Cost of living comparison

Vietnam

compared to

Indonesia

Jakarta vs. Ho Chi Minh City Cost of Living Summary

Jakarta is 13.9% cheaper than Ho Chi Minh City.

Restaurants: pay 1.0% less in Jakarta
Groceries: pay 8.2% more in Jakarta
Transportation: pay 11.6% less in Jakarta
Housing: pay 27.4% less in Jakarta
Childcare: pay 65.1% less in Jakarta
Entertainment and Sports: pay 31.5% more in Jakarta
Clothing: pay 4.6% less in Jakarta

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

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Jakarta vs. Ho Chi Minh City Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 1.0% less for restaurants

	Ho Chi Minh City	Jakarta
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$1.92 ₫49,832	$2.65 IDR47,917.07	+37.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.62 ₫120K	$3.35 IDR60,526.83	-27.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.54 ₫13,905	$0.45 IDR8,148.81	-15.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.33 ₫8,590	$0.26 IDR4,636.51	-22.6%
Average			-1.0%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Jakarta - Cost of restaurants

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pay 8.2% more for groceries

	Ho Chi Minh City	Jakarta
Bread 1 loaf	$1.08 ₫27,843	$1.11 IDR20,059.21	+3.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.05 ₫157K	$4.72 IDR85,246.59	-22.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.13 ₫159K	$5.26 IDR94,988.92	-14.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.62 ₫42,008	$1.82 IDR32,909.88	+12.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.64 ₫42,570	$1.39 IDR25,131.46	-15.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.36 ₫35,261	$1.27 IDR22,961.98	-6.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.58 ₫14,953	$0.61 IDR11,085.81	+6.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.72 ₫18,715	$1.17 IDR21,099.32	+61.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.58 ₫14,918	$0.62 IDR11,189.80	+7.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.54 ₫14,104	$0.62 IDR11,256.36	+14.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 ₫13,662	$0.96 IDR17,387.87	+82.5%
Average			+8.2%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Jakarta - Cost of groceries

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pay 11.6% less for transportation

	Ho Chi Minh City	Jakarta
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.55 ₫91,950	$3.17 IDR57,245.81	-10.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$11.55 ₫299K	$11.73 IDR212K	+1.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$30,715.02 ₫795M	$27,939.41 IDR504M	-9.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.80 ₫150K	$3.20 IDR57,752.68	-44.9%
Average			-11.6%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Jakarta - Cost of transportation

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pay 27.4% less for housing

	Ho Chi Minh City	Jakarta
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.46 ₫271K	$19.02 IDR343K	+81.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$585.86 ₫15M	$365.05 IDR7M	-37.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$297.81 ₫8M	$196.92 IDR4M	-33.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$79.24 ₫2M	$81.54 IDR1M	+2.9%
Average			-27.4%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Jakarta - Cost of housing

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pay 65.1% less for childcare

	Ho Chi Minh City	Jakarta
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$438.36 ₫11M	$153.00 IDR3M	-65.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$23,561.82 ₫610M	$8,208.60 IDR148M	-65.2%
Average			-65.1%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Jakarta - Cost of childcare

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pay 31.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Ho Chi Minh City	Jakarta
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.03 ₫26,762	$2.51 IDR45,395.12	+143.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.81 ₫46,978	$2.00 IDR36,041.60	+10.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.23 ₫31,892	$2.82 IDR50,943.41	+129.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$25.91 ₫671K	$26.13 IDR472K	+0.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.46 ₫89,697	$3.35 IDR60,526.83	-3.2%
Average			+31.5%

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

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pay 4.6% less for clothing

	Ho Chi Minh City	Jakarta
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$51.59 ₫1M	$58.46 IDR1M	+13.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.61 ₫896K	$28.71 IDR518K	-17.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$91.59 ₫2M	$72.00 IDR1M	-21.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$94.62 ₫2M	$106.17 IDR2M	+12.2%
Average			-4.6%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Jakarta - 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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