Cost of living comparison

compared to

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Nairobi Cost of Living Summary

Ho Chi Minh City is 0.6% more expensive than Nairobi.

Restaurants: pay 47.0% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Groceries: pay 5.8% more in Ho Chi Minh City
Transportation: pay 25.0% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Housing: pay 28.2% more in Ho Chi Minh City
Childcare: pay 37.8% more in Ho Chi Minh City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 48.6% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Clothing: pay 52.8% more in Ho Chi Minh City

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

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Nairobi Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 47.0% less for restaurants

	Nairobi	Ho Chi Minh City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.80 KES746.65	$1.89 ₫49,159	-67.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.97 KES895.98	$3.79 ₫98,318	-45.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.70 KES90.28	$0.49 ₫12,643	-30.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.55 KES70.64	$0.31 ₫7,937	-44.3%
Average			-47.0%

Nairobi vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of restaurants

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pay 5.8% more for groceries

	Nairobi	Ho Chi Minh City
Bread 1 loaf	$0.55 KES70.29	$0.97 ₫25,235	+77.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.57 KES716.02	$5.67 ₫147K	+1.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.36 KES431.65	$5.38 ₫140K	+60.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.64 KES211.53	$1.42 ₫36,780	-13.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.92 KES375.38	$1.63 ₫42,259	-44.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.41 KES180.93	$1.23 ₫31,939	-12.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.47 KES61.06	$0.52 ₫13,470	+9.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.89 KES114.43	$0.54 ₫14,129	-38.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.46 KES58.68	$0.52 ₫13,500	+14.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.49 KES63.14	$0.50 ₫13,070	+2.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.51 KES65.15	$0.54 ₫14,028	+6.7%
Average			+5.8%

Nairobi vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of groceries

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pay 25.0% less for transportation

	Nairobi	Ho Chi Minh City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.40 KES694.44	$3.17 ₫82,279	-41.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$30.96 KES3,982.13	$11.36 ₫295K	-63.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,671.83 KES3M	$37,122.40 ₫964M	+71.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.03 KES2,190.17	$5.68 ₫147K	-66.6%
Average			-25.0%

Nairobi vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of transportation

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pay 28.2% more for housing

	Nairobi	Ho Chi Minh City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.86 KES5,127.42	$9.41 ₫244K	-76.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$476.96 KES61,347.35	$543.38 ₫14M	+13.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$206.31 KES26,536.08	$306.83 ₫8M	+48.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$29.32 KES3,771.83	$66.43 ₫2M	+126.5%
Average			+28.2%

Nairobi vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of housing

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pay 37.8% more for childcare

	Nairobi	Ho Chi Minh City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$224.14 KES28,828.96	$263.06 ₫7M	+17.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,775.09 KES1M	$13,892.02 ₫361M	+58.3%
Average			+37.8%

Nairobi vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of childcare

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pay 48.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Nairobi	Ho Chi Minh City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.32 KES298.66	$1.06 ₫27,529	-54.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.37 KES304.82	$1.81 ₫47,091	-23.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.10 KES398.21	$1.25 ₫32,445	-59.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$45.30 KES5,826.35	$19.47 ₫505K	-57.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.35 KES945.76	$3.79 ₫98,318	-48.5%
Average			-48.6%

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

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pay 52.8% more for clothing

	Nairobi	Ho Chi Minh City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$19.62 KES2,523.97	$44.83 ₫1M	+128.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$24.88 KES3,199.93	$29.40 ₫763K	+18.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$67.92 KES8,735.80	$93.29 ₫2M	+37.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$62.28 KES8,010.05	$79.23 ₫2M	+27.2%
Average			+52.8%

Nairobi 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: February 2026

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