Cost of living comparison

Vietnam

compared to

Rwanda

Kigali vs. Ho Chi Minh City Cost of Living Summary

Kigali is 1.4% cheaper than Ho Chi Minh City.

Restaurants: pay 45.9% more in Kigali
Groceries: pay 29.0% less in Kigali
Transportation: pay 65.5% more in Kigali
Housing: pay 20.5% more in Kigali
Childcare: pay 67.8% less in Kigali
Entertainment and Sports: pay 11.2% more in Kigali
Clothing: pay 66.1% less in Kigali

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

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Kigali vs. Ho Chi Minh City Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 45.9% more for restaurants

	Ho Chi Minh City	Kigali
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$1.92 ₫49,832	$2.71 RWF4,005	+40.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.62 ₫120K	$6.77 RWF10,013	+46.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.54 ₫13,905	$0.78 RWF1,155	+45.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.33 ₫8,590	$0.56 RWF826	+68.5%
Average			+45.9%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Kigali - Cost of restaurants

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pay 29.0% less for groceries

	Ho Chi Minh City	Kigali
Bread 1 loaf	$1.08 ₫27,843	$1.05 RWF1,548	-2.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.05 ₫157K	$2.11 RWF3,115	-65.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.13 ₫159K	$3.16 RWF4,675	-48.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.62 ₫42,008	$1.63 RWF2,412	+0.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.64 ₫42,570	$2.08 RWF3,078	+26.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.36 ₫35,261	$1.09 RWF1,618	-19.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.58 ₫14,953	$0.35 RWF522	-38.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.72 ₫18,715	$0.69 RWF1,019	-4.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.58 ₫14,918	$0.48 RWF707	-17.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.54 ₫14,104	$0.23 RWF333	-58.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 ₫13,662	$0.34 RWF499	-36.0%
Average			-29.0%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Kigali - Cost of groceries

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pay 65.5% more for transportation

	Ho Chi Minh City	Kigali
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.55 ₫91,950	$7.00 RWF10,345	+97.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$11.55 ₫299K	$25.40 RWF37,550	+120.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$30,715.02 ₫795M	$26,080.15 RWF39M	-15.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.80 ₫150K	$18.97 RWF28,037	+226.9%
Average			+65.5%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Kigali - Cost of transportation

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pay 20.5% more for housing

	Ho Chi Minh City	Kigali
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.46 ₫271K	$21.00 RWF31,041	+100.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$585.86 ₫15M	$666.07 RWF985K	+13.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$297.81 ₫8M	$413.79 RWF612K	+38.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$79.24 ₫2M	$64.32 RWF95,077	-18.8%
Average			+20.5%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Kigali - Cost of housing

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pay 67.8% less for childcare

	Ho Chi Minh City	Kigali
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$438.36 ₫11M	$112.90 RWF167K	-74.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$23,561.82 ₫610M	$9,510.48 RWF14M	-59.6%
Average			-67.8%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Kigali - Cost of childcare

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pay 11.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Ho Chi Minh City	Kigali
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.03 ₫26,762	$1.02 RWF1,502	-1.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.81 ₫46,978	$2.42 RWF3,578	+33.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.23 ₫31,892	$2.03 RWF3,004	+65.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$25.91 ₫671K	$26.72 RWF39,497	+3.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.46 ₫89,697	$3.39 RWF5,007	-2.2%
Average			+11.2%

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

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pay 66.1% less for clothing

	Ho Chi Minh City	Kigali
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$51.59 ₫1M	$17.39 RWF25,701	-66.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.61 ₫896K	$15.58 RWF23,031	-55.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$91.59 ₫2M	$22.24 RWF32,877	-75.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$94.62 ₫2M	$33.87 RWF50,067	-64.2%
Average			-66.1%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Kigali - 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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