Cost of living comparison
Cuenca vs. Ho Chi Minh City Cost of Living Summary
Cuenca is 6.8% more expensive than Ho Chi Minh City.
- Restaurants
-
pay 78.5% more in Cuenca
- Transportation
-
pay 4.1% more in Cuenca
- Housing
-
pay 2.4% less in Cuenca
- Childcare
-
pay 60.9% less in Cuenca
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 79.4% more in Cuenca
- Clothing
-
pay 16.0% more in Cuenca
The cost of entertainment and sports, restaurants, clothing, and transportation in Cuenca are more expensive than in Ho Chi Minh City. Expenses including childcare, housing, and groceries are lower in Cuenca. Notably, entertainment and sports and restaurants are significantly more expensive in Cuenca.
Cuenca vs. Ho Chi Minh City Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Cuenca instead of Ho Chi Minh City, you would:
pay 78.5% more for restaurants
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
Cuenca
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$1.92
₫49,832
|
$3.50
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$4.62
₫120K
|
$8.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.54
₫13,905
|
$0.80
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.33
₫8,590
|
$0.73
|
|
pay about the same for groceries
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
Cuenca
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.08
₫27,843
|
$2.12
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.05
₫157K
|
$3.45
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.13
₫159K
|
$3.91
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$1.62
₫42,008
|
$2.21
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$1.64
₫42,570
|
$2.75
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.36
₫35,261
|
$0.93
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.58
₫14,953
|
$0.49
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.72
₫18,715
|
$0.63
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.58
₫14,918
|
$0.62
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.54
₫14,104
|
$0.69
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.53
₫13,662
|
$0.48
|
pay 4.1% more for transportation
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
Cuenca
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.55
₫91,950
|
$3.21
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$11.55
₫299K
|
$16.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$30,715.02
₫795M
|
$25,000.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$5.80
₫150K
|
$10.15
|
|
pay 2.4% less for housing
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
Cuenca
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$10.46
₫271K
|
$26.73
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$585.86
₫15M
|
$537.40
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$297.81
₫8M
|
$388.67
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$79.24
₫2M
|
$30.45
|
|
pay 60.9% less for childcare
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
Cuenca
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$438.36
₫11M
|
$230.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$23,561.82
₫610M
|
$6,875.00
|
|
pay 79.4% more for entertainment and sports
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
Cuenca
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$1.03
₫26,762
|
$2.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$1.81
₫46,978
|
$2.73
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$1.23
₫31,892
|
$5.25
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$25.91
₫671K
|
$30.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$3.46
₫89,697
|
$7.38
|
|
pay 16.0% more for clothing
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
Cuenca
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$51.59
₫1M
|
$67.02
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$34.61
₫896K
|
$47.17
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$91.59
₫2M
|
$122.79
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$94.62
₫2M
|
$72.10
|
|
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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