Cost of living comparison
Durban vs. Ho Chi Minh City Cost of Living Summary
Durban is 24.0% more expensive than Ho Chi Minh City.
- Restaurants
-
pay 2.4 times more in Durban
- Groceries
-
pay 7.5% more in Durban
- Transportation
-
pay 45.5% more in Durban
- Housing
-
pay 14.7% more in Durban
- Childcare
-
pay 52.2% less in Durban
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 79.9% more in Durban
- Clothing
-
pay 3.6% less in Durban
The cost of restaurants, entertainment and sports, transportation, housing, and groceries in Durban are more expensive than in Ho Chi Minh City. Expenses including childcare and clothing are lower in Durban. Notably, restaurants and entertainment and sports are significantly more expensive in Durban.
Durban vs. Ho Chi Minh City Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Durban instead of Ho Chi Minh City, you would:
pay 2.4 times more for restaurants
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
Durban
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$1.92
₫49,832
|
$7.81
ZAR128.84
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$4.62
₫120K
|
$6.01
ZAR99.11
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.54
₫13,905
|
$1.10
ZAR18.20
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.33
₫8,590
|
$0.87
ZAR14.37
|
|
pay 7.5% more for groceries
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
Durban
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.08
₫27,843
|
$0.96
ZAR15.80
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.05
₫157K
|
$4.12
ZAR67.89
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.13
₫159K
|
$4.55
ZAR75.03
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$1.62
₫42,008
|
$2.37
ZAR39.03
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$1.64
₫42,570
|
$2.35
ZAR38.81
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.36
₫35,261
|
$0.88
ZAR14.47
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.58
₫14,953
|
$0.86
ZAR14.26
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.72
₫18,715
|
$0.87
ZAR14.39
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.58
₫14,918
|
$0.76
ZAR12.60
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.54
₫14,104
|
$0.69
ZAR11.31
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.53
₫13,662
|
$0.64
ZAR10.58
|
|
pay 45.5% more for transportation
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
Durban
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.55
₫91,950
|
$5.75
ZAR94.88
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$11.55
₫299K
|
$21.63
ZAR356.79
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$30,715.02
₫795M
|
$35,391.94
ZAR584K
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$5.80
₫150K
|
$6.22
ZAR102.64
|
|
pay 14.7% more for housing
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
Durban
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$10.46
₫271K
|
$39.31
ZAR648.45
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$585.86
₫15M
|
$464.82
ZAR7,666.67
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$297.81
₫8M
|
$393.52
ZAR6,490.77
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$79.24
₫2M
|
$111.87
ZAR1,845.13
|
|
pay 52.2% less for childcare
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
Durban
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$438.36
₫11M
|
$310.61
ZAR5,123.20
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$23,561.82
₫610M
|
$7,585.59
ZAR125K
|
|
pay 79.9% more for entertainment and sports
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
Durban
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$1.03
₫26,762
|
$2.40
ZAR39.64
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$1.81
₫46,978
|
$2.67
ZAR44.02
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$1.23
₫31,892
|
$3.61
ZAR59.47
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$25.91
₫671K
|
$31.70
ZAR522.86
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$3.46
₫89,697
|
$7.21
ZAR118.93
|
|
pay 3.6% less for clothing
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
Durban
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$51.59
₫1M
|
$53.69
ZAR885.57
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$34.61
₫896K
|
$30.14
ZAR497.07
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$91.59
₫2M
|
$98.53
ZAR1,625.08
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$94.62
₫2M
|
$83.65
ZAR1,379.78
|
|
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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