Cost of living comparison

Vietnam

compared to

Cambodia

Phnom Penh vs. Ho Chi Minh City Cost of Living Summary

Phnom Penh is 23.2% more expensive than Ho Chi Minh City.

Restaurants: pay 94.0% more in Phnom Penh
Groceries: pay 37.9% more in Phnom Penh
Transportation: pay 17.8% more in Phnom Penh
Housing: pay 18.9% more in Phnom Penh
Childcare: pay 16.1% less in Phnom Penh
Entertainment and Sports: pay 40.1% more in Phnom Penh
Clothing: pay 30.5% less in Phnom Penh

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

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Phnom Penh vs. Ho Chi Minh City Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 94.0% more for restaurants

	Ho Chi Minh City	Phnom Penh
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$1.92 ₫49,832	$4.00 KHR16,282.49	+107.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.62 ₫120K	$7.00 KHR28,494.35	+51.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.54 ₫13,905	$1.82 KHR7,428.89	+239.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.33 ₫8,590	$0.64 KHR2,600.68	+92.6%
Average			+94.0%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Phnom Penh - Cost of restaurants

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pay 37.9% more for groceries

	Ho Chi Minh City	Phnom Penh
Bread 1 loaf	$1.08 ₫27,843	$1.62 KHR6,582.93	+50.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.05 ₫157K	$7.46 KHR30,360.06	+23.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.13 ₫159K	$8.16 KHR33,214.92	+33.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.62 ₫42,008	$1.72 KHR6,996.95	+6.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.64 ₫42,570	$1.89 KHR7,703.61	+15.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.36 ₫35,261	$1.79 KHR7,277.91	+31.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.58 ₫14,953	$0.79 KHR3,215.82	+36.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.72 ₫18,715	$1.91 KHR7,785.68	+164.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.58 ₫14,918	$0.98 KHR3,969.77	+69.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.54 ₫14,104	$0.72 KHR2,935.78	+32.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 ₫13,662	$0.56 KHR2,292.62	+6.7%
Average			+37.9%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Phnom Penh - Cost of groceries

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pay 17.8% more for transportation

	Ho Chi Minh City	Phnom Penh
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.55 ₫91,950	$5.09 KHR20,702.80	+43.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$11.55 ₫299K	$9.60 KHR39,077.97	-16.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$30,715.02 ₫795M	$35,000.00 KHR142M	+14.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.80 ₫150K	$9.11 KHR37,065.53	+56.9%
Average			+17.8%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Phnom Penh - Cost of transportation

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pay 18.9% more for housing

	Ho Chi Minh City	Phnom Penh
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.46 ₫271K	$24.89 KHR101K	+137.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$585.86 ₫15M	$646.36 KHR3M	+10.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$297.81 ₫8M	$370.33 KHR2M	+24.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$79.24 ₫2M	$81.19 KHR331K	+2.5%
Average			+18.9%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Phnom Penh - Cost of housing

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pay 16.1% less for childcare

	Ho Chi Minh City	Phnom Penh
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$438.36 ₫11M	$661.77 KHR3M	+51.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$23,561.82 ₫610M	$10,987.71 KHR45M	-53.4%
Average			-16.1%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Phnom Penh - Cost of childcare

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pay 40.1% more for entertainment and sports

	Ho Chi Minh City	Phnom Penh
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.03 ₫26,762	$1.00 KHR4,070.62	-3.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.81 ₫46,978	$2.95 KHR11,992.68	+62.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.23 ₫31,892	$1.89 KHR7,693.48	+53.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$25.91 ₫671K	$40.62 KHR165K	+56.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.46 ₫89,697	$5.00 KHR20,353.11	+44.3%
Average			+40.1%

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

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pay 30.5% less for clothing

	Ho Chi Minh City	Phnom Penh
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$51.59 ₫1M	$28.00 KHR114K	-45.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.61 ₫896K	$24.00 KHR97,694.93	-30.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$91.59 ₫2M	$90.83 KHR370K	-0.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$94.62 ₫2M	$59.17 KHR241K	-37.5%
Average			-30.5%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Phnom Penh - 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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