Cost of living comparison

Vietnam

compared to

Sao Tome and Principe

Sao Tome vs. Ho Chi Minh City Cost of Living Summary

Sao Tome is 17.7% more expensive than Ho Chi Minh City.

Restaurants: pay 3.1 times more in Sao Tome
Groceries: pay 90.6% more in Sao Tome
Transportation: pay 44.9% more in Sao Tome
Housing: pay 21.8% less in Sao Tome
Childcare: pay 78.0% less in Sao Tome
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.0 times more in Sao Tome
Clothing: pay 35.1% less in Sao Tome

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

Planning a move to Sao Tome and Principe? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Sao Tome vs. Ho Chi Minh City Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 3.1 times more for restaurants

	Ho Chi Minh City	Sao Tome
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$1.92 ₫49,832	$8.96 STD200K	+365.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.62 ₫120K	$7.89 STD176K	+70.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.54 ₫13,905	$1.84 STD41,004	+242.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.33 ₫8,590	$1.25 STD27,770	+275.7%
Average			+211.1%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Sao Tome - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 90.6% more for groceries

	Ho Chi Minh City	Sao Tome
Bread 1 loaf	$1.08 ₫27,843	$1.00 STD22,187	-7.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.05 ₫157K	$9.80 STD218K	+61.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.13 ₫159K	$5.87 STD131K	-4.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.62 ₫42,008	$4.85 STD108K	+199.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.64 ₫42,570	$8.89 STD198K	+440.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.36 ₫35,261	$1.70 STD37,881	+24.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.58 ₫14,953	$0.79 STD17,644	+37.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.72 ₫18,715	$1.63 STD36,419	+126.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.58 ₫14,918	$1.57 STD34,958	+172.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.54 ₫14,104	$1.31 STD29,299	+141.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 ₫13,662	$1.08 STD23,986	+104.0%
Average			+90.6%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Sao Tome - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 44.9% more for transportation

	Ho Chi Minh City	Sao Tome
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.55 ₫91,950	$6.46 STD144K	+81.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$11.55 ₫299K	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$30,715.02 ₫795M	$24,634.18 STD549M	-19.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.80 ₫150K	$22.43 STD500K	+286.6%
Average			+44.9%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Sao Tome - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 21.8% less for housing

	Ho Chi Minh City	Sao Tome
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.46 ₫271K	$66.91 STD1M	+539.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$585.86 ₫15M	$284.91 STD6M	-51.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$297.81 ₫8M	$195.02 STD4M	-34.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$79.24 ₫2M	$174.83 STD4M	+120.6%
Average			-21.8%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Sao Tome - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 78.0% less for childcare

	Ho Chi Minh City	Sao Tome
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$438.36 ₫11M	$228.62 STD5M	-47.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$23,561.82 ₫610M	$2,194.77 STD49M	-90.7%
Average			-78.0%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Sao Tome - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.0 times more for entertainment and sports

	Ho Chi Minh City	Sao Tome
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.03 ₫26,762	$1.70 STD37,799	+64.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.81 ₫46,978	$2.26 STD50,442	+24.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.23 ₫31,892	$2.26 STD50,420	+83.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$25.91 ₫671K	$33.92 STD756K	+30.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.46 ₫89,697	$20.16 STD449K	+481.8%
Average			+103.8%

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

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 35.1% less for clothing

	Ho Chi Minh City	Sao Tome
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$51.59 ₫1M	??
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.61 ₫896K	$75.02 STD2M	+116.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$91.59 ₫2M	??
Men's business shoes (leather)	$94.62 ₫2M	$18.36 STD409K	-80.6%
Average			-35.1%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Sao Tome - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

Compare further: Ho Chi Minh City vs. Sao Tome

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Sao Tome?

More cost comparisons

Ho Chi Minh City vs.

New York City

Ho Chi Minh City vs.

Sydney

Ho Chi Minh City vs.

Bangkok

Ho Chi Minh City vs.

Warsaw

Ho Chi Minh City vs.

Reykjavik

Ho Chi Minh City vs.

London

Ho Chi Minh City vs.

Quito

Ho Chi Minh City vs.

Lima

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Vietnam vs. Sao Tome and Principe. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Vietnam and Sao Tome and Principe.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Ho Chi Minh City

Add prices for Sao Tome

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Sao Tome or Ho Chi Minh City. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.