Cost of living comparison

compared to

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Lima Cost of Living Summary

Ho Chi Minh City is 13.3% cheaper than Lima.

Restaurants: pay 51.9% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Groceries: pay 8.3% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Transportation: pay 19.3% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Housing: pay 11.4% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Childcare: pay 53.0% more in Ho Chi Minh City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 49.3% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Clothing: pay 6.0% less in Ho Chi Minh City

Expenses including restaurants, entertainment and sports, transportation, housing, groceries, and clothing are lower in Ho Chi Minh City.

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Lima Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 51.9% less for restaurants

	Lima	Ho Chi Minh City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.28 PEN14.40	$1.89 ₫49,824	-55.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.14 PEN24.00	$3.79 ₫99,647	-46.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.01 PEN3.38	$0.49 ₫12,814	-51.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.65 PEN2.19	$0.31 ₫8,045	-53.2%
Average			-51.9%

Lima vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of restaurants

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pay 8.3% less for groceries

	Lima	Ho Chi Minh City
Bread 1 loaf	$2.67 PEN8.96	$0.97 ₫25,576	-63.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.52 PEN15.19	$5.67 ₫149,159	+25.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.76 PEN19.35	$5.38 ₫141,624	-6.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.96 PEN9.96	$1.42 ₫37,278	-52.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.63 PEN8.85	$1.63 ₫42,831	-38.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.02 PEN3.41	$1.23 ₫32,371	+21.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.51 PEN1.71	$0.52 ₫13,652	+2.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.58 PEN1.94	$0.54 ₫14,320	-5.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.56 PEN1.89	$0.52 ₫13,683	-7.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.46 PEN1.55	$0.50 ₫13,247	+9.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 PEN1.46	$0.54 ₫14,217	+24.5%
Average			-8.3%

Lima vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of groceries

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pay 19.3% less for transportation

	Lima	Ho Chi Minh City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.20 PEN17.47	$3.17 ₫83,392	-39.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$22.85 PEN76.80	$11.36 ₫298,941	-50.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,990.85 PEN67,198.40	$37,122.40 ₫976,541,854	+85.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$21.70 PEN72.96	$5.68 ₫149,471	-73.8%
Average			-19.3%

Lima vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of transportation

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pay 11.4% less for housing

	Lima	Ho Chi Minh City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$24.99 PEN83.99	$9.41 ₫247,487	-62.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$661.42 PEN2,223.35	$543.38 ₫14,294,119	-17.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$374.24 PEN1,257.98	$306.83 ₫8,071,417	-18.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$43.53 PEN146.33	$66.43 ₫1,747,626	+52.6%
Average			-11.4%

Lima vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of housing

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pay 53.0% more for childcare

	Lima	Ho Chi Minh City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$192.22 PEN646.14	$263.06 ₫6,919,939	+36.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,215.29 PEN27,615.34	$13,892.02 ₫365,443,386	+69.1%
Average			+53.0%

Lima vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of childcare

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pay 49.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Lima	Ho Chi Minh City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.28 PEN7.68	$1.06 ₫27,901	-53.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.61 PEN8.79	$1.81 ₫47,728	-30.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.71 PEN19.20	$1.25 ₫32,884	-78.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.13 PEN104.64	$19.47 ₫512,230	-37.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.14 PEN24.00	$3.79 ₫99,647	-46.9%
Average			-49.3%

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

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pay 6.0% less for clothing

	Lima	Ho Chi Minh City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$51.07 PEN171.67	$44.83 ₫1,179,354	-12.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$35.74 PEN120.13	$29.40 ₫773,454	-17.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$83.99 PEN282.34	$93.29 ₫2,454,093	+11.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$83.70 PEN281.36	$79.23 ₫2,084,291	-5.3%
Average			-6.0%

Lima 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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