Cost of living comparison

Vietnam

compared to

China

Shanghai vs. Ho Chi Minh City Cost of Living Summary

Shanghai is 39.1% more expensive than Ho Chi Minh City.

Restaurants: pay 56.0% more in Shanghai
Groceries: pay 8.4% more in Shanghai
Transportation: pay 23.9% more in Shanghai
Housing: pay 51.2% more in Shanghai
Childcare: pay 94.7% more in Shanghai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.1 times more in Shanghai
Clothing: pay 1.0% more in Shanghai

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

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

Shanghai vs. Ho Chi Minh City Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 56.0% more for restaurants

	Ho Chi Minh City	Shanghai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$1.92 ₫49,838	$4.47 CN¥29.95	+132.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.62 ₫120K	$5.22 CN¥34.94	+13.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.54 ₫13,907	$0.60 CN¥4.01	+11.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.33 ₫8,591	$0.37 CN¥2.48	+11.5%
Average			+56.0%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Shanghai - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 8.4% more for groceries

	Ho Chi Minh City	Shanghai
Bread 1 loaf	$1.08 ₫27,847	$1.98 CN¥13.22	+83.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.05 ₫157K	$8.60 CN¥57.54	+42.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.13 ₫159K	$6.88 CN¥46.03	+12.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.62 ₫42,014	$1.70 CN¥11.36	+4.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.64 ₫42,575	$1.48 CN¥9.89	-10.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.36 ₫35,266	$0.99 CN¥6.65	-27.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.58 ₫14,955	$0.77 CN¥5.16	+33.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.72 ₫18,718	$0.90 CN¥6.05	+25.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.58 ₫14,920	$0.77 CN¥5.15	+33.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.54 ₫14,106	$0.36 CN¥2.40	-34.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 ₫13,664	$0.43 CN¥2.90	-17.9%
Average			+8.4%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Shanghai - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 23.9% more for transportation

	Ho Chi Minh City	Shanghai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.55 ₫91,962	$4.96 CN¥33.22	+39.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$11.55 ₫299K	$29.83 CN¥199.65	+158.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$30,715.02 ₫795M	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	-36.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.80 ₫150K	$5.67 CN¥37.93	-2.3%
Average			+23.9%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Shanghai - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 51.2% more for housing

	Ho Chi Minh City	Shanghai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.46 ₫271K	$10.55 CN¥70.61	+0.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$585.86 ₫15M	$1,036.96 CN¥6,940.04	+77.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$297.81 ₫8M	$588.71 CN¥3,940.05	+97.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$79.24 ₫2M	$44.06 CN¥294.86	-44.4%
Average			+51.2%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Shanghai - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 94.7% more for childcare

	Ho Chi Minh City	Shanghai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$438.36 ₫11M	$1,413.50 CN¥9,460.10	+222.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$23,561.82 ₫610M	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	+17.5%
Average			+94.7%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Shanghai - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.1 times more for entertainment and sports

	Ho Chi Minh City	Shanghai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.03 ₫26,765	$1.19 CN¥7.99	+15.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.81 ₫46,984	$3.35 CN¥22.42	+84.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.23 ₫31,896	$3.73 CN¥24.96	+202.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$25.91 ₫671K	$65.69 CN¥439.64	+153.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.46 ₫89,709	$8.95 CN¥59.89	+158.3%
Average			+107.9%

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

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 1.0% more for clothing

	Ho Chi Minh City	Shanghai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$51.59 ₫1M	$54.37 CN¥363.89	+5.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.61 ₫896K	$37.09 CN¥248.26	+7.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$91.59 ₫2M	$75.49 CN¥505.23	-17.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$94.62 ₫2M	$105.70 CN¥707.45	+11.7%
Average			+1.0%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Shanghai - 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. Shanghai

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Shanghai?

Size Comparison · See true size

Ho Chi Minh City is around the same size as Shanghai.

More cost comparisons

Ho Chi Minh City vs.

Madrid

Ho Chi Minh City vs.

Reykjavik

Ho Chi Minh City vs.

Dublin

Ho Chi Minh City vs.

Lima

Ho Chi Minh City vs.

Quito

Ho Chi Minh City vs.

Cairo

Ho Chi Minh City vs.

Canberra

Ho Chi Minh City vs.

Ottawa

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

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

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 Shanghai

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Shanghai 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.