Cost of living comparison

Rwanda

compared to

Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Kigali Cost of Living Summary

Ho Chi Minh City is 1.4% more expensive than Kigali.

Restaurants: pay 31.5% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Groceries: pay 40.9% more in Ho Chi Minh City
Transportation: pay 39.6% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Housing: pay 17.0% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Childcare: pay 3.1 times more in Ho Chi Minh City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 10.1% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Clothing: pay 3.0 times more in Ho Chi Minh City

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

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

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Kigali Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 31.5% less for restaurants

	Kigali	Ho Chi Minh City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.71 RWF4,005	$1.92 ₫49,832	-29.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.77 RWF10,013	$4.62 ₫120K	-31.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.78 RWF1,155	$0.54 ₫13,905	-31.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.56 RWF826	$0.33 ₫8,590	-40.6%
Average			-31.5%

Kigali vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 40.9% more for groceries

	Kigali	Ho Chi Minh City
Bread 1 loaf	$1.05 RWF1,548	$1.08 ₫27,843	+2.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.11 RWF3,115	$6.05 ₫157K	+187.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.16 RWF4,675	$6.13 ₫159K	+93.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.63 RWF2,412	$1.62 ₫42,008	-0.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.08 RWF3,078	$1.64 ₫42,570	-21.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.09 RWF1,618	$1.36 ₫35,261	+24.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.35 RWF522	$0.58 ₫14,953	+63.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.69 RWF1,019	$0.72 ₫18,715	+4.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.48 RWF707	$0.58 ₫14,918	+20.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.23 RWF333	$0.54 ₫14,104	+141.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.34 RWF499	$0.53 ₫13,662	+56.3%
Average			+40.9%

Kigali vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 39.6% less for transportation

	Kigali	Ho Chi Minh City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.00 RWF10,345	$3.55 ₫91,950	-49.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$25.40 RWF37,550	$11.55 ₫299K	-54.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,080.15 RWF39M	$30,715.02 ₫795M	+17.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.97 RWF28,037	$5.80 ₫150K	-69.4%
Average			-39.6%

Kigali vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 17.0% less for housing

	Kigali	Ho Chi Minh City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$21.00 RWF31,041	$10.46 ₫271K	-50.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$666.07 RWF985K	$585.86 ₫15M	-12.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$413.79 RWF612K	$297.81 ₫8M	-28.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$64.32 RWF95,077	$79.24 ₫2M	+23.2%
Average			-17.0%

Kigali vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 3.1 times more for childcare

	Kigali	Ho Chi Minh City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$112.90 RWF167K	$438.36 ₫11M	+288.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,510.48 RWF14M	$23,561.82 ₫610M	+147.7%
Average			+210.1%

Kigali vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 10.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Kigali	Ho Chi Minh City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.02 RWF1,502	$1.03 ₫26,762	+1.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.42 RWF3,578	$1.81 ₫46,978	-25.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.03 RWF3,004	$1.23 ₫31,892	-39.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$26.72 RWF39,497	$25.91 ₫671K	-3.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.39 RWF5,007	$3.46 ₫89,697	+2.3%
Average			-10.1%

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

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 3.0 times more for clothing

	Kigali	Ho Chi Minh City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$17.39 RWF25,701	$51.59 ₫1M	+196.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$15.58 RWF23,031	$34.61 ₫896K	+122.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$22.24 RWF32,877	$91.59 ₫2M	+311.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$33.87 RWF50,067	$94.62 ₫2M	+179.4%
Average			+195.1%

Kigali vs. Ho Chi Minh City - 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: Kigali vs. Ho Chi Minh City

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Ho Chi Minh City?

More cost comparisons

Kigali vs.

Lima

Kigali vs.

New York City

Kigali vs.

London

Kigali vs.

Cairo

Kigali vs.

Berlin

Kigali vs.

Quito

Kigali vs.

Rome

Kigali vs.

Paris

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

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

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 Kigali

Add prices for Ho Chi Minh City

Ask the Elsewhere Community

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