Last update: Oct 2026

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

For one person, living is cheaper in Bengbu: $666 a month against $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), rent and utilities included – about $2,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

42

Cost of Living Index in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
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Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) Living Index
32

Cost of Living Index in Bengbu
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Bengbu Living Index

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Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$859

/mo nomad

Bengbu

🇨🇳 China

$666

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and in Bengbu

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and in Bengbu actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $666 in Bengbu.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $859
Bengbu $666

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,395 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $1,043 in Bengbu.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,395
Bengbu $1,043

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,931 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $1,420 in Bengbu.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,931
Bengbu $1,420

Living in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) is roughly 29% more expensive than in Bengbu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 36% lower, Bengbu 51% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.91 ₫49.6K

$2.31 ¥15.42

-17.32%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$22.84 ₫591.4K

$10.50 ¥70.2

117.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.54 ₫117.6K

$4.76 ¥31.81

-4.62%

Cappuccino

$1.85 ₫48.0K

$3.15 ¥21.09

-41.27%

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

$0.56 ₫14.6K

$0.47 ¥3.16

19.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.32 ₫8,187

$0.25 ¥1.66

28.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.06 ₫27.5K

$1.45 ¥9.67

-26.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.72 ₫44.5K

$2.21 ¥14.75

-22.17%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ₫42.9K

$2.18 ¥14.57

-23.85%

White Bread (500g)

$1.11 ₫28.7K

$1.02 ¥6.82

8.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.00 ₫25.9K

$0.72 ¥4.85

38.89%

Eggs

$1.67 ₫43.2K

$1.32 ¥8.83

26.52%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.08 ₫312.9K

$10.42 ¥69.7

15.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.68 ₫95.2K

$3.04 ¥20.30

21.05%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.24 ₫265.2K

$9.00 ¥60.2

13.78%

Apples (1kg)

$2.96 ₫76.6K

$1.50 ¥10.03

97.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.24 ₫32.2K

$1.07 ¥7.13

15.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.56 ₫40.3K

$1.52 ¥10.16

2.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.30 ₫33.6K

$0.78 ¥5.22

66.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.23 ₫31.9K

$0.62 ¥4.16

98.39%

Onion (1kg)

$1.15 ₫29.8K

$0.63 ¥4.20

82.54%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.74 ₫19.1K

$0.76 ¥5.09

-2.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₫14.4K

$0.43 ¥2.90

30.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.24 ₫32.2K

$2.93 ¥19.57

-57.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.60 ₫326.2K

$6.10 ¥40.82

106.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.96 ₫24.9K

$0.76 ¥5.11

26.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.53 ₫39.6K

$1.47 ¥9.86

4.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.26 ₫6,696

$0.31 ¥2.09

-16.13%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.51 ₫298.0K

$20.48 ¥137

-43.80%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.75 ₫19.5K

$1.61 ¥10.76

-53.42%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.67 ₫17.4K

$0.38 ¥2.57

76.32%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.03 ₫78.5K

$9.15 ¥61.2

-66.89%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.96 ₫24.8K

$1.29 ¥8.66

-25.58%

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

$31.1K ₫804.4M

$19.2K ¥128.4K

61.79%

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

$30.4K ₫786.1M

$16.6K ¥111.3K

82.47%

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

$102 ₫2.6M

$36.70 ¥245

177.87%

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

$5.89 ₫152.6K

$5.39 ¥36.02

9.28%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.49 ₫271.7K

$7.07 ¥47.25

48.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$25.54 ₫661.3K

$41.28 ¥276

-38.13%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.92 ₫308.6K

$16.25 ¥109

-26.65%

Cinema Ticket

$3.53 ₫91.4K

$5.99 ¥40.08

-41.07%

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

$436 ₫11.3M

$417 ¥2,789

4.65%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.3K ₫602.9M

$22.1K ¥148.0K

5.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.8 ₫1.4M

$43.41 ¥290

21.52%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.15 ₫884.3K

$33.77 ¥226

1.13%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.3 ₫2.3M

$66.1 ¥442

36.53%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$95.0 ₫2.5M

$88.5 ¥592

7.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$589 ₫15.3M

$294 ¥1,969

100.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$298 ₫7.7M

$181 ¥1,209

64.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,292 ₫33.5M

$586 ¥3,921

120.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$711 ₫18.4M

$349 ¥2,335

103.56%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,676 ₫121.1M

$3,507 ¥23.5K

33.34%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,904 ₫49.3M

$2,194 ¥14.7K

-13.22%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$490 ₫12.7M

$668 ¥4,469

-26.74%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.64

3.42

152.63%

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

Last update for Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon): October 10, 2026

Last update for Bengbu: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$298 34.7%

Bengbu

$181 27.2% 39.3% $117

Groceries & Markets

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$207 24.1%

Bengbu

$168 25.2% 19% $39

Clothing & Footwear

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$122 14.3%

Bengbu

$104 15.7% 14.8% $18

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$118 13.8%

Bengbu

$49 7.4% 58.5% $69

Eating Out

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$63 7.4%

Bengbu

$85 12.8% 34.1% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$33 3.8%

Bengbu

$53 8% 63.4% $21

Getting Around

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$17 1.9%

Bengbu

$25 3.8% 51.7% $8.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $589 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and $294 in Bengbu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bengbu pays 36% 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 Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) vs $11.00 in Bengbu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $207 vs $168 per month, with Bengbu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇻🇳 Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🇨🇳 Bengbu

🕒 Local time

14:20 2:20 PM

15:20 3:20 PM

1 h ahead of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,456,700

3,296,408

💱 Currency

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 VND = 3.86 USD

100,000 VND = 3.45 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.134 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, USD, EUR to VND – Vietnamese Dong Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇻🇳 Vietnamese Dong (₫)

Vietnamese Dong exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 25,894 VND (100,000 VND = 3.86 USD). 1 EUR = 28,990 VND (100,000 VND = 3.45 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.49 CNY (1 CNY = 0.134 EUR).

USD to VND in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) Bengbu 2,690 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
Bengbu

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

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

Bengbu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and utilities. The 29% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 36% lower in Bengbu. 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: $589 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $294 in Bengbu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $436 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $417 in Bengbu. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 24% higher in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $666 in Bengbu versus $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), a $1,500 budget is realistic in Bengbu but tight or insufficient in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). The gap between the two cities makes Bengbu the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Bengbu is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and Bengbu 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 Bengbu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 29% less than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.