Cost of living comparison

Vietnam

compared to

Nicaragua

Managua vs. Ho Chi Minh City Cost of Living Summary

Managua is 3.9% more expensive than Ho Chi Minh City.

Restaurants: pay 2.8 times more in Managua
Groceries: pay 38.3% more in Managua
Transportation: pay 3.3% less in Managua
Housing: pay 34.0% less in Managua
Childcare: pay 62.8% less in Managua
Entertainment and Sports: pay 71.3% more in Managua
Clothing: pay 45.4% more in Managua

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

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Managua vs. Ho Chi Minh City Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.8 times more for restaurants

	Ho Chi Minh City	Managua
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$1.92 ₫49,832	$10.00 NIO368.55	+419.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.62 ₫120K	$7.61 NIO280.46	+64.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.54 ₫13,905	$0.88 NIO32.54	+64.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.33 ₫8,590	$0.71 NIO26.22	+114.4%
Average			+183.6%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Managua - Cost of restaurants

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pay 38.3% more for groceries

	Ho Chi Minh City	Managua
Bread 1 loaf	$1.08 ₫27,843	$2.37 NIO87.46	+120.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.05 ₫157K	$5.80 NIO213.64	-4.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.13 ₫159K	$4.68 NIO172.61	-23.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.62 ₫42,008	$2.37 NIO87.18	+45.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.64 ₫42,570	$2.87 NIO105.79	+74.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.36 ₫35,261	$1.82 NIO67.08	+33.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.58 ₫14,953	$0.27 NIO10.03	-52.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.72 ₫18,715	$0.82 NIO30.09	+13.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.58 ₫14,918	$1.11 NIO41.05	+93.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.54 ₫14,104	$1.79 NIO65.90	+228.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 ₫13,662	$1.01 NIO37.13	+90.9%
Average			+38.3%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Managua - Cost of groceries

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pay 3.3% less for transportation

	Ho Chi Minh City	Managua
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.55 ₫91,950	$5.06 NIO186.38	+42.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$11.55 ₫299K	$6.01 NIO221.41	-48.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$30,715.02 ₫795M	$22,973.64 NIO847K	-25.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.80 ₫150K	$14.69 NIO541.39	+153.2%
Average			-3.3%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Managua - Cost of transportation

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pay 34.0% less for housing

	Ho Chi Minh City	Managua
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.46 ₫271K	$32.47 NIO1,196.57	+210.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$585.86 ₫15M	$256.40 NIO9,449.50	-56.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$297.81 ₫8M	$181.00 NIO6,670.67	-39.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$79.24 ₫2M	$115.83 NIO4,268.74	+46.2%
Average			-34.0%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Managua - Cost of housing

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pay 62.8% less for childcare

	Ho Chi Minh City	Managua
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$438.36 ₫11M	$235.82 NIO8,690.94	-46.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$23,561.82 ₫610M	$6,060.00 NIO223K	-74.3%
Average			-62.8%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Managua - Cost of childcare

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pay 71.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Ho Chi Minh City	Managua
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.03 ₫26,762	$1.50 NIO55.28	+45.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.81 ₫46,978	$2.60 NIO95.82	+43.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.23 ₫31,892	$2.73 NIO100.51	+121.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$25.91 ₫671K	$34.79 NIO1,282.16	+34.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.46 ₫89,697	$9.00 NIO331.69	+159.8%
Average			+71.3%

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

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pay 45.4% more for clothing

	Ho Chi Minh City	Managua
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$51.59 ₫1M	$59.88 NIO2,206.90	+16.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.61 ₫896K	$65.00 NIO2,395.54	+87.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$91.59 ₫2M	$122.64 NIO4,519.99	+33.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$94.62 ₫2M	$144.83 NIO5,337.49	+53.1%
Average			+45.4%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Managua - 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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