Cost of living comparison

Tonga

compared to

Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Nuku'alofa Cost of Living Summary

Ho Chi Minh City is 22.7% cheaper than Nuku'alofa.

Restaurants: pay 73.0% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Groceries: pay 39.0% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Transportation: pay 8.7% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Housing: pay 32.6% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Childcare: pay 16.2 times more in Ho Chi Minh City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 70.1% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Clothing: pay 3.2 times more in Ho Chi Minh City

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

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Ho Chi Minh City vs. Nuku'alofa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Ho Chi Minh City instead of Nuku'alofa, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 73.0% less for restaurants

	Nuku'alofa	Ho Chi Minh City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.31 TOP20.00	$1.92 ₫49,832	-76.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.38 TOP25.00	$4.62 ₫120K	-55.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.84 TOP6.83	$0.54 ₫13,905	-81.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.46 TOP5.92	$0.33 ₫8,590	-86.5%
Average			-73.0%

Nuku'alofa vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of restaurants

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pay 39.0% less for groceries

	Nuku'alofa	Ho Chi Minh City
Bread 1 loaf	$1.04 TOP2.50	$1.08 ₫27,843	+3.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.50 TOP10.83	$6.05 ₫157K	+34.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.92 TOP14.26	$6.13 ₫159K	+3.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.09 TOP12.27	$1.62 ₫42,008	-68.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.67 TOP6.43	$1.64 ₫42,570	-38.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.26 TOP3.02	$1.36 ₫35,261	+8.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.26 TOP3.02	$0.58 ₫14,953	-54.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.32 TOP3.18	$0.72 ₫18,715	-45.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.70 TOP4.08	$0.58 ₫14,918	-66.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.44 TOP3.48	$0.54 ₫14,104	-62.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.19 TOP2.87	$0.53 ₫13,662	-55.8%
Average			-39.0%

Nuku'alofa vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of groceries

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pay 8.7% less for transportation

	Nuku'alofa	Ho Chi Minh City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.50 TOP13.25	$3.55 ₫91,950	-35.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$41.53 TOP100.00	$11.55 ₫299K	-72.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$5,814.53 TOP14,000.00	$30,715.02 ₫795M	+428.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.69 TOP45.00	$5.80 ₫150K	-69.0%
Average			-8.7%

Nuku'alofa vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of transportation

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pay 32.6% less for housing

	Nuku'alofa	Ho Chi Minh City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$124.60 TOP300.00	$10.46 ₫271K	-91.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$622.99 TOP1,500.00	$585.86 ₫15M	-6.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	??	$297.81 ₫8M
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$142.92 TOP344.12	$79.24 ₫2M	-44.6%
Average			-32.6%

Nuku'alofa vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of housing

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pay 16.2 times more for childcare

	Nuku'alofa	Ho Chi Minh City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$157.82 TOP380.00	$438.36 ₫11M	+177.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$249.19 TOP600.00	$23,561.82 ₫610M	+9355.2%
Average			+1520.6%

Nuku'alofa vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of childcare

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pay 70.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Nuku'alofa	Ho Chi Minh City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.32 TOP8.00	$1.03 ₫26,762	-68.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.91 TOP7.00	$1.81 ₫46,978	-37.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$10.18 TOP24.50	$1.23 ₫31,892	-87.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.15 TOP75.00	$25.91 ₫671K	-16.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$41.53 TOP100.00	$3.46 ₫89,697	-91.7%
Average			-70.1%

Nuku'alofa vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 3.2 times more for clothing

	Nuku'alofa	Ho Chi Minh City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$14.54 TOP35.00	$51.59 ₫1M	+254.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$17.65 TOP42.50	$34.61 ₫896K	+96.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$20.77 TOP50.00	$91.59 ₫2M	+341.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$29.07 TOP70.00	$94.62 ₫2M	+225.5%
Average			+216.1%

Nuku'alofa 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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