Last update: Oct 2026

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

For one person, living costs are similar in Bintulu and in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon): $849 and $855 a month, rent and utilities included.

41

Cost of Living Index in Bintulu
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Bintulu 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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Bintulu

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$849

/mo nomad

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$855

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bintulu 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 Bintulu and in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $849 in Bintulu versus $855 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Bintulu $849
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $855

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,312 in Bintulu versus $1,400 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Bintulu $1,312
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,400

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,775 in Bintulu versus $1,944 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Bintulu $1,775
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,944

Living in Bintulu costs roughly 1% less than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Bintulu 37% lower, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 36% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.95 MYR 16.13

$1.90 ₫49.1K

107.89%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.43 MYR 75.3

$23.32 ₫603.5K

-20.97%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.79 MYR 23.63

$4.67 ₫120.9K

23.98%

Cappuccino

$2.99 MYR 12.20

$1.85 ₫47.9K

61.62%

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

$0.63 MYR 2.59

$0.56 ₫14.4K

12.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.38 MYR 1.54

$0.34 ₫8,857

11.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.98 MYR 12.17

$1.01 ₫26.2K

195.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.17 MYR 21.12

$1.69 ₫43.7K

205.92%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.15 MYR 8.77

$1.58 ₫40.8K

36.08%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 MYR 5.59

$1.04 ₫27.0K

31.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.32 MYR 5.41

$0.99 ₫25.7K

33.33%

Eggs

$2.16 MYR 8.83

$1.60 ₫41.5K

35.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.81 MYR 68.6

$12.23 ₫316.6K

37.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.48 MYR 14.19

$3.54 ₫91.7K

-1.69%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$5.90 MYR 24.11

$10.44 ₫270.2K

-43.49%

Apples (1kg)

$1.76 MYR 7.19

$3.09 ₫79.9K

-43.04%

Banana (1kg)

$1.02 MYR 4.18

$1.26 ₫32.5K

-19.05%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.76 MYR 7.17

$1.57 ₫40.6K

12.10%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.13 MYR 4.60

$1.26 ₫32.5K

-10.32%

Potato (1kg)

$0.51 MYR 2.08

$1.17 ₫30.4K

-56.41%

Onion (1kg)

$1.19 MYR 4.85

$1.15 ₫29.7K

3.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.69 MYR 2.84

$0.72 ₫18.7K

-4.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.42 MYR 1.71

$0.54 ₫14.0K

-22.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.18 MYR 17.08

$1.22 ₫31.5K

242.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.74 MYR 80.6

$12.28 ₫317.8K

60.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.01 MYR 12.29

$0.98 ₫25.4K

207.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.00 MYR 8.17

$1.49 ₫38.5K

34.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.20 MYR 4.91

$0.28 ₫7,249

328.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$16.62 MYR 67.9

$11.62 ₫300.8K

43.03%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.02 MYR 4.18

$0.73 ₫18.9K

39.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.83 MYR 3.39

$0.64 ₫16.7K

29.69%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.50 MYR 10.21

$3.17 ₫82.0K

-21.14%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.63 MYR 2.57

$0.95 ₫24.6K

-33.68%

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

$44.5K MYR 181.7K

$30.7K ₫795.6M

44.74%

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

$38.5K MYR 157.0K

$30.6K ₫791.6M

25.75%

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

$59.2 MYR 242

$102 ₫2.6M

-42.11%

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

$31.51 MYR 129

$5.65 ₫146.1K

457.70%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.98 MYR 122

$10.52 ₫272.2K

184.98%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$66.4 MYR 271

$25.86 ₫669.2K

156.88%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.43 MYR 50.8

$11.82 ₫305.9K

5.16%

Cinema Ticket

$4.33 MYR 17.67

$3.39 ₫87.8K

27.73%

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

$124 MYR 508

$438 ₫11.3M

-71.58%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,230 MYR 29.5K

$23.3K ₫603.1M

-68.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.2 MYR 262

$51.5 ₫1.3M

24.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.02 MYR 147

$34.56 ₫894.3K

4.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.5 MYR 329

$91.3 ₫2.4M

-11.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.8 MYR 371

$94.9 ₫2.5M

-4.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$220 MYR 898

$577 ₫14.9M

-61.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$157 MYR 642

$292 ₫7.6M

-46.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$485 MYR 1,979

$1,293 ₫33.5M

-62.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$333 MYR 1,361

$717 ₫18.6M

-53.53%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,730 MYR 7,062

$4,714 ₫122.0M

-63.31%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,137 MYR 4,644

$1,882 ₫48.7M

-39.57%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$598 MYR 2,441

$486 ₫12.6M

23.08%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.5

8.64

-47.92%

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

Last update for Bintulu: October 5, 2026

Last update for Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon): October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Bintulu

$232 27.4%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$206 24.1% 11.6% $27

Accommodation & Living

Bintulu

$157 18.5%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$292 34.3% 85.7% $135

Clothing & Footwear

Bintulu

$122 14.4%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$123 14.4% 0.3% $0.3

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bintulu

$121 14.2%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$118 13.9% 1.9% $2.3

Eating Out

Bintulu

$114 13.5%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$63 7.5% 44.4% $51

Sport & Entertainment

Bintulu

$75 8.9%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$33 3.8% 56.5% $42

Getting Around

Bintulu

$27 3.1%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$17 2% 37.2% $9.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $220 in Bintulu and $577 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bintulu pays 23% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $18.00 in Bintulu vs $23.00 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Groceries flip the comparison at $232 vs $206, with Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Bintulu

🇻🇳 Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🕒 Local time

14:56 2:56 PM

13:56 1:56 PM

1 h behind Bintulu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

240,172

9,456,700

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.218 EUR

100,000 VND = 3.86 USD

100,000 VND = 3.45 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

VND, USD, EUR to MYR – Malaysian Ringgit Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇾 Malaysian Ringgit (RM)

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.08 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.58 MYR (1 MYR = 0.218 EUR).

Vietnamese Dong exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 25,879 VND (100,000 VND = 3.86 USD). 1 EUR = 29,025 VND (100,000 VND = 3.45 EUR).

USD to MYR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Bintulu Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 1,100 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Bintulu
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

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

Bintulu wins on cost – living expenses run 1% lower than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Bintulu the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 23% higher in Bintulu, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $220 in Bintulu versus $577 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $849 per month in Bintulu versus $855 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) – a 1% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bintulu runs roughly 43% less than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $849 in Bintulu versus $855 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), a $1,000 budget is realistic in Bintulu but tight or insufficient in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). The gap between the two cities makes Bintulu the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Bintulu delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $849 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Bintulu hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Bintulu 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 Bintulu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 1% less than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.