Cost of living comparison
compared to
Chisinau vs. Ho Chi Minh City Cost of Living Summary
Chisinau is 33.0% more expensive than Ho Chi Minh City.
- Restaurants
-
pay 3.3 times more in Chisinau
- Groceries
-
pay 10.4% less in Chisinau
- Transportation
-
pay 24.5% more in Chisinau
- Housing
-
pay 40.5% more in Chisinau
- Childcare
-
pay 50.5% less in Chisinau
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 88.3% more in Chisinau
- Clothing
-
pay 33.8% more in Chisinau
The cost of restaurants, entertainment and sports, housing, clothing, and transportation in Chisinau are more expensive than in Ho Chi Minh City. Expenses including childcare and groceries are lower in Chisinau. Notably, restaurants and entertainment and sports are significantly more expensive in Chisinau.
Chisinau vs. Ho Chi Minh City Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Chisinau instead of Ho Chi Minh City, you would:
pay 3.3 times more for restaurants
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
Chisinau
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$1.92
₫49,832
|
$11.22
MDL201.58
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$4.62
₫120K
|
$8.70
MDL156.22
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.54
₫13,905
|
$1.21
MDL21.71
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.33
₫8,590
|
$0.89
MDL16.00
|
|
Ho Chi Minh City vs. Chisinau - Cost of restaurants
pay 10.4% less for groceries
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
Chisinau
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.08
₫27,843
|
$0.71
MDL12.77
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.05
₫157K
|
$4.89
MDL87.82
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.13
₫159K
|
$4.73
MDL85.03
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$1.62
₫42,008
|
$2.79
MDL50.06
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$1.64
₫42,570
|
$2.36
MDL42.34
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.36
₫35,261
|
$0.44
MDL7.87
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.58
₫14,953
|
$0.87
MDL15.68
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.72
₫18,715
|
$0.94
MDL16.87
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.58
₫14,918
|
$1.01
MDL18.06
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.54
₫14,104
|
$0.31
MDL5.61
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.53
₫13,662
|
$0.25
MDL4.42
|
|
Ho Chi Minh City vs. Chisinau - Cost of groceries
pay 24.5% more for transportation
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
Chisinau
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.55
₫91,950
|
$6.44
MDL115.64
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$11.55
₫299K
|
$13.52
MDL242.90
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$30,715.02
₫795M
|
$29,507.41
MDL530K
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$5.80
₫150K
|
$4.94
MDL88.69
|
|
Ho Chi Minh City vs. Chisinau - Cost of transportation
pay 40.5% more for housing
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
Chisinau
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$10.46
₫271K
|
$10.59
MDL190.33
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$585.86
₫15M
|
$679.74
MDL12,212.58
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$297.81
₫8M
|
$435.34
MDL7,821.60
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$79.24
₫2M
|
$185.85
MDL3,339.13
|
|
Ho Chi Minh City vs. Chisinau - Cost of housing
pay 50.5% less for childcare
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
Chisinau
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$438.36
₫11M
|
$434.06
MDL7,798.47
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$23,561.82
₫610M
|
$5,841.67
MDL105K
|
|
Ho Chi Minh City vs. Chisinau - Cost of childcare
pay 88.3% more for entertainment and sports
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
Chisinau
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$1.03
₫26,762
|
$2.24
MDL40.32
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$1.81
₫46,978
|
$2.16
MDL38.87
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$1.23
₫31,892
|
$3.42
MDL61.48
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$25.91
₫671K
|
$41.67
MDL748.71
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$3.46
₫89,697
|
$8.41
MDL151.18
|
|
Ho Chi Minh City vs. Chisinau - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 33.8% more for clothing
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
Chisinau
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$51.59
₫1M
|
$79.80
MDL1,433.71
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$34.61
₫896K
|
$47.07
MDL845.61
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$91.59
₫2M
|
$114.14
MDL2,050.64
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$94.62
₫2M
|
$115.56
MDL2,076.23
|
|
Ho Chi Minh City vs. Chisinau - Cost of clothing
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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