Cost of living comparison
compared to
Vietnam vs. Ho Chi Minh City Cost of Living Summary
Vietnam is 12.5% cheaper than Ho Chi Minh City.
- Restaurants
-
pay 2.6% more in Vietnam
- Groceries
-
pay 5.3% less in Vietnam
- Transportation
-
pay 11.8% less in Vietnam
- Housing
-
pay 28.2% less in Vietnam
- Childcare
-
pay 18.0% less in Vietnam
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 6.6% less in Vietnam
- Clothing
-
pay 20.4% less in Vietnam
Expenses including housing, clothing, childcare, transportation, entertainment and sports, and groceries are lower in Vietnam.
Vietnam vs. Ho Chi Minh City Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Vietnam instead of Ho Chi Minh City, you would:
pay 2.6% more for restaurants
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
Vietnam
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$1.89
₫49,928
|
$1.88
₫49,683
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$3.79
₫99,855
|
$4.13
₫108,845
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.49
₫12,841
|
$0.53
₫13,958
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.31
₫8,062
|
$0.29
₫7,515
|
|
Ho Chi Minh City vs. Vietnam - Cost of restaurants
pay 5.3% less for groceries
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
Vietnam
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$0.97
₫25,629
|
$0.86
₫22,659
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.67
₫149,470
|
$5.32
₫140,160
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.38
₫141,919
|
$5.20
₫137,163
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$1.42
₫37,355
|
$1.45
₫38,157
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$1.63
₫42,920
|
$1.56
₫41,037
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.23
₫32,439
|
$1.18
₫31,215
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.52
₫13,681
|
$0.47
₫12,417
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.54
₫14,350
|
$0.58
₫15,166
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.52
₫13,712
|
$0.49
₫12,939
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.50
₫13,274
|
$0.46
₫12,243
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.54
₫14,247
|
$0.47
₫12,298
|
|
Ho Chi Minh City vs. Vietnam - Cost of groceries
pay 11.8% less for transportation
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
Vietnam
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.17
₫83,566
|
$3.19
₫84,134
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$11.36
₫299,565
|
$6.64
₫175,156
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$37,122.40
₫978,579,166
|
$33,225.24
₫875,846,709
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$5.68
₫149,783
|
$5.90
₫155,607
|
|
Ho Chi Minh City vs. Vietnam - Cost of transportation
pay 28.2% less for housing
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
Vietnam
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$9.41
₫248,004
|
$8.68
₫228,737
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$543.38
₫14,323,940
|
$310.38
₫8,181,759
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$306.83
₫8,088,256
|
$223.57
₫5,893,546
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$66.43
₫1,751,272
|
$43.27
₫1,140,722
|
|
Ho Chi Minh City vs. Vietnam - Cost of housing
pay 18.0% less for childcare
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
Vietnam
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$263.06
₫6,934,376
|
$199.23
₫5,251,819
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$13,892.02
₫366,205,793
|
$12,262.04
₫323,238,187
|
|
Ho Chi Minh City vs. Vietnam - Cost of childcare
pay 6.6% less for entertainment and sports
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
Vietnam
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$1.06
₫27,959
|
$0.93
₫24,541
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$1.81
₫47,827
|
$1.60
₫42,129
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$1.25
₫32,952
|
$1.28
₫33,698
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$19.47
₫513,298
|
$20.38
₫537,204
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$3.79
₫99,855
|
$3.19
₫84,196
|
|
Ho Chi Minh City vs. Vietnam - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 20.4% less for clothing
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
Vietnam
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$44.83
₫1,181,814
|
$31.66
₫834,603
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$29.40
₫775,068
|
$21.29
₫561,324
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$93.29
₫2,459,213
|
$72.72
₫1,916,905
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$79.23
₫2,088,640
|
$77.26
₫2,036,773
|
|
Ho Chi Minh City vs. Vietnam - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
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