Malabo vs. Ho Chi Minh City Cost of Living Summary

Malabo is 6.3% cheaper than Ho Chi Minh City.

Restaurants
pay 2.6 times more in Malabo
Groceries
pay 25.1% more in Malabo
Transportation
pay 51.6% more in Malabo
Housing
pay 24.8% less in Malabo
Childcare
pay 98.6% less in Malabo
Entertainment and Sports
pay 82.2% more in Malabo

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

Malabo vs. Ho Chi Minh City Cost Breakdown

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

pay 2.6 times more for restaurants

 
Ho Chi Minh City
Malabo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $1.92
₫49,832
$8.54
FCFA4,983
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$4.62
₫120K
$8.54
FCFA4,983
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.54
₫13,905
$0.85
FCFA498

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pay 25.1% more for groceries

 
Ho Chi Minh City
Malabo
Bread
1 loaf
$1.08
₫27,843
??
Local cheese (8 oz) $6.05
₫157K
$3.37
FCFA1,966
Milk (1 gallon) $6.13
₫159K
$10.34
FCFA6,036

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pay 51.6% more for transportation

 
Ho Chi Minh City
Malabo
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.55
₫91,950
??
Monthly public transit pass $11.55
₫299K
$26.40
FCFA15,411
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $30,715.02
₫795M
$33,056.06
FCFA19M

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pay 24.8% less for housing

 
Ho Chi Minh City
Malabo
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$10.46
₫271K
??
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $585.86
₫15M
??
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $297.81
₫8M
$223.95
FCFA131K

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pay 98.6% less for childcare

 
Ho Chi Minh City
Malabo
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $438.36
₫11M
??
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $23,561.82
₫610M
$341.40
FCFA199K

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pay 82.2% more for entertainment and sports

 
Ho Chi Minh City
Malabo
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $1.03
₫26,762
$1.71
FCFA997
Cappuccino in mid-range area $1.81
₫46,978
$4.69
FCFA2,741
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$1.23
₫31,892
$4.52
FCFA2,639

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

 
Ho Chi Minh City
Malabo
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$51.59
₫1M
??
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$34.61
₫896K
??
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$91.59
₫2M
??

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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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