Cost of living comparison

Philippines

compared to

Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Manila Cost of Living Summary

Ho Chi Minh City is 12.5% cheaper than Manila.

Restaurants: pay 46.0% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Groceries: pay 27.7% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Transportation: pay 5.1% more in Ho Chi Minh City
Housing: pay 1.5% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Childcare: pay 36.6% more in Ho Chi Minh City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 38.3% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Clothing: pay 21.7% more in Ho Chi Minh City

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

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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 46.0% less for restaurants

	Manila	Ho Chi Minh City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.58 ₱351.45	$1.92 ₫49,832	-65.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$3.98 ₱251.03	$4.62 ₫120K	+15.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.40 ₱88.36	$0.54 ₫13,905	-61.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.85 ₱53.31	$0.33 ₫8,590	-60.8%
Average			-46.0%

Manila vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of restaurants

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pay 27.7% less for groceries

	Manila	Ho Chi Minh City
Bread 1 loaf	$1.44 ₱90.93	$1.08 ₫27,843	-25.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.89 ₱244.77	$6.05 ₫157K	+55.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.23 ₱455.56	$6.13 ₫159K	-15.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.28 ₱143.70	$1.62 ₫42,008	-28.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.18 ₱137.50	$1.64 ₫42,570	-24.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.49 ₱93.83	$1.36 ₫35,261	-8.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.85 ₱53.49	$0.58 ₫14,953	-32.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.36 ₱85.76	$0.72 ₫18,715	-46.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.83 ₱51.97	$0.58 ₫14,918	-30.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.03 ₱64.97	$0.54 ₫14,104	-47.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.20 ₱75.72	$0.53 ₫13,662	-56.1%
Average			-27.7%

Manila vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of groceries

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pay 5.1% more for transportation

	Manila	Ho Chi Minh City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 ₱312.22	$3.55 ₫91,950	-28.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$12.75 ₱803.31	$11.55 ₫299K	-9.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,359.52 ₱1M	$30,715.02 ₫795M	+43.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.54 ₱160.16	$5.80 ₫150K	+128.2%
Average			+5.1%

Manila vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of transportation

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pay 1.5% less for housing

	Manila	Ho Chi Minh City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$24.14 ₱1,520.93	$10.46 ₫271K	-56.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$543.82 ₱34,257.78	$585.86 ₫15M	+7.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$281.50 ₱17,733.05	$297.81 ₫8M	+5.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$94.04 ₱5,924.32	$79.24 ₫2M	-15.7%
Average			-1.5%

Manila vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of housing

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pay 36.6% more for childcare

	Manila	Ho Chi Minh City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$619.65 ₱39,034.94	$438.36 ₫11M	-29.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,932.60 ₱563K	$23,561.82 ₫610M	+163.8%
Average			+36.6%

Manila vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of childcare

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pay 38.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Manila	Ho Chi Minh City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.20 ₱75.31	$1.03 ₫26,762	-13.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.55 ₱160.66	$1.81 ₫46,978	-28.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.11 ₱195.81	$1.23 ₫31,892	-60.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$42.86 ₱2,700.12	$25.91 ₫671K	-39.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.77 ₱426.76	$3.46 ₫89,697	-48.9%
Average			-38.3%

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

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pay 21.7% more for clothing

	Manila	Ho Chi Minh City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$58.27 ₱3,670.68	$51.59 ₫1M	-11.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$27.47 ₱1,730.75	$34.61 ₫896K	+26.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$76.69 ₱4,830.90	$91.59 ₫2M	+19.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$57.51 ₱3,623.11	$94.62 ₫2M	+64.5%
Average			+21.7%

Manila 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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