Last update: Oct 2026

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

For one person, living is cheaper in General Santos: $628 a month against $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), rent and utilities included – about $2,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

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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
31

Cost of Living Index in General Santos
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General Santos Living Index

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Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$859

/mo nomad

General Santos

🇵🇭 Philippines

$628

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $628 in General Santos.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $859
General Santos $628

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,395 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $1,009 in General Santos.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,395
General Santos $1,009

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,931 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $1,391 in General Santos.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,931
General Santos $1,391

Living in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) is roughly 37% more expensive than in General Santos, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities sit below the global median: Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 36% lower, General Santos 53% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.91 ₫49.6K

$3.38 ₱213

-43.49%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$22.84 ₫591.2K

$27.40 ₱1,725

-16.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.54 ₫117.6K

$2.72 ₱172

66.91%

Cappuccino

$1.85 ₫48.0K

$2.56 ₱161

-27.73%

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

$0.56 ₫14.6K

$0.28 ₱17.41

100.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.32 ₫8,185

$0.25 ₱15.83

28.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.06 ₫27.5K

$1.58 ₱99.3

-32.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.72 ₫44.5K

$2.34 ₱147

-26.50%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ₫42.9K

$2.00 ₱126

-17.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.11 ₫28.7K

$1.08 ₱68.2

2.78%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.00 ₫25.9K

$0.87 ₱54.7

14.94%

Eggs

$1.67 ₫43.1K

$1.86 ₱117

-10.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.08 ₫312.8K

$6.38 ₱402

89.34%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.68 ₫95.2K

$4.77 ₱300

-22.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.24 ₫265.1K

$9.25 ₱582

10.70%

Apples (1kg)

$2.96 ₫76.5K

$2.74 ₱172

8.03%

Banana (1kg)

$1.24 ₫32.2K

$1.07 ₱67.2

15.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.56 ₫40.3K

$2.45 ₱154

-36.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.30 ₫33.6K

$1.19 ₱74.6

9.24%

Potato (1kg)

$1.23 ₫31.9K

$1.98 ₱125

-37.88%

Onion (1kg)

$1.15 ₫29.8K

$3.28 ₱207

-64.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.74 ₫19.1K

$1.24 ₱78.2

-40.32%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₫14.4K

$0.68 ₱42.60

-17.65%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.24 ₫32.1K

$2.46 ₱155

-49.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.60 ₫326.1K

$7.76 ₱488

62.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.96 ₫24.9K

$1.25 ₱78.5

-23.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.53 ₫39.6K

$1.68 ₱106

-8.93%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.26 ₫6,694

$0.39 ₱24.37

-33.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.51 ₫297.9K

$8.15 ₱513

41.23%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.75 ₫19.5K

$0.78 ₱49.25

-3.85%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.67 ₫17.4K

$0.25 ₱15.79

168.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.03 ₫78.5K

$0.82 ₱51.4

269.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.96 ₫24.8K

$1.12 ₱70.7

-14.29%

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

$31.1K ₫804.3M

$20.9K ₱1.3M

48.86%

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

$30.4K ₫785.9M

$19.1K ₱1.2M

58.77%

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

$102 ₫2.6M

$76.6 ₱4,825

33.06%

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

$5.89 ₫152.5K

$6.53 ₱411

-9.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.49 ₫271.6K

$31.67 ₱1,994

-66.88%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$25.54 ₫661.2K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.92 ₫308.5K

Cinema Ticket

$3.53 ₫91.3K

$4.91 ₱309

-28.11%

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

$436 ₫11.3M

$109 ₱6,840

301.70%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.3K ₫602.8M

$7,532 ₱474.2K

209.15%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.8 ₫1.4M

$59.8 ₱3,767

-11.83%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.15 ₫884.1K

$30.67 ₱1,931

11.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.3 ₫2.3M

$70.3 ₱4,428

28.36%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$95.0 ₫2.5M

$60.7 ₱3,823

56.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$589 ₫15.3M

$174 ₱11.0K

237.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$298 ₫7.7M

$112 ₱7,068

165.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,292 ₫33.5M

$359 ₱22.6K

260.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$711 ₫18.4M

$238 ₱15.0K

198.30%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,676 ₫121.1M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,904 ₫49.3M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$490 ₫12.7M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.64

8.31

3.97%

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 General Santos: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$298 34.7%

General Santos

$112 17.9% 62.3% $186

Groceries & Markets

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$207 24.1%

General Santos

$199 31.7% 4% $8.2

Clothing & Footwear

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$122 14.3%

General Santos

$100 15.9% 18.6% $23

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$118 13.8%

General Santos

$115 18.3% 3% $3.5

Eating Out

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$63 7.4%

General Santos

$81 12.8% 27% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$33 3.8%

General Santos

$9.8 * 1.6% 69.9% $23

Getting Around

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$17 1.9%

General Santos

$12 1.9% 29.5% $4.9

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $589 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and $174 in General Santos. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $23.00 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) vs $27.00 in General Santos. Groceries flip the comparison at $207 vs $199, with General Santos cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇻🇳 Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🇵🇭 General Santos

🕒 Local time

08:10 8:10 AM

09:10 9:10 AM

1 h ahead of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,456,700

697,315

💱 Currency

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 VND = 3.86 USD

100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to VND – Vietnamese Dong Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇻🇳 Vietnamese Dong (₫)

Vietnamese Dong exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 25,889 VND (100,000 VND = 3.86 USD). 1 EUR = 29,105 VND (100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to VND in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) General Santos 2,100 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
General Santos

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 General Santos: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

General Santos wins on cost – living expenses run 37% lower than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making General Santos the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $1,288 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and $942 in General Santos 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: $589 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $174 in General Santos. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in General Santos – a meal for two runs $27.00 versus $23.00 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $859 per month in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $628 in General Santos – a 37% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $628 in General Santos versus $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), a $1,000 budget is realistic in General Santos but tight or insufficient in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). The gap between the two cities makes General Santos the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but General Santos delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $628 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes General Santos hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and General Santos 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 General Santos gentler on the wallet – expenses run 37% less than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.