Cost of living comparison

Vietnam

compared to

Bhutan

Thimphu vs. Ho Chi Minh City Cost of Living Summary

Thimphu is 50.9% cheaper than Ho Chi Minh City.

Restaurants: pay 9.0% more in Thimphu
Groceries: pay 26.9% less in Thimphu
Transportation: pay 32.2% less in Thimphu
Housing: pay 70.9% less in Thimphu
Childcare: pay 95.0% less in Thimphu
Entertainment and Sports: pay 41.4% more in Thimphu
Clothing: pay 47.5% less in Thimphu

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

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Thimphu vs. Ho Chi Minh City Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 9.0% more for restaurants

	Ho Chi Minh City	Thimphu
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$1.92 ₫49,832	$2.58 BTN245.70	+34.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.62 ₫120K	$4.91 BTN466.83	+6.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.54 ₫13,905	$0.50 BTN47.50	-6.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.33 ₫8,590	$0.18 BTN17.20	-45.5%
Average			+9.0%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Thimphu - Cost of restaurants

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pay 26.9% less for groceries

	Ho Chi Minh City	Thimphu
Bread 1 loaf	$1.08 ₫27,843	$1.07 BTN101.96	-0.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.05 ₫157K	$1.88 BTN178.54	-69.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.13 ₫159K	$3.03 BTN288.32	-50.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.62 ₫42,008	$1.88 BTN178.87	+16.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.64 ₫42,570	$1.79 BTN170.51	+9.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.36 ₫35,261	$1.15 BTN109.22	-15.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.58 ₫14,953	$0.69 BTN65.75	+19.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.72 ₫18,715	$0.73 BTN69.10	+0.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.58 ₫14,918	$0.33 BTN31.76	-42.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.54 ₫14,104	$0.26 BTN24.52	-52.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 ₫13,662	$0.31 BTN29.53	-41.1%
Average			-26.9%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Thimphu - Cost of groceries

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pay 32.2% less for transportation

	Ho Chi Minh City	Thimphu
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.55 ₫91,950	$2.79 BTN264.82	-21.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$11.55 ₫299K	$5.17 BTN491.40	-55.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$30,715.02 ₫795M	$16,591.53 BTN2M	-46.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.80 ₫150K	$13.18 BTN1,253.06	+127.2%
Average			-32.2%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Thimphu - Cost of transportation

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pay 70.9% less for housing

	Ho Chi Minh City	Thimphu
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.46 ₫271K	$24.17 BTN2,297.69	+131.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$585.86 ₫15M	$127.00 BTN12,071.65	-78.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$297.81 ₫8M	$86.02 BTN8,176.19	-71.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$79.24 ₫2M	$25.81 BTN2,452.87	-67.4%
Average			-70.9%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Thimphu - Cost of housing

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pay 95.0% less for childcare

	Ho Chi Minh City	Thimphu
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$438.36 ₫11M	$44.98 BTN4,275.09	-89.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$23,561.82 ₫610M	$568.68 BTN54,053.67	-97.6%
Average			-95.0%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Thimphu - Cost of childcare

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pay 41.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Ho Chi Minh City	Thimphu
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.03 ₫26,762	$2.58 BTN245.70	+150.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.81 ₫46,978	$1.28 BTN121.21	-29.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.23 ₫31,892	$3.88 BTN368.55	+214.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$25.91 ₫671K	$46.53 BTN4,422.57	+79.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.46 ₫89,697	$3.10 BTN294.84	-10.5%
Average			+41.4%

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

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pay 47.5% less for clothing

	Ho Chi Minh City	Thimphu
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$51.59 ₫1M	$49.97 BTN4,750.10	-3.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.61 ₫896K	$24.99 BTN2,375.05	-27.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$91.59 ₫2M	$67.21 BTN6,388.16	-26.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$94.62 ₫2M	$13.96 BTN1,326.77	-85.2%
Average			-47.5%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Thimphu - 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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