Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Denpasar, Bali and Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

For one person, living costs are similar in Denpasar, Bali and in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon): $896 and $855 a month, rent and utilities included.

44

Cost of Living Index in Denpasar, Bali
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Denpasar, Bali 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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Denpasar, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$896

/mo nomad

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$855

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $896 in Denpasar, Bali versus $855 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Denpasar, Bali $896
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $855

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,522 in Denpasar, Bali versus $1,400 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Denpasar, Bali $1,522
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,400

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,148 in Denpasar, Bali versus $1,944 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Denpasar, Bali $2,148
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,944

Living in Denpasar, Bali is roughly 5% more expensive than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Denpasar, Bali 33% lower, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 36% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.20 Rp 39.4K

$1.90 ₫49.2K

15.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.17 Rp 414.6K

$23.32 ₫603.7K

-0.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.91 Rp 70.0K

$4.67 ₫121.0K

-16.27%

Cappuccino

$1.75 Rp 31.4K

$1.85 ₫48.0K

-5.41%

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

$1.08 Rp 19.3K

$0.56 ₫14.4K

92.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.51 Rp 9,211

$0.34 ₫8,860

50.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.82 Rp 32.6K

$1.01 ₫26.2K

80.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.98 Rp 53.3K

$1.69 ₫43.7K

76.33%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.28 Rp 22.8K

$1.58 ₫40.8K

-18.99%

White Bread (500g)

$1.87 Rp 33.4K

$1.04 ₫27.0K

79.81%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 Rp 18.1K

$0.99 ₫25.7K

2.02%

Eggs

$1.74 Rp 31.1K

$1.60 ₫41.5K

8.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.76 Rp 246.1K

$12.23 ₫316.7K

12.51%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.20 Rp 57.2K

$3.54 ₫91.7K

-9.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.61 Rp 171.9K

$10.44 ₫270.3K

-7.95%

Apples (1kg)

$2.95 Rp 52.9K

$3.09 ₫79.9K

-4.53%

Banana (1kg)

$1.26 Rp 22.5K

$1.26 ₫32.5K

Oranges (1kg)

$1.81 Rp 32.5K

$1.57 ₫40.6K

15.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.56 Rp 27.9K

$1.26 ₫32.5K

23.81%

Potato (1kg)

$1.52 Rp 27.3K

$1.17 ₫30.4K

29.91%

Onion (1kg)

$1.96 Rp 35.0K

$1.15 ₫29.7K

70.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.78 Rp 13.9K

$0.72 ₫18.7K

8.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.43 Rp 7,743

$0.54 ₫14.0K

-20.37%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.85 Rp 33.1K

$1.22 ₫31.5K

51.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.22 Rp 326.0K

$12.28 ₫317.9K

48.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.94 Rp 34.7K

$0.98 ₫25.4K

97.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.39 Rp 42.7K

$1.49 ₫38.6K

60.40%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.24 Rp 4,304

$0.28 ₫7,252

-14.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$7.17 Rp 128.3K

$11.62 ₫301.0K

-38.30%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.40 Rp 7,112

$0.73 ₫18.9K

-45.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.42 Rp 7,428

$0.64 ₫16.7K

-34.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.12 Rp 55.9K

$3.17 ₫82.0K

-1.58%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.75 Rp 13.4K

$0.95 ₫24.6K

-21.05%

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

$21.5K Rp 384.3M

$30.7K ₫795.9M

-30.12%

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

$28.0K Rp 501.7M

$30.6K ₫791.9M

-8.32%

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

$72.7 Rp 1.3M

$102 ₫2.6M

-28.93%

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

$5.91 Rp 105.7K

$5.65 ₫146.2K

4.60%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.47 Rp 294.6K

$10.52 ₫272.3K

56.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.87 Rp 713.2K

$25.86 ₫669.5K

54.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.71 Rp 227.4K

$11.82 ₫306.1K

7.53%

Cinema Ticket

$3.01 Rp 53.8K

$3.39 ₫87.8K

-11.21%

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

$381 Rp 6.8M

$438 ₫11.3M

-12.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,359 Rp 78.0M

$23.3K ₫603.3M

-81.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$39.61 Rp 708.5K

$51.5 ₫1.3M

-23.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.69 Rp 531.2K

$34.56 ₫894.6K

-14.09%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$67.8 Rp 1.2M

$91.3 ₫2.4M

-25.74%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$68.1 Rp 1.2M

$94.9 ₫2.5M

-28.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$594 Rp 10.6M

$577 ₫14.9M

3.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$353 Rp 6.3M

$292 ₫7.6M

20.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,822 Rp 32.6M

$1,293 ₫33.5M

40.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$915 Rp 16.4M

$717 ₫18.6M

27.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,461 Rp 26.1M

$4,714 ₫122.0M

-69.01%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,189 Rp 21.3M

$1,882 ₫48.7M

-36.81%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$284 Rp 5.1M

$486 ₫12.6M

-41.47%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.78

8.64

59.49%

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

Last update for Denpasar, Bali: October 3, 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.

Accommodation & Living

Denpasar, Bali

$353 39.1%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$292 34.3% 17.2% $61

Groceries & Markets

Denpasar, Bali

$234 25.9%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$206 24.1% 12% $28

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Denpasar, Bali

$95 10.5%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$118 13.9% 24.6% $23

Clothing & Footwear

Denpasar, Bali

$92 10.2%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$123 14.4% 32.7% $30

Eating Out

Denpasar, Bali

$72 8%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$63 7.5% 11.7% $8.4

Sport & Entertainment

Denpasar, Bali

$46 5.1%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$33 3.8% 28.9% $13

Getting Around

Denpasar, Bali

$11 1.2%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$17 2% 57.4% $6.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $594 in Denpasar, Bali and $577 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) pays 71% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $23.00 in Denpasar, Bali vs $23.00 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Groceries flip the comparison at $234 vs $206, with Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Denpasar, Bali

🇻🇳 Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🕒 Local time

11:00 11:00 AM

10:00 10:00 AM

1 h behind Denpasar, Bali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

788,445

9,456,700

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.59 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.98 EUR

100,000 VND = 3.86 USD

100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

VND, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 17,890 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.59 USD). 1 EUR = 20,065 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.98 EUR).

Vietnamese Dong exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 25,889 VND (100,000 VND = 3.86 USD). 1 EUR = 29,037 VND (100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Denpasar, Bali Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 2,360 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Denpasar, Bali
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

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

Denpasar, Bali and Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) differ by about 5% in total monthly costs ($896 vs $855 including rent). Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 71% 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $594 in Denpasar, Bali 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 $896 per month in Denpasar, Bali versus $855 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) – a 5% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) runs roughly 62% less than in Denpasar, Bali. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $855 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $896 in Denpasar, Bali, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) but tight or insufficient in Denpasar, Bali. The gap between the two cities makes Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Denpasar, Bali 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 Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) gentler on the wallet – expenses run 5% less than in Denpasar, Bali. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.