Cost of living comparison

compared to

China vs. Vietnam Cost of Living Summary

China is 33.8% more expensive than Vietnam overall.

Restaurants: pay 15.5% more in China
Groceries: pay 7.5% more in China
Transportation: pay 41.5% more in China
Housing: pay 2.3% more in China
Childcare: pay 61.2% more in China
Entertainment and Sports: pay 88.2% more in China
Clothing: pay 20.7% more in China

The cost of entertainment and sports, childcare, transportation, clothing, restaurants, and groceries in China are more expensive than in Vietnam. Notably, entertainment and sports is significantly more expensive in China.

China vs. Vietnam Cost Breakdown

If you lived in China instead of Vietnam, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 15.5% more for restaurants

	Vietnam	China
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$1.88 ₫49,683	$2.90 CN¥20.50	+53.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.13 ₫108,845	$5.02 CN¥35.49	+21.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.53 ₫13,958	$0.47 CN¥3.36	-10.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.29 ₫7,515	$0.28 CN¥1.96	-3.0%
Average			+15.5%

Vietnam vs. China - Cost of restaurants

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pay 7.5% more for groceries

	Vietnam	China
Bread 1 loaf	$0.86 ₫22,659	$1.63 CN¥11.52	+89.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.32 ₫140,160	$6.32 CN¥44.71	+18.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.20 ₫137,163	$6.70 CN¥47.44	+28.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.45 ₫38,157	$1.56 CN¥11.05	+7.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.56 ₫41,037	$1.52 CN¥10.78	-2.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.18 ₫31,215	$0.74 CN¥5.25	-37.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.47 ₫12,417	$0.55 CN¥3.86	+15.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.58 ₫15,166	$0.62 CN¥4.41	+8.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.49 ₫12,939	$0.50 CN¥3.57	+2.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.46 ₫12,243	$0.30 CN¥2.13	-35.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.47 ₫12,298	$0.39 CN¥2.79	-15.4%
Average			+7.5%

Vietnam vs. China - Cost of groceries

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pay 41.5% more for transportation

	Vietnam	China
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.19 ₫84,134	$4.34 CN¥30.68	+35.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$6.64 ₫175,156	$20.32 CN¥143.78	+205.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$33,225.24 ₫875,846,709	$19,143.98 CN¥135,449.43	-42.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.90 ₫155,607	$3.94 CN¥27.89	-33.2%
Average			+41.5%

Vietnam vs. China - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.3% more for housing

	Vietnam	China
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$8.68 ₫228,737	$11.18 CN¥79.08	+28.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$310.38 ₫8,181,759	$304.90 CN¥2,157.22	-1.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$223.57 ₫5,893,546	$195.65 CN¥1,384.25	-12.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$43.27 ₫1,140,722	$41.04 CN¥290.39	-5.2%
Average			+2.3%

Vietnam vs. China - Cost of housing

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pay 61.2% more for childcare

	Vietnam	China
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$199.23 ₫5,251,819	$390.25 CN¥2,761.13	+95.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$12,262.04 ₫323,238,187	$15,493.57 CN¥109,621.66	+26.4%
Average			+61.2%

Vietnam vs. China - Cost of childcare

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pay 88.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Vietnam	China
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.93 ₫24,541	$1.04 CN¥7.37	+11.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.60 ₫42,129	$2.84 CN¥20.07	+77.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.28 ₫33,698	$3.36 CN¥23.77	+162.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$20.38 ₫537,204	$41.13 CN¥290.99	+101.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.19 ₫84,196	$5.98 CN¥42.33	+87.3%
Average			+88.2%

Vietnam vs. China - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 20.7% more for clothing

	Vietnam	China
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$31.66 ₫834,603	$45.93 CN¥324.95	+45.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$21.29 ₫561,324	$30.93 CN¥218.85	+45.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$72.72 ₫1,916,905	$71.26 CN¥504.18	-2.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$77.26 ₫2,036,773	$72.88 CN¥515.65	-5.7%
Average			+20.7%

Vietnam vs. China - 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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