Cost of living comparison

Vietnam

compared to

Thailand

Chiang Rai vs. Ho Chi Minh City Cost of Living Summary

Chiang Rai is 19.1% cheaper than Ho Chi Minh City.

Restaurants: pay 12.2% more in Chiang Rai
Groceries: pay 3.2% less in Chiang Rai
Transportation: pay 18.0% more in Chiang Rai
Housing: pay 50.4% less in Chiang Rai
Childcare: pay 5.3% more in Chiang Rai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 20.5% more in Chiang Rai
Clothing: pay 17.4% less in Chiang Rai

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

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Chiang Rai vs. Ho Chi Minh City Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 12.2% more for restaurants

	Ho Chi Minh City	Chiang Rai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$1.92 ₫49,832	$2.23 THB74.12	+15.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.62 ₫120K	$5.35 THB177.89	+15.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.54 ₫13,905	$0.62 THB20.75	+16.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.33 ₫8,590	$0.28 THB9.29	-15.8%
Average			+12.2%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Chiang Rai - Cost of restaurants

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pay 3.2% less for groceries

	Ho Chi Minh City	Chiang Rai
Bread 1 loaf	$1.08 ₫27,843	$1.42 THB47.35	+32.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.05 ₫157K	$8.32 THB276.85	+37.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.13 ₫159K	$7.60 THB252.83	+24.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.62 ₫42,008	$1.86 THB61.77	+14.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.64 ₫42,570	$1.26 THB41.84	-23.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.36 ₫35,261	$1.10 THB36.71	-19.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.58 ₫14,953	$0.37 THB12.33	-35.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.72 ₫18,715	$0.72 THB23.82	-0.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.58 ₫14,918	$0.40 THB13.45	-29.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.54 ₫14,104	$0.57 THB19.05	+5.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 ₫13,662	$0.49 THB16.38	-6.7%
Average			-3.2%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Chiang Rai - Cost of groceries

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pay 18.0% more for transportation

	Ho Chi Minh City	Chiang Rai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.55 ₫91,950	$5.04 THB167.54	+41.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$11.55 ₫299K	$22.28 THB741.19	+93.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$30,715.02 ₫795M	$20,795.89 THB692K	-32.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.80 ₫150K	$5.59 THB185.79	-3.7%
Average			+18.0%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Chiang Rai - Cost of transportation

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pay 50.4% less for housing

	Ho Chi Minh City	Chiang Rai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.46 ₫271K	$13.73 THB456.82	+31.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$585.86 ₫15M	$230.24 THB7,658.97	-60.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$297.81 ₫8M	$153.49 THB5,105.98	-48.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$79.24 ₫2M	$47.59 THB1,583.05	-39.9%
Average			-50.4%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Chiang Rai - Cost of housing

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pay 5.3% more for childcare

	Ho Chi Minh City	Chiang Rai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$438.36 ₫11M	$781.39 THB25,993.20	+78.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$23,561.82 ₫610M	$14,653.84 THB487K	-37.8%
Average			+5.3%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Chiang Rai - Cost of childcare

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pay 20.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Ho Chi Minh City	Chiang Rai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.03 ₫26,762	$1.63 THB54.35	+58.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.81 ₫46,978	$1.34 THB44.47	-26.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.23 ₫31,892	$3.86 THB128.47	+213.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$25.91 ₫671K	$35.65 THB1,185.91	+37.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.46 ₫89,697	$2.97 THB98.83	-14.2%
Average			+20.5%

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

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pay 17.4% less for clothing

	Ho Chi Minh City	Chiang Rai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$51.59 ₫1M	$54.22 THB1,803.53	+5.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.61 ₫896K	$24.82 THB825.63	-28.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$91.59 ₫2M	$74.27 THB2,470.64	-18.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$94.62 ₫2M	$72.04 THB2,396.33	-23.9%
Average			-17.4%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Chiang Rai - 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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