Cost of living comparison

Vietnam

compared to

Tajikistan

Dushanbe vs. Ho Chi Minh City Cost of Living Summary

Dushanbe is 1.0% cheaper than Ho Chi Minh City.

Restaurants: pay 63.5% more in Dushanbe
Groceries: pay 13.9% less in Dushanbe
Transportation: pay 10.0% more in Dushanbe
Housing: pay 5.8% more in Dushanbe
Childcare: pay 78.6% less in Dushanbe
Entertainment and Sports: pay 47.8% more in Dushanbe
Clothing: pay 22.4% less in Dushanbe

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

Planning a move to Tajikistan? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Dushanbe vs. Ho Chi Minh City Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 63.5% more for restaurants

	Ho Chi Minh City	Dushanbe
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$1.92 ₫49,832	$4.88 TJS44.99	+153.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.62 ₫120K	$5.42 TJS49.99	+17.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.54 ₫13,905	$0.60 TJS5.57	+12.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.33 ₫8,590	$0.35 TJS3.25	+6.1%
Average			+63.5%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Dushanbe - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 13.9% less for groceries

	Ho Chi Minh City	Dushanbe
Bread 1 loaf	$1.08 ₫27,843	$0.62 TJS5.69	-42.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.05 ₫157K	$5.53 TJS50.99	-8.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.13 ₫159K	$4.10 TJS37.85	-33.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.62 ₫42,008	$1.81 TJS16.68	+11.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.64 ₫42,570	$1.96 TJS18.07	+19.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.36 ₫35,261	$0.85 TJS7.86	-37.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.58 ₫14,953	$1.29 TJS11.87	+122.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.72 ₫18,715	$1.20 TJS11.11	+66.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.58 ₫14,918	$0.57 TJS5.22	-1.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.54 ₫14,104	$0.28 TJS2.56	-49.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 ₫13,662	$0.19 TJS1.74	-64.3%
Average			-13.9%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Dushanbe - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 10.0% more for transportation

	Ho Chi Minh City	Dushanbe
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.55 ₫91,950	$4.37 TJS40.37	+23.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$11.55 ₫299K	$32.50 TJS299.95	+181.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$30,715.02 ₫795M	$16,250.83 TJS150K	-47.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.80 ₫150K	$3.68 TJS33.99	-36.5%
Average			+10.0%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Dushanbe - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 5.8% more for housing

	Ho Chi Minh City	Dushanbe
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.46 ₫271K	$17.18 TJS158.54	+64.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$585.86 ₫15M	$628.00 TJS5,795.70	+7.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$297.81 ₫8M	$352.75 TJS3,255.46	+18.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$79.24 ₫2M	$51.70 TJS477.10	-34.8%
Average			+5.8%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Dushanbe - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 78.6% less for childcare

	Ho Chi Minh City	Dushanbe
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$438.36 ₫11M	$83.42 TJS769.87	-81.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$23,561.82 ₫610M	$5,679.67 TJS52,416.23	-75.9%
Average			-78.6%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Dushanbe - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 47.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Ho Chi Minh City	Dushanbe
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.03 ₫26,762	$1.19 TJS11.00	+15.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.81 ₫46,978	$1.79 TJS16.50	-1.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.23 ₫31,892	$3.79 TJS34.99	+207.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$25.91 ₫671K	$45.50 TJS419.93	+75.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.46 ₫89,697	$5.42 TJS49.99	+56.4%
Average			+47.8%

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

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 22.4% less for clothing

	Ho Chi Minh City	Dushanbe
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$51.59 ₫1M	$24.38 TJS224.96	-52.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.61 ₫896K	$52.65 TJS485.92	+52.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$91.59 ₫2M	$77.64 TJS716.55	-15.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$94.62 ₫2M	$56.34 TJS519.91	-40.5%
Average			-22.4%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Dushanbe - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

Compare further: Ho Chi Minh City vs. Dushanbe

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Dushanbe?

More cost comparisons

Ho Chi Minh City vs.

New York City

Ho Chi Minh City vs.

Vienna

Ho Chi Minh City vs.

Dublin

Ho Chi Minh City vs.

Toronto

Ho Chi Minh City vs.

Rome

Ho Chi Minh City vs.

Quito

Ho Chi Minh City vs.

Warsaw

Ho Chi Minh City vs.

Athens

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Vietnam vs. Tajikistan. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Vietnam and Tajikistan.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Ho Chi Minh City

Add prices for Dushanbe

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Dushanbe or Ho Chi Minh City. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.