Last update: Oct 2026

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

For one person, living is cheaper in Datong: $715 a month against $862 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), rent and utilities included – about $1,800 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

35

Cost of Living Index in Datong
Learn more

Datong 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

Datong

🇨🇳 China

$715

/mo nomad

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$862

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $715 in Datong versus $862 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Datong $715
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $862

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,133 in Datong versus $1,410 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Datong $1,133
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,410

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,551 in Datong versus $1,958 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Datong $1,551
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,958

Living in Datong costs roughly 17% 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: Datong 47% lower, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 36% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.77 ¥18.50

$1.98 ₫51.3K

39.90%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$21.44 ¥143

$23.14 ₫599.0K

-7.35%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.93 ¥32.98

$4.76 ₫123.2K

3.57%

Cappuccino

$3.05 ¥20.42

$1.86 ₫48.1K

63.98%

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

$0.47 ¥3.11

$0.51 ₫13.3K

-7.84%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 ¥1.80

$0.32 ₫8,191

-15.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.94 ¥6.31

$1.03 ₫26.7K

-8.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.06 ¥13.76

$1.71 ₫44.4K

20.47%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.82 ¥12.16

$1.58 ₫40.8K

15.19%

White Bread (500g)

$1.62 ¥10.80

$1.09 ₫28.3K

48.62%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.89 ¥5.92

$1.05 ₫27.2K

-15.24%

Eggs

$1.55 ¥10.36

$1.64 ₫42.6K

-5.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.59 ¥84.2

$12.33 ₫319.2K

2.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.23 ¥21.62

$3.58 ₫92.6K

-9.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.12 ¥67.7

$10.56 ₫273.3K

-4.17%

Apples (1kg)

$1.87 ¥12.52

$2.97 ₫76.9K

-37.04%

Banana (1kg)

$1.26 ¥8.39

$1.26 ₫32.7K

Oranges (1kg)

$1.47 ¥9.83

$1.62 ₫42.0K

-9.26%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.15 ¥7.68

$1.31 ₫33.8K

-12.21%

Potato (1kg)

$0.73 ¥4.89

$1.19 ₫30.8K

-38.66%

Onion (1kg)

$0.92 ¥6.13

$1.14 ₫29.6K

-19.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.56 ¥3.77

$0.73 ₫18.8K

-23.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ¥3.44

$0.56 ₫14.6K

-8.93%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.17 ¥21.22

$1.28 ₫33.0K

147.66%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.71 ¥71.6

$12.46 ₫322.5K

-14.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.79 ¥5.29

$0.96 ₫24.9K

-17.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 ¥10.69

$1.48 ₫38.3K

8.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.27 ¥1.80

$0.26 ₫6,704

3.85%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$16.82 ¥112

$11.43 ₫296.0K

47.16%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.42 ¥9.48

$0.68 ₫17.7K

108.82%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.33 ¥2.19

$0.62 ₫16.1K

-46.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.87 ¥45.96

$3.00 ₫77.7K

129.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.17 ¥7.83

$0.91 ₫23.5K

28.57%

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

$19.4K ¥129.6K

$30.6K ₫791.4M

-36.59%

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

$17.4K ¥116.3K

$29.4K ₫760.1M

-40.75%

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

$44.62 ¥298

$104 ₫2.7M

-57.00%

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

$9.53 ¥63.7

$5.79 ₫149.9K

64.59%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.92 ¥79.7

$10.48 ₫271.3K

13.74%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.32 ¥283

$26.08 ₫675.1K

62.27%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.88 ¥92.8

$11.90 ₫308.1K

16.64%

Cinema Ticket

$5.84 ¥39.05

$3.89 ₫100.7K

50.13%

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

$329 ¥2,198

$440 ₫11.4M

-25.27%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K ¥110.5K

$24.1K ₫622.7M

-31.27%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.27 ¥296

$50.9 ₫1.3M

-13.04%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.48 ¥204

$35.18 ₫910.8K

-13.36%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$71.5 ¥478

$92.1 ₫2.4M

-22.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$70.7 ¥473

$96.5 ₫2.5M

-26.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$283 ¥1,890

$582 ₫15.1M

-51.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$193 ¥1,289

$297 ₫7.7M

-35.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$598 ¥3,999

$1,298 ₫33.6M

-53.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$363 ¥2,424

$727 ₫18.8M

-50.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,069 ¥20.5K

$4,782 ₫123.8M

-35.83%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,036 ¥13.6K

$1,853 ₫48.0M

9.89%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$490 ₫12.7M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.89

8.64

-54.98%

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

Last update for Datong: October 18, 2026

Last update for Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon): October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Datong

$198 27.7%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$208 24.1% 4.9% $9.8

Accommodation & Living

Datong

$193 27%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$297 34.4% 53.9% $104

Clothing & Footwear

Datong

$98 13.7%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$124 14.3% 26.6% $26

Eating Out

Datong

$85 11.9%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$64 7.5% 24.6% $21

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Datong

$66 9.2%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$120 13.9% 81.7% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Datong

$54 7.6%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$34 3.9% 37.3% $20

Getting Around

Datong

$21 2.9%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$16 1.9% 22.4% $4.7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $283 in Datong and $582 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $21.00 in Datong vs $23.00 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $198 vs $208 per month, with Datong cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Datong

🇻🇳 Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🕒 Local time

08:17 8:17 AM

07:17 7:17 AM

1 h behind Datong

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,318,057

9,456,700

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

100,000 VND = 3.86 USD

100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

VND, USD, EUR to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

Vietnamese Dong exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 25,889 VND (100,000 VND = 3.86 USD). 1 EUR = 29,105 VND (100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Datong Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 3,320 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Datong
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

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

Datong wins on cost – living expenses run 21% lower than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Datong the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $1,072 in Datong and $1,294 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: $283 in Datong versus $582 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $329 in Datong versus $440 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 5% higher in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $715 in Datong versus $862 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), a $1,000 budget is realistic in Datong but tight or insufficient in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). The gap between the two cities makes Datong the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Datong delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $715 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Datong hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Datong 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 Datong gentler on the wallet – expenses run 21% less than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.