Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Hanoi and Song Be

For one person, living is cheaper in Hanoi: $796 a month against $839 in Song Be, rent and utilities included – about $520 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

39

Cost of Living Index in Hanoi
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Hanoi Living Index
40

Cost of Living Index in Song Be
Learn more

Song Be Living Index

Jump to prices

Hanoi

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$796

/mo nomad

Song Be

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Hanoi and in Song Be

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Hanoi and in Song Be actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $796 in Hanoi versus $839 in Song Be.

Hanoi $796
Song Be $839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,239 in Hanoi versus $1,363 in Song Be.

Hanoi $1,239
Song Be $1,363

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,682 in Hanoi versus $1,887 in Song Be.

Hanoi $1,682
Song Be $1,887

Living in Hanoi costs roughly 5% less than in Song Be, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Hanoi 41% lower, Song Be 38% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.08 ₫53.8K

$1.92 ₫49.6K

8.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.16 ₫599.5K

$23.01 ₫595.6K

0.65%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.46 ₫115.4K

$4.75 ₫123.1K

-6.11%

Cappuccino

$1.87 ₫48.5K

$1.85 ₫47.9K

1.08%

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

$0.51 ₫13.3K

$0.55 ₫14.3K

-7.27%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.33 ₫8,670

$0.34 ₫8,819

-2.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.10 ₫28.4K

$1.08 ₫28.0K

1.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 ₫48.9K

$1.70 ₫44.1K

11.18%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.54 ₫39.8K

$1.64 ₫42.5K

-6.10%

White Bread (500g)

$1.06 ₫27.5K

$1.06 ₫27.4K

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.81 ₫21.1K

$1.06 ₫27.4K

-23.58%

Eggs

$1.44 ₫37.4K

$1.62 ₫41.8K

-11.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.44 ₫270.4K

$11.93 ₫309.0K

-12.49%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.80 ₫98.5K

$3.66 ₫94.7K

3.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.83 ₫254.5K

$10.42 ₫269.7K

-5.66%

Apples (1kg)

$3.47 ₫89.8K

$2.98 ₫77.2K

16.44%

Banana (1kg)

$1.07 ₫27.7K

$1.26 ₫32.6K

-15.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.33 ₫34.4K

$1.57 ₫40.7K

-15.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.16 ₫30.0K

$1.25 ₫32.4K

-7.20%

Potato (1kg)

$0.91 ₫23.6K

$1.18 ₫30.6K

-22.88%

Onion (1kg)

$1.08 ₫27.9K

$1.19 ₫30.9K

-9.24%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.53 ₫13.8K

$0.73 ₫18.8K

-27.40%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.57 ₫14.7K

$0.52 ₫13.5K

9.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.45 ₫37.4K

$1.25 ₫32.4K

16.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.39 ₫320.9K

$12.87 ₫333.1K

-3.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.96 ₫24.9K

$0.89 ₫23.1K

7.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.71 ₫44.4K

$1.47 ₫38.0K

16.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.41 ₫10.6K

$0.35 ₫9,126

17.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$9.21 ₫238.5K

$6.85 ₫177.5K

34.45%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.76 ₫19.6K

$0.74 ₫19.3K

2.70%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.59 ₫15.3K

$0.62 ₫16.0K

-4.84%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.36 ₫61.1K

$3.00 ₫77.7K

-21.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.93 ₫24.1K

$0.90 ₫23.4K

3.33%

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

$31.2K ₫807.4M

$31.4K ₫812.5M

-0.63%

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

$29.4K ₫761.8M

$29.7K ₫769.5M

-1.00%

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

$87.2 ₫2.3M

$105 ₫2.7M

-17.12%

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

$5.15 ₫133.5K

$5.87 ₫152.1K

-12.27%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.11 ₫235.9K

$10.60 ₫274.4K

-14.06%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$24.70 ₫639.3K

$25.41 ₫657.8K

-2.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$9.58 ₫248.0K

$7.53 ₫195.0K

27.22%

Cinema Ticket

$4.53 ₫117.4K

$3.82 ₫98.9K

18.59%

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

$787 ₫20.4M

$448 ₫11.6M

75.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$27.2K ₫705.3M

$24.1K ₫622.7M

13.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.25 ₫1.3M

$52.2 ₫1.4M

-5.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$26.22 ₫678.7K

$34.58 ₫895.3K

-24.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$84.9 ₫2.2M

$90.9 ₫2.4M

-6.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.2 ₫2.0M

$94.9 ₫2.5M

-16.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$414 ₫10.7M

$362 ₫9.4M

14.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$277 ₫7.2M

$280 ₫7.2M

-0.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$858 ₫22.2M

$836 ₫21.6M

2.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$535 ₫13.9M

$675 ₫17.5M

-20.69%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,258 ₫136.1M

$1,961 ₫50.8M

168.09%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,847 ₫73.7M

$1,360 ₫35.2M

109.23%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$515 ₫13.3M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.28

8.64

-4.17%

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

Last update for Hanoi: October 19, 2026

Last update for Song Be: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Hanoi

$277 34.8%

Song Be

$280 33.3% 0.9% $2.4

Groceries & Markets

Hanoi

$197 24.7%

Song Be

$206 24.6% 4.9% $9.7

Clothing & Footwear

Hanoi

$108 13.5%

Song Be

$123 14.6% 13.8% $15

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Hanoi

$101 12.7%

Song Be

$122 14.5% 19.9% $20

Eating Out

Hanoi

$65 8.2%

Song Be

$64 7.7% 1.4% $0.9

Sport & Entertainment

Hanoi

$34 4.2%

Song Be

$33 3.9% 2.1% $0.7

Getting Around

Hanoi

$15 1.8%

Song Be

$12 1.4% 16.9% $2.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $414 in Hanoi and $362 in Song Be. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $23.00 in Hanoi vs $23.00 in Song Be for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $197 vs $206 per month, with Hanoi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇻🇳 Hanoi

🇻🇳 Song Be

🕒 Local time

21:23 9:23 PM

Same time as Hanoi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,587,100 Capital

💱 Currency

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 VND = 3.86 USD

100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR

100,000 VND = 3.86 USD

100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Hanoi Song Be 1,060 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Hanoi
Song Be

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

Hanoi vs Song Be: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Hanoi and Song Be differ by about 5% in total monthly costs ($796 vs $839 including rent). Hanoi is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,194 in Hanoi and $1,259 in Song Be 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: $414 in Hanoi versus $362 in Song Be. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Hanoi runs roughly 34% less than in Song Be. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $787 in Hanoi versus $448 in Song Be. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Either city works on $1,200 a month, though Hanoi gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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, Hanoi and Song Be 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 Hanoi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 5% less than in Song Be. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.