Cost of living comparison
compared to
Nairobi vs. Ho Chi Minh City Cost of Living Summary
Nairobi is 3.8% more expensive than Ho Chi Minh City.
- Restaurants
-
pay 2.1 times more in Nairobi
- Groceries
-
pay 8.0% less in Nairobi
- Transportation
-
pay 66.4% more in Nairobi
- Housing
-
pay 23.6% less in Nairobi
- Childcare
-
pay 45.5% less in Nairobi
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 2.0 times more in Nairobi
- Clothing
-
pay 31.8% less in Nairobi
The cost of restaurants, entertainment and sports, and transportation in Nairobi are more expensive than in Ho Chi Minh City. Expenses including childcare, clothing, housing, and groceries are lower in Nairobi. Notably, restaurants and entertainment and sports are significantly more expensive in Nairobi.
Nairobi vs. Ho Chi Minh City Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Nairobi instead of Ho Chi Minh City, you would:
pay 2.1 times more for restaurants
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
Nairobi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$1.92
₫49,832
|
$6.16
KES799.26
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$4.62
₫120K
|
$6.54
KES849.21
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.54
₫13,905
|
$0.64
KES83.49
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.33
₫8,590
|
$0.59
KES76.60
|
|
Ho Chi Minh City vs. Nairobi - Cost of restaurants
pay 8.0% less for groceries
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
Nairobi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.08
₫27,843
|
$0.55
KES71.20
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.05
₫157K
|
$5.32
KES690.75
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.13
₫159K
|
$3.32
KES430.19
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$1.62
₫42,008
|
$1.73
KES224.03
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$1.64
₫42,570
|
$2.90
KES375.95
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.36
₫35,261
|
$1.52
KES197.47
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.58
₫14,953
|
$0.49
KES63.08
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.72
₫18,715
|
$0.91
KES118.11
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.58
₫14,918
|
$0.51
KES65.97
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.54
₫14,104
|
$0.49
KES63.93
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.53
₫13,662
|
$0.49
KES63.19
|
|
Ho Chi Minh City vs. Nairobi - Cost of groceries
pay 66.4% more for transportation
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
Nairobi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.55
₫91,950
|
$5.96
KES773.87
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$11.55
₫299K
|
$46.20
KES5,994.46
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$30,715.02
₫795M
|
$21,558.36
KES3M
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$5.80
₫150K
|
$13.86
KES1,798.34
|
|
Ho Chi Minh City vs. Nairobi - Cost of transportation
pay 23.6% less for housing
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
Nairobi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$10.46
₫271K
|
$34.94
KES4,534.27
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$585.86
₫15M
|
$445.43
KES57,799.49
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$297.81
₫8M
|
$216.55
KES28,099.01
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$79.24
₫2M
|
$42.75
KES5,547.48
|
|
Ho Chi Minh City vs. Nairobi - Cost of housing
pay 45.5% less for childcare
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
Nairobi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$438.36
₫11M
|
$248.58
KES32,255.88
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$23,561.82
₫610M
|
$12,318.78
KES2M
|
|
Ho Chi Minh City vs. Nairobi - Cost of childcare
pay 2.0 times more for entertainment and sports
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
Nairobi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$1.03
₫26,762
|
$2.31
KES299.72
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$1.81
₫46,978
|
$2.64
KES343.02
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$1.23
₫31,892
|
$3.54
KES459.57
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$25.91
₫671K
|
$50.37
KES6,535.62
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$3.46
₫89,697
|
$7.70
KES999.08
|
|
Ho Chi Minh City vs. Nairobi - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 31.8% less for clothing
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
Nairobi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$51.59
₫1M
|
$28.10
KES3,646.63
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$34.61
₫896K
|
$29.04
KES3,768.70
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$91.59
₫2M
|
$69.92
KES9,073.43
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$94.62
₫2M
|
$58.58
KES7,601.62
|
|
Ho Chi Minh City vs. Nairobi - Cost of clothing
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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