Cost of living comparison

Vietnam

compared to

Kyrgyzstan

Bishkek vs. Ho Chi Minh City Cost of Living Summary

Bishkek is 2.5% more expensive than Ho Chi Minh City.

Restaurants: pay 2.0 times more in Bishkek
Groceries: pay 24.7% less in Bishkek
Transportation: pay 1.2% less in Bishkek
Housing: pay 4.6% more in Bishkek
Childcare: pay 59.2% less in Bishkek
Entertainment and Sports: pay 61.5% more in Bishkek
Clothing: pay 5.9% more in Bishkek

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

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Bishkek vs. Ho Chi Minh City Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.0 times more for restaurants

	Ho Chi Minh City	Bishkek
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$1.92 ₫49,832	$6.86 KGS600.01	+256.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.62 ₫120K	$5.83 KGS510.01	+26.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.54 ₫13,905	$0.74 KGS65.00	+38.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.33 ₫8,590	$0.39 KGS33.88	+16.8%
Average			+101.7%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Bishkek - Cost of restaurants

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pay 24.7% less for groceries

	Ho Chi Minh City	Bishkek
Bread 1 loaf	$1.08 ₫27,843	$0.40 KGS34.67	-63.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.05 ₫157K	$3.82 KGS334.23	-36.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.13 ₫159K	$3.81 KGS333.12	-37.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.62 ₫42,008	$1.73 KGS151.13	+6.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.64 ₫42,570	$2.08 KGS181.82	+26.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.36 ₫35,261	$0.63 KGS54.76	-54.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.58 ₫14,953	$0.84 KGS73.57	+45.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.72 ₫18,715	$0.93 KGS81.76	+29.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.58 ₫14,918	$0.72 KGS62.84	+24.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.54 ₫14,104	$0.27 KGS23.90	-49.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 ₫13,662	$0.22 KGS19.28	-58.2%
Average			-24.7%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Bishkek - Cost of groceries

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pay 1.2% less for transportation

	Ho Chi Minh City	Bishkek
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.55 ₫91,950	$3.74 KGS326.93	+5.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$11.55 ₫299K	$11.66 KGS1,020.02	+1.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$30,715.02 ₫795M	$29,991.94 KGS3M	-2.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.80 ₫150K	$4.52 KGS395.01	-22.2%
Average			-1.2%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Bishkek - Cost of transportation

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pay 4.6% more for housing

	Ho Chi Minh City	Bishkek
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.46 ₫271K	$12.00 KGS1,049.18	+14.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$585.86 ₫15M	$603.19 KGS52,748.92	+3.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$297.81 ₫8M	$416.93 KGS36,460.58	+40.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$79.24 ₫2M	$38.42 KGS3,359.98	-51.5%
Average			+4.6%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Bishkek - Cost of housing

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pay 59.2% less for childcare

	Ho Chi Minh City	Bishkek
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$438.36 ₫11M	$219.56 KGS19,200.33	-49.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$23,561.82 ₫610M	$7,837.88 KGS685K	-66.7%
Average			-59.2%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Bishkek - Cost of childcare

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pay 61.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Ho Chi Minh City	Bishkek
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.03 ₫26,762	$1.37 KGS120.00	+32.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.81 ₫46,978	$2.43 KGS212.36	+33.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.23 ₫31,892	$2.06 KGS180.00	+67.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$25.91 ₫671K	$54.84 KGS4,795.54	+111.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.46 ₫89,697	$5.72 KGS500.01	+65.1%
Average			+61.5%

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

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pay 5.9% more for clothing

	Ho Chi Minh City	Bishkek
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$51.59 ₫1M	$55.40 KGS4,844.53	+7.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.61 ₫896K	$43.07 KGS3,766.73	+24.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$91.59 ₫2M	$90.57 KGS7,920.14	-1.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$94.62 ₫2M	$90.22 KGS7,890.14	-4.6%
Average			+5.9%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Bishkek - 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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