
$3.10
THB98.65
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$3.79
₫99,868
|
$6.20
THB197.30
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.49
₫12,842
|
$0.79
THB25.19
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.31
₫8,063
|
$0.33
THB10.61
|
|
Ho Chi Minh City vs. Bangkok - Cost of restaurants
Improve prices ·
Change currency (USD)
pay 43.7% more for groceries
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
Bangkok
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$0.97
₫25,633
|
$1.44
THB45.81
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.67
₫149,490
|
$8.50
THB270.59
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.38
₫141,938
|
$7.23
THB230.01
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$1.42
₫37,360
|
$2.28
THB72.68
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$1.63
₫42,926
|
$1.38
THB43.91
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.23
₫32,443
|
$1.59
THB50.61
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.52
₫13,683
|
$0.82
THB25.98
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.54
₫14,352
|
$1.02
THB32.56
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.52
₫13,713
|
$0.85
THB27.13
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.50
₫13,276
|
$0.72
THB22.92
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.54
₫14,249
|
$0.65
THB20.65
|
|
Ho Chi Minh City vs. Bangkok - Cost of groceries
Improve prices ·
Change currency (USD)
pay 95.0% more for transportation
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
Bangkok
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.17
₫83,577
|
$4.69
THB149.30
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$11.36
₫299,605
|
$37.21
THB1,183.78
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$37,122.40
₫978,709,235
|
$37,206.42
THB1,183,775.25
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$5.68
₫149,802
|
$11.63
THB369.93
|
|
Ho Chi Minh City vs. Bangkok - Cost of transportation
Improve prices ·
Change currency (USD)
pay 28.1% more for housing
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
Bangkok
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$9.41
₫248,037
|
$16.91
THB537.90
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$543.38
₫14,325,844
|
$675.06
THB21,477.90
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$306.83
₫8,089,331
|
$321.97
THB10,243.81
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$66.43
₫1,751,505
|
$68.69
THB2,185.37
|
|
Ho Chi Minh City vs. Bangkok - Cost of housing
Improve prices ·
Change currency (USD)
pay 63.9% more for childcare
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
Bangkok
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$263.06
₫6,935,298
|
$609.37
THB19,388.11
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$13,892.02
₫366,254,467
|
$13,346.39
THB424,634.53
|
|
Ho Chi Minh City vs. Bangkok - Cost of childcare
Improve prices ·
Change currency (USD)
pay 2.5 times more for entertainment and sports
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
Bangkok
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$1.06
₫27,963
|
$2.79
THB88.78
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$1.81
₫47,833
|
$2.54
THB80.83
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$1.25
₫32,957
|
$4.40
THB139.83
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$19.47
₫513,366
|
$51.03
THB1,623.73
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$3.79
₫99,868
|
$8.06
THB256.48
|
|
Ho Chi Minh City vs. Bangkok - Cost of entertainment and sports
Improve prices ·
Change currency (USD)
pay 21.9% more for clothing
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
Bangkok
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$44.83
₫1,181,971
|
$58.81
THB1,870.97
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$29.40
₫775,171
|
$38.03
THB1,210.07
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$93.29
₫2,459,540
|
$104.24
THB3,316.45
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$79.23
₫2,088,917
|
$91.47
THB2,910.11
|
|
Ho Chi Minh City vs. Bangkok - Cost of clothing
Improve prices ·
Change currency (USD)
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
Change currency:
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in Vietnam vs. Thailand.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Vietnam and Thailand.
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
ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Bangkok 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.