Cost of living comparison

Malaysia

compared to

Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Shah Alam Cost of Living Summary

Ho Chi Minh City is 2.3% more expensive than Shah Alam.

Restaurants: pay 26.3% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Groceries: pay 20.8% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Transportation: pay 10.0% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Housing: pay 35.3% more in Ho Chi Minh City
Childcare: pay 3.4 times more in Ho Chi Minh City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 51.6% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Clothing: pay 10.0% more in Ho Chi Minh City

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

Planning a move to Vietnam? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Shah Alam Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 26.3% less for restaurants

	Shah Alam	Ho Chi Minh City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.67 MYR14.99	$1.92 ₫49,832	-47.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.16 MYR16.99	$4.62 ₫120K	+11.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.74 MYR3.03	$0.54 ₫13,905	-27.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.40 MYR1.63	$0.33 ₫8,590	-17.0%
Average			-26.3%

Shah Alam vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 20.8% less for groceries

	Shah Alam	Ho Chi Minh City
Bread 1 loaf	$1.07 MYR4.35	$1.08 ₫27,843	+0.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.82 MYR27.84	$6.05 ₫157K	-11.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.95 MYR28.37	$6.13 ₫159K	-11.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.19 MYR8.94	$1.62 ₫42,008	-25.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.00 MYR8.15	$1.64 ₫42,570	-17.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.58 MYR6.46	$1.36 ₫35,261	-13.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.75 MYR3.08	$0.58 ₫14,953	-23.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.22 MYR4.99	$0.72 ₫18,715	-40.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.81 MYR3.30	$0.58 ₫14,918	-28.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.55 MYR2.27	$0.54 ₫14,104	-1.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.90 MYR3.70	$0.53 ₫13,662	-41.7%
Average			-20.8%

Shah Alam vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 10.0% less for transportation

	Shah Alam	Ho Chi Minh City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.19 MYR13.01	$3.55 ₫91,950	+11.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$15.91 MYR64.95	$11.55 ₫299K	-27.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$41,736.41 MYR170K	$30,715.02 ₫795M	-26.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.36 MYR17.79	$5.80 ₫150K	+33.2%
Average			-10.0%

Shah Alam vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 35.3% more for housing

	Shah Alam	Ho Chi Minh City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$28.91 MYR118.04	$10.46 ₫271K	-63.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$340.14 MYR1,388.84	$585.86 ₫15M	+72.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$312.00 MYR1,273.94	$297.81 ₫8M	-4.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$28.39 MYR115.93	$79.24 ₫2M	+179.1%
Average			+35.3%

Shah Alam vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 3.4 times more for childcare

	Shah Alam	Ho Chi Minh City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$195.76 MYR799.33	$438.36 ₫11M	+123.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$4,567.77 MYR18,651.14	$23,561.82 ₫610M	+415.8%
Average			+239.9%

Shah Alam vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 51.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Shah Alam	Ho Chi Minh City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.43 MYR13.99	$1.03 ₫26,762	-69.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.95 MYR12.04	$1.81 ₫46,978	-38.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.26 MYR17.39	$1.23 ₫31,892	-71.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$39.76 MYR162.36	$25.91 ₫671K	-34.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.48 MYR26.48	$3.46 ₫89,697	-46.6%
Average			-51.6%

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

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 10.0% more for clothing

	Shah Alam	Ho Chi Minh City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$57.26 MYR233.81	$51.59 ₫1M	-9.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$39.76 MYR162.36	$34.61 ₫896K	-13.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$66.51 MYR271.57	$91.59 ₫2M	+37.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$69.71 MYR284.65	$94.62 ₫2M	+35.7%
Average			+10.0%

Shah Alam vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

Compare further: Shah Alam vs. Ho Chi Minh City

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Ho Chi Minh City?

More cost comparisons

Shah Alam vs.

Toronto

Shah Alam vs.

Madrid

Shah Alam vs.

Athens

Shah Alam vs.

Berlin

Shah Alam vs.

Paris

Shah Alam vs.

Moscow

Shah Alam vs.

Rome

Shah Alam vs.

Warsaw

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Malaysia vs. Vietnam. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Malaysia and Vietnam.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Shah Alam

Add prices for Ho Chi Minh City

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Ho Chi Minh City or Shah Alam. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.