Cost of living comparison

compared to

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost of Living Summary

Ho Chi Minh City is 15.5% cheaper than Kuala Lumpur.

Restaurants: pay 40.5% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Groceries: pay 23.0% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Transportation: pay 2.8% more in Ho Chi Minh City
Housing: pay 9.6% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Childcare: pay 26.9% more in Ho Chi Minh City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 53.7% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Clothing: pay 11.4% less in Ho Chi Minh City

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

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 40.5% less for restaurants

	Kuala Lumpur	Ho Chi Minh City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.74 MYR19.48	$1.89 ₫49,934	-60.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.74 MYR19.48	$3.79 ₫99,868	-20.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.89 MYR3.64	$0.49 ₫12,842	-45.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.49 MYR2.00	$0.31 ₫8,063	-37.1%
Average			-40.5%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of restaurants

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pay 23.0% less for groceries

	Kuala Lumpur	Ho Chi Minh City
Bread 1 loaf	$0.98 MYR4.01	$0.97 ₫25,633	-0.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.13 MYR29.30	$5.67 ₫149,490	-20.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.98 MYR32.79	$5.38 ₫141,938	-32.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.23 MYR9.16	$1.42 ₫37,360	-36.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.09 MYR8.61	$1.63 ₫42,926	-22.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.32 MYR5.43	$1.23 ₫32,443	-6.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.75 MYR3.08	$0.52 ₫13,683	-30.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.22 MYR5.02	$0.54 ₫14,352	-55.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.69 MYR2.84	$0.52 ₫13,713	-24.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.57 MYR2.32	$0.50 ₫13,276	-10.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.62 MYR2.55	$0.54 ₫14,249	-12.9%
Average			-23.0%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.8% more for transportation

	Kuala Lumpur	Ho Chi Minh City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.87 MYR7.67	$3.17 ₫83,577	+69.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$11.85 MYR48.71	$11.36 ₫299,605	-4.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$40,284.36 MYR165,609.00	$37,122.40 ₫978,709,235	-7.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$10.66 MYR43.84	$5.68 ₫149,802	-46.7%
Average			+2.8%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of transportation

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pay 9.6% less for housing

	Kuala Lumpur	Ho Chi Minh City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$25.49 MYR104.77	$9.41 ₫248,037	-63.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$573.16 MYR2,356.28	$543.38 ₫14,325,844	-5.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$350.71 MYR1,441.77	$306.83 ₫8,089,331	-12.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$46.59 MYR191.54	$66.43 ₫1,751,505	+42.6%
Average			-9.6%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of housing

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pay 26.9% more for childcare

	Kuala Lumpur	Ho Chi Minh City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$264.45 MYR1,087.17	$263.06 ₫6,935,298	-0.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,004.74 MYR37,018.48	$13,892.02 ₫366,254,467	+54.3%
Average			+26.9%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of childcare

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pay 53.7% less for entertainment and sports

	Kuala Lumpur	Ho Chi Minh City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.27 MYR17.54	$1.06 ₫27,963	-75.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.06 MYR12.58	$1.81 ₫47,833	-40.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.27 MYR17.54	$1.25 ₫32,957	-70.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$46.43 MYR190.86	$19.47 ₫513,366	-58.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.98 MYR20.46	$3.79 ₫99,868	-23.9%
Average			-53.7%

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

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pay 11.4% less for clothing

	Kuala Lumpur	Ho Chi Minh City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$61.66 MYR253.48	$44.83 ₫1,181,971	-27.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.10 MYR152.54	$29.40 ₫775,171	-20.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$87.80 MYR360.94	$93.29 ₫2,459,540	+6.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$82.47 MYR339.05	$79.23 ₫2,088,917	-3.9%
Average			-11.4%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of clothing

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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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