Cost of living comparison

compared to

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Manila Cost of Living Summary

Ho Chi Minh City is 8.9% cheaper than Manila.

Restaurants: pay 42.4% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Groceries: pay 34.1% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Transportation: pay 24.9% more in Ho Chi Minh City
Housing: pay 17.8% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Childcare: pay 35.6% more in Ho Chi Minh City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 44.5% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Clothing: pay 16.2% more in Ho Chi Minh City

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

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Manila Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 42.4% less for restaurants

	Manila	Ho Chi Minh City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.02 ₱355.03	$1.89 ₫49,934	-68.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.30 ₱253.60	$3.79 ₫99,868	-11.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.97 ₱57.27	$0.49 ₫12,842	-49.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 ₱29.69	$0.31 ₫8,063	-39.3%
Average			-42.4%

Manila vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of restaurants

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pay 34.1% less for groceries

	Manila	Ho Chi Minh City
Bread 1 loaf	$1.33 ₱78.64	$0.97 ₫25,633	-27.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.28 ₱252.12	$5.67 ₫149,490	+32.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.32 ₱431.63	$5.38 ₫141,938	-26.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.21 ₱130.51	$1.42 ₫37,360	-36.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.28 ₱134.63	$1.63 ₫42,926	-28.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.52 ₱89.37	$1.23 ₫32,443	-18.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 ₱48.49	$0.52 ₫13,683	-36.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.64 ₱96.51	$0.54 ₫14,352	-66.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.02 ₱60.36	$0.52 ₫13,713	-49.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.17 ₱68.98	$0.50 ₫13,276	-57.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.37 ₱81.04	$0.54 ₫14,249	-60.7%
Average			-34.1%

Manila vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of groceries

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pay 24.9% more for transportation

	Manila	Ho Chi Minh City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.18 ₱246.46	$3.17 ₫83,577	-24.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$13.76 ₱811.51	$11.36 ₫299,605	-17.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,288.58 ₱1,491,141.28	$37,122.40 ₫978,709,235	+46.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.92 ₱172.44	$5.68 ₫149,802	+94.3%
Average			+24.9%

Manila vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of transportation

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pay 17.8% less for housing

	Manila	Ho Chi Minh City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$27.10 ₱1,598.07	$9.41 ₫248,037	-65.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$512.96 ₱30,246.98	$543.38 ₫14,325,844	+5.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$251.74 ₱14,843.72	$306.83 ₫8,089,331	+21.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$100.49 ₱5,925.44	$66.43 ₫1,751,505	-33.9%
Average			-17.8%

Manila vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of housing

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pay 35.6% more for childcare

	Manila	Ho Chi Minh City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$138.58 ₱8,171.41	$263.06 ₫6,935,298	+89.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$17,035.39 ₱1,004,491.60	$13,892.02 ₫366,254,467	-18.5%
Average			+35.6%

Manila vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of childcare

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pay 44.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Manila	Ho Chi Minh City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.46 ₱86.22	$1.06 ₫27,963	-27.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.59 ₱152.56	$1.81 ₫47,833	-29.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.27 ₱192.73	$1.25 ₫32,957	-61.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$42.13 ₱2,484.39	$19.47 ₫513,366	-53.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.48 ₱441.26	$3.79 ₫99,868	-49.4%
Average			-44.5%

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

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pay 16.2% more for clothing

	Manila	Ho Chi Minh City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.23 ₱2,902.69	$44.83 ₫1,181,971	-8.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$29.70 ₱1,751.10	$29.40 ₫775,171	-1.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$80.85 ₱4,767.52	$93.29 ₫2,459,540	+15.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$49.70 ₱2,930.32	$79.23 ₫2,088,917	+59.4%
Average			+16.2%

Manila 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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