Cost of living comparison

Pakistan

compared to

Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Islamabad Cost of Living Summary

Ho Chi Minh City is 36.4% more expensive than Islamabad.

Restaurants: pay 22.2% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Groceries: pay 90.8% more in Ho Chi Minh City
Transportation: pay 37.7% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Housing: pay 79.7% more in Ho Chi Minh City
Childcare: pay 5.3 times more in Ho Chi Minh City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 37.2% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Clothing: pay 46.2% more in Ho Chi Minh City

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

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Ho Chi Minh City vs. Islamabad Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 22.2% less for restaurants

	Islamabad	Ho Chi Minh City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.61 PKR1,001.00	$1.92 ₫49,832	-46.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.42 PKR1,501.50	$4.62 ₫120K	-14.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.34 PKR94.38	$0.54 ₫13,905	+57.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.22 PKR60.62	$0.33 ₫8,590	+51.7%
Average			-22.2%

Islamabad vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of restaurants

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pay 90.8% more for groceries

	Islamabad	Ho Chi Minh City
Bread 1 loaf	$0.75 PKR208.08	$1.08 ₫27,843	+43.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.07 PKR851.66	$6.05 ₫157K	+97.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.63 PKR1,006.51	$6.13 ₫159K	+68.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.24 PKR343.64	$1.62 ₫42,008	+30.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.41 PKR390.48	$1.64 ₫42,570	+16.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.59 PKR163.19	$1.36 ₫35,261	+131.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.38 PKR106.19	$0.58 ₫14,953	+50.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.47 PKR131.67	$0.72 ₫18,715	+52.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.25 PKR68.12	$0.58 ₫14,918	+134.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.13 PKR35.52	$0.54 ₫14,104	+325.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.17 PKR46.29	$0.53 ₫13,662	+216.0%
Average			+90.8%

Islamabad vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of groceries

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pay 37.7% less for transportation

	Islamabad	Ho Chi Minh City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.11 PKR1,415.96	$3.55 ₫91,950	-30.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$21.66 PKR6,006.00	$11.55 ₫299K	-46.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$54,159.34 PKR15M	$30,715.02 ₫795M	-43.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.04 PKR1,951.95	$5.80 ₫150K	-17.6%
Average			-37.7%

Islamabad vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of transportation

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pay 79.7% more for housing

	Islamabad	Ho Chi Minh City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$17.07 PKR4,732.00	$10.46 ₫271K	-38.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$273.02 PKR75,692.28	$585.86 ₫15M	+114.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$139.79 PKR38,755.38	$297.81 ₫8M	+113.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$77.95 PKR21,609.82	$79.24 ₫2M	+1.7%
Average			+79.7%

Islamabad vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of housing

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pay 5.3 times more for childcare

	Islamabad	Ho Chi Minh City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$74.62 PKR20,687.33	$438.36 ₫11M	+487.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,015.34 PKR1M	$23,561.82 ₫610M	+369.8%
Average			+425.3%

Islamabad vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of childcare

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pay 37.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Islamabad	Ho Chi Minh City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.61 PKR1,001.00	$1.03 ₫26,762	-71.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.65 PKR734.15	$1.81 ₫46,978	-31.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.30 PKR637.64	$1.23 ₫31,892	-46.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$28.23 PKR7,826.00	$25.91 ₫671K	-8.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.33 PKR1,201.20	$3.46 ₫89,697	-20.0%
Average			-37.2%

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

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pay 46.2% more for clothing

	Islamabad	Ho Chi Minh City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$24.82 PKR6,881.88	$51.59 ₫1M	+107.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.87 PKR9,666.47	$34.61 ₫896K	-0.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$96.43 PKR26,735.16	$91.59 ₫2M	-5.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$40.62 PKR11,261.25	$94.62 ₫2M	+132.9%
Average			+46.2%

Islamabad vs. Ho Chi Minh City - 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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