Last update: Oct 2026

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

For one person, living is cheaper in Calamba: $518 a month against $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), rent and utilities included – about $4,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

25

Cost of Living Index in Calamba
Learn more

Calamba Living Index
42

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

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) Living Index

Jump to prices

Calamba

🇵🇭 Philippines

$518

/mo nomad

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$859

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $518 in Calamba versus $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Calamba $518
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $859

Estimated couple costs with rent: $764 in Calamba versus $1,395 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Calamba $764
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,395

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,010 in Calamba versus $1,931 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Calamba $1,010
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,931

Living in Calamba costs roughly 40% 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: Calamba 62% lower, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 36% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.92 ₱247

$1.91 ₫49.6K

105.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$12.02 ₱757

$22.84 ₫591.2K

-47.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$2.82 ₱178

$4.54 ₫117.6K

-37.89%

Cappuccino

$1.79 ₱113

$1.85 ₫48.0K

-3.24%

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

$0.56 ₱35.44

$0.56 ₫14.6K

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.33 ₱21.06

$0.32 ₫8,185

3.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.94 ₱59.5

$1.06 ₫27.5K

-11.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.55 ₱97.7

$1.72 ₫44.5K

-9.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.60 ₱101

$1.66 ₫42.9K

-3.61%

White Bread (500g)

$1.11 ₱70.1

$1.11 ₫28.7K

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.97 ₱61.0

$1.00 ₫25.9K

-3.00%

Eggs

$2.00 ₱126

$1.67 ₫43.1K

19.76%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.20 ₱327

$12.08 ₫312.8K

-56.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.40 ₱214

$3.68 ₫95.2K

-7.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.80 ₱491

$10.24 ₫265.1K

-23.83%

Apples (1kg)

$2.31 ₱145

$2.96 ₫76.5K

-21.96%

Banana (1kg)

$1.54 ₱96.9

$1.24 ₫32.2K

24.19%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.40 ₱151

$1.56 ₫40.3K

53.85%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.06 ₱66.9

$1.30 ₫33.6K

-18.46%

Potato (1kg)

$1.73 ₱109

$1.23 ₫31.9K

40.65%

Onion (1kg)

$1.78 ₱112

$1.15 ₫29.8K

54.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.61 ₱38.68

$0.74 ₫19.1K

-17.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ₱31.10

$0.56 ₫14.4K

-12.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.92 ₱184

$1.24 ₫32.1K

135.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.87 ₱558

$12.60 ₫326.1K

-29.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.96 ₱60.3

$0.96 ₫24.9K

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.10 ₱132

$1.53 ₫39.6K

37.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.26 ₫6,694

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.51 ₫297.9K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.82 ₱51.9

$0.75 ₫19.5K

9.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.25 ₱15.75

$0.67 ₫17.4K

-62.69%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.88 ₱119

$3.03 ₫78.5K

-37.95%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.93 ₱58.7

$0.96 ₫24.8K

-3.12%

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

$21.1K ₱1.3M

$31.1K ₫804.3M

-31.98%

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

$19.0K ₱1.2M

$30.4K ₫785.9M

-37.38%

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

$139 ₱8,759

$102 ₫2.6M

36.42%

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

$17.36 ₱1,093

$5.89 ₫152.5K

194.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.85 ₱1,502

$10.49 ₫271.6K

127.36%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$25.54 ₫661.2K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.92 ₫308.5K

Cinema Ticket

$5.04 ₱317

$3.53 ₫91.3K

42.78%

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

$130 ₱8,193

$436 ₫11.3M

-70.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.6K ₱668.9K

$23.3K ₫602.8M

-54.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$28.54 ₱1,797

$52.8 ₫1.4M

-45.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$19.73 ₱1,242

$34.15 ₫884.1K

-42.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$71.0 ₱4,468

$90.3 ₫2.3M

-21.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$55.3 ₱3,482

$95.0 ₫2.5M

-41.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$589 ₫15.3M

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$298 ₫7.7M

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,292 ₫33.5M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$711 ₫18.4M

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,676 ₫121.1M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,904 ₫49.3M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$260 ₱16.4K

$490 ₫12.7M

-46.93%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

8.64

-21.88%

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

Last update for Calamba: October 12, 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.

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Calamba

$180 34.8%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$118 13.8% 34.4% $62

Groceries & Markets

Calamba

$175 33.7%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$207 24.1% 18.7% $33

Clothing & Footwear

Calamba

$79 15.2%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$122 14.3% 55.9% $44

Eating Out

Calamba

$73 14%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$63 7.4% 12.8% $9.3

Sport & Entertainment

Calamba

$10 * 1.9%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$33 3.8% 223% $23

Getting Around

Calamba

$2.1 * 0.4%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$17 1.9% 701% $15

Accommodation & Living

Calamba

- * 0%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$298 34.7%

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) pays 88% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $12.00 in Calamba vs $23.00 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $175 vs $207 per month, with Calamba cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Calamba

🇻🇳 Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🕒 Local time

04:29 4:29 AM

03:29 3:29 AM

1 h behind Calamba

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

539,671

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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Calamba Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 1,610 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Calamba
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

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

Calamba wins on cost – living expenses run 66% lower than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Calamba the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 88% lower in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Supermarket bills run roughly 19% higher in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $518 per month in Calamba versus $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) – a 66% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $518 in Calamba versus $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), a $1,000 budget is realistic in Calamba but tight or insufficient in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). The gap between the two cities makes Calamba the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Calamba delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $518 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Calamba hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Calamba 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 Calamba gentler on the wallet – expenses run 66% less than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.