Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bago and Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

For one person, living is cheaper in Bago: $696 a month against $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), rent and utilities included – about $2,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

36

Cost of Living Index in Bago
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Bago Living Index
42

Cost of Living Index in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
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Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) Living Index

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Bago

🇵🇭 Philippines

$696

/mo nomad

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$859

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bago and in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Bago and in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $696 in Bago versus $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Bago $696
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $859

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,085 in Bago versus $1,395 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Bago $1,085
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,395

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,475 in Bago versus $1,931 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Bago $1,475
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,931

Living in Bago costs roughly 19% less than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Bago 48% lower, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 36% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.77 ₱237

$1.91 ₫49.6K

97.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$15.36 ₱967

$22.84 ₫591.2K

-32.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.13 ₱197

$4.54 ₫117.6K

-31.06%

Cappuccino

$2.06 ₱130

$1.85 ₫48.0K

11.35%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.71 ₱44.84

$0.56 ₫14.6K

26.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ₱19.26

$0.32 ₫8,185

-3.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.06 ₱66.7

$1.06 ₫27.5K

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.10 ₱132

$1.72 ₫44.5K

22.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.45 ₱91.5

$1.66 ₫42.9K

-12.65%

White Bread (500g)

$1.05 ₱65.8

$1.11 ₫28.7K

-5.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.89 ₱56.0

$1.00 ₫25.9K

-11.00%

Eggs

$1.70 ₱107

$1.67 ₫43.1K

1.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.64 ₱355

$12.08 ₫312.8K

-53.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.68 ₱294

$3.68 ₫95.2K

27.17%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.51 ₱473

$10.24 ₫265.1K

-26.66%

Apples (1kg)

$2.68 ₱169

$2.96 ₫76.5K

-9.46%

Banana (1kg)

$1.72 ₱109

$1.24 ₫32.2K

38.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.58 ₱163

$1.56 ₫40.3K

65.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.29 ₱81.4

$1.30 ₫33.6K

-0.77%

Potato (1kg)

$1.72 ₱109

$1.23 ₫31.9K

39.84%

Onion (1kg)

$1.86 ₱117

$1.15 ₫29.8K

61.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.01 ₱63.3

$0.74 ₫19.1K

36.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.50 ₱31.69

$0.56 ₫14.4K

-10.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.30 ₱207

$1.24 ₫32.1K

166.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.16 ₱451

$12.60 ₫326.1K

-43.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 ₱56.4

$0.96 ₫24.9K

-6.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 ₱117

$1.53 ₫39.6K

22.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.21 ₱13.43

$0.26 ₫6,694

-19.23%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$10.85 ₱683

$11.51 ₫297.9K

-5.73%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.66 ₱41.31

$0.75 ₫19.5K

-12.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.56

$0.67 ₫17.4K

-65.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.93 ₱121

$3.03 ₫78.5K

-36.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 ₱81.5

$0.96 ₫24.8K

35.42%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$24.5K ₱1.5M

$31.1K ₫804.3M

-21.18%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$18.8K ₱1.2M

$30.4K ₫785.9M

-38.15%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$109 ₱6,893

$102 ₫2.6M

7.35%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$13.03 ₱821

$5.89 ₫152.5K

121.22%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.14 ₱1,646

$10.49 ₫271.6K

149.19%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.61 ₱1,864

$25.54 ₫661.2K

15.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.30 ₱333

$11.92 ₫308.5K

-55.54%

Cinema Ticket

$4.97 ₱313

$3.53 ₫91.3K

40.79%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$130 ₱8,157

$436 ₫11.3M

-70.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,189 ₱515.6K

$23.3K ₫602.8M

-64.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$36.58 ₱2,303

$52.8 ₫1.4M

-30.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$21.81 ₱1,373

$34.15 ₫884.1K

-36.13%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.6 ₱4,823

$90.3 ₫2.3M

-15.12%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$63.2 ₱3,977

$95.0 ₫2.5M

-33.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$294 ₱18.5K

$589 ₫15.3M

-50.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$147 ₱9,268

$298 ₫7.7M

-50.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$455 ₱28.6K

$1,292 ₫33.5M

-64.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$347 ₱21.9K

$711 ₫18.4M

-51.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,607 ₱164.2K

$4,676 ₫121.1M

-44.25%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$876 ₱55.1K

$1,904 ₫49.3M

-54.00%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$490 ₫12.7M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.79

8.64

-21.41%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Bago: October 11, 2026

Last update for Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon): October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Groceries & Markets

Bago

$180 25.9%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$207 24.1% 15% $27

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bago

$149 21.4%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$118 13.8% 20.4% $30

Accommodation & Living

Bago

$147 21.2%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$298 34.7% 102% $151

Clothing & Footwear

Bago

$89 12.8%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$122 14.3% 37.3% $33

Eating Out

Bago

$78 11.2%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$63 7.4% 18.5% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Bago

$40 5.7%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$33 3.8% 17.6% $6.9

Getting Around

Bago

$14 1.9%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$17 1.9% 23.2% $3.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $294 in Bago and $589 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $15.00 in Bago vs $23.00 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $180 vs $207 per month, with Bago cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Bago

🇻🇳 Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🕒 Local time

01:41 1:41 AM

00:41 12:41 AM

1 h behind Bago

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

191,210

9,456,700

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

100,000 VND = 3.86 USD

100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

VND, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.79 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

Vietnamese Dong exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 25,889 VND (100,000 VND = 3.86 USD). 1 EUR = 29,108 VND (100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Bago Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 1,760 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Bago
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Bago vs Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon): Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bago is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and transport. The 23% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $1,044 in Bago and $1,288 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $294 in Bago versus $589 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $130 in Bago versus $436 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 15% higher in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $696 in Bago versus $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), a $1,500 budget is realistic in Bago but tight or insufficient in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). The gap between the two cities makes Bago the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Bago is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Bago and Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Bago gentler on the wallet – expenses run 23% less than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.