Last update: Oct 2026

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

For one person, living is cheaper in Dongguan: $813 a month against $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), rent and utilities included – about $550 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

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Cost of Living Index in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
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Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) Living Index
40

Cost of Living Index in Dongguan
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Dongguan Living Index

Jump to prices

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$859

/mo nomad

Dongguan

🇨🇳 China

$813

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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 Dongguan actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $813 in Dongguan.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $859
Dongguan $813

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,395 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $1,291 in Dongguan.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,395
Dongguan $1,291

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,931 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $1,768 in Dongguan.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,931
Dongguan $1,768

Living in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) is roughly 6% more expensive than in Dongguan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 36% lower, Dongguan 40% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.91 ₫49.6K

$2.57 ¥17.18

-25.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$22.84 ₫591.4K

$22.04 ¥147

3.63%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.54 ₫117.6K

$5.26 ¥35.16

-13.69%

Cappuccino

$1.85 ₫48.0K

$2.56 ¥17.14

-27.73%

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

$0.56 ₫14.6K

$0.47 ¥3.15

19.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.32 ₫8,187

$0.29 ¥1.93

10.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.06 ₫27.5K

$0.92 ¥6.18

15.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.72 ₫44.5K

$2.21 ¥14.80

-22.17%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ₫42.9K

$1.60 ¥10.69

3.75%

White Bread (500g)

$1.11 ₫28.7K

$1.56 ¥10.42

-28.85%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.00 ₫25.9K

$1.03 ¥6.90

-2.91%

Eggs

$1.67 ₫43.2K

$1.66 ¥11.12

0.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.08 ₫312.9K

$20.79 ¥139

-41.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.68 ₫95.2K

$3.44 ¥22.99

6.98%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.24 ₫265.2K

$14.23 ¥95.2

-28.04%

Apples (1kg)

$2.96 ₫76.6K

$2.27 ¥15.17

30.40%

Banana (1kg)

$1.24 ₫32.2K

$1.57 ¥10.51

-21.02%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.56 ₫40.3K

$1.94 ¥12.95

-19.59%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.30 ₫33.6K

$1.42 ¥9.47

-8.45%

Potato (1kg)

$1.23 ₫31.9K

$1.08 ¥7.19

13.89%

Onion (1kg)

$1.15 ₫29.8K

$1.24 ¥8.32

-7.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.74 ₫19.1K

$0.56 ¥3.72

32.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₫14.4K

$0.55 ¥3.68

1.82%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.24 ₫32.2K

$4.49 ¥30.04

-72.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.60 ₫326.2K

$11.89 ¥79.5

5.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.96 ₫24.9K

$0.86 ¥5.76

11.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.53 ₫39.6K

$1.75 ¥11.68

-12.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.26 ₫6,696

$0.35 ¥2.35

-25.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.51 ₫298.0K

$22.79 ¥152

-49.50%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.75 ₫19.5K

$1.18 ¥7.91

-36.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.67 ₫17.4K

$0.39 ¥2.59

71.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.03 ₫78.5K

$4.36 ¥29.14

-30.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.96 ₫24.8K

$1.28 ¥8.53

-25.00%

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

$31.1K ₫804.4M

$19.5K ¥130.7K

58.94%

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

$30.4K ₫786.1M

$18.6K ¥124.6K

62.98%

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

$102 ₫2.6M

$63.8 ¥426

59.94%

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

$5.89 ₫152.6K

$9.24 ¥61.8

-36.26%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.49 ₫271.7K

$13.08 ¥87.5

-19.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$25.54 ₫661.3K

$51.1 ¥341

-49.98%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.92 ₫308.6K

$16.01 ¥107

-25.55%

Cinema Ticket

$3.53 ₫91.4K

$7.67 ¥51.3

-53.98%

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

$436 ₫11.3M

$533 ¥3,566

-18.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.3K ₫602.9M

$24.2K ¥161.6K

-3.66%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.8 ₫1.4M

$46.76 ¥313

12.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.15 ₫884.3K

$40.41 ¥270

-15.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.3 ₫2.3M

$73.3 ¥490

23.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$95.0 ₫2.5M

$39.10 ¥262

142.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$589 ₫15.3M

$372 ¥2,490

58.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$298 ₫7.7M

$218 ¥1,459

36.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,292 ₫33.5M

$662 ¥4,427

95.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$711 ₫18.4M

$431 ¥2,883

64.87%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,676 ₫121.1M

$5,714 ¥38.2K

-18.16%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,904 ₫49.3M

$3,066 ¥20.5K

-37.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$490 ₫12.7M

$858 ¥5,736

-42.92%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.64

3.35

157.91%

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 Dongguan: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$298 34.7%

Dongguan

$218 26.8% 26.7% $80

Groceries & Markets

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$207 24.1%

Dongguan

$246 30.3% 18.8% $39

Clothing & Footwear

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$122 14.3%

Dongguan

$90 11% 26.7% $33

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$118 13.8%

Dongguan

$86 10.6% 27.3% $32

Eating Out

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$63 7.4%

Dongguan

$79 9.7% 24.8% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$33 3.8%

Dongguan

$66 8.2% 104% $34

Getting Around

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$17 1.9%

Dongguan

$27 3.4% 64.1% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $589 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and $372 in Dongguan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dongguan pays 75% 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 $22.00 in Dongguan. Groceries flip the comparison at $207 vs $246, with Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇻🇳 Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🇨🇳 Dongguan

🕒 Local time

14:37 2:37 PM

15:37 3:37 PM

1 h ahead of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,456,700

8,254,100

💱 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

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Highest

Between locations

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) Dongguan 1,550 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
Dongguan

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 Dongguan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dongguan is cheaper overall, especially in clothing. The 6% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 75% lower in Dongguan. 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 $372 in Dongguan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Dongguan runs roughly 98% less than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $436 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $533 in Dongguan. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $813 in Dongguan versus $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), a $1,500 budget is realistic in Dongguan but tight or insufficient in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). The gap between the two cities makes Dongguan the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Dongguan 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 Dongguan 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 Dongguan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 6% less than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.