Busan vs. Ho Chi Minh City Cost of Living Summary

Busan is 85.3% more expensive than Ho Chi Minh City.

Restaurants
pay 2.7 times more in Busan
Groceries
pay 2.7 times more in Busan
Transportation
pay 79.3% more in Busan
Housing
pay 36.5% more in Busan
Childcare
pay 15.7% more in Busan
Entertainment and Sports
pay 2.8 times more in Busan
Clothing
pay 51.2% more in Busan

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

Busan vs. Ho Chi Minh City Cost Breakdown

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

pay 2.7 times more for restaurants

 
Ho Chi Minh City
Busan
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $1.92
₫49,832
$7.46
₩9,962
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$4.62
₫120K
$6.64
₩8,867
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.54
₫13,905
$1.82
₩2,433

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pay 2.7 times more for groceries

 
Ho Chi Minh City
Busan
Bread
1 loaf
$1.08
₫27,843
$3.17
₩4,234
Local cheese (8 oz) $6.05
₫157K
$5.50
₩7,347
Milk (1 gallon) $6.13
₫159K
$8.67
₩11,568

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pay 79.3% more for transportation

 
Ho Chi Minh City
Busan
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.55
₫91,950
$5.24
₩6,996
Monthly public transit pass $11.55
₫299K
$59.71
₩79,700
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $30,715.02
₫795M
$29,385.60
₩39M

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pay 36.5% more for housing

 
Ho Chi Minh City
Busan
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$10.46
₫271K
$27.06
₩36,114
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $585.86
₫15M
$720.80
₩962K
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $297.81
₫8M
$365.55
₩488K

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pay 15.7% more for childcare

 
Ho Chi Minh City
Busan
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $438.36
₫11M
$634.44
₩847K
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $23,561.82
₫610M
$21,781.84
₩29M

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pay 2.8 times more for entertainment and sports

 
Ho Chi Minh City
Busan
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $1.03
₫26,762
$3.73
₩4,981
Cappuccino in mid-range area $1.81
₫46,978
$3.68
₩4,908
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$1.23
₫31,892
$3.36
₩4,483

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pay 51.2% more for clothing

 
Ho Chi Minh City
Busan
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$51.59
₫1M
$104.50
₩139K
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$34.61
₫896K
$65.31
₩87,171
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$91.59
₫2M
$93.30
₩125K

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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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