Last update: Oct 2026

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

For one person, living is cheaper in Hohhot: $725 a month against $862 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), rent and utilities included – about $1,600 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

42

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

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) Living Index
35

Cost of Living Index in Hohhot
Learn more

Hohhot Living Index

Jump to prices

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$862

/mo nomad

Hohhot

🇨🇳 China

$725

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $862 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $725 in Hohhot.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $862
Hohhot $725

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,410 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $1,133 in Hohhot.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,410
Hohhot $1,133

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,958 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $1,542 in Hohhot.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,958
Hohhot $1,542

Living in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) is roughly 19% more expensive than in Hohhot, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 36% lower, Hohhot 47% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.98 ₫51.3K

$3.43 ¥22.90

-42.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.14 ₫599.0K

$22.14 ¥148

4.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.76 ₫123.2K

$8.61 ¥57.5

-44.72%

Cappuccino

$1.86 ₫48.1K

$3.67 ¥24.57

-49.32%

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

$0.51 ₫13.3K

$0.46 ¥3.05

10.87%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.32 ₫8,191

$0.30 ¥2.02

6.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.03 ₫26.7K

$1.22 ¥8.17

-15.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.71 ₫44.4K

$2.07 ¥13.82

-17.39%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.58 ₫40.8K

$2.31 ¥15.41

-31.60%

White Bread (500g)

$1.09 ₫28.3K

$1.28 ¥8.59

-14.84%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.05 ₫27.2K

$1.17 ¥7.81

-10.26%

Eggs

$1.64 ₫42.6K

$1.46 ¥9.79

12.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.33 ₫319.2K

$13.43 ¥89.8

-8.19%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.58 ₫92.6K

$3.13 ¥20.91

14.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.56 ₫273.3K

$12.81 ¥85.6

-17.56%

Apples (1kg)

$2.97 ₫76.9K

$2.02 ¥13.52

47.03%

Banana (1kg)

$1.26 ₫32.7K

$1.22 ¥8.18

3.28%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.62 ₫42.0K

$1.75 ¥11.67

-7.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.31 ₫33.8K

$0.74 ¥4.97

77.03%

Potato (1kg)

$1.19 ₫30.8K

$0.54 ¥3.63

120.37%

Onion (1kg)

$1.14 ₫29.6K

$0.88 ¥5.89

29.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.73 ₫18.8K

$0.59 ¥3.94

23.73%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₫14.6K

$0.46 ¥3.04

21.74%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.28 ₫33.0K

$5.56 ¥37.17

-76.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.46 ₫322.5K

$7.68 ¥51.4

62.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.96 ₫24.9K

$0.94 ¥6.30

2.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.48 ₫38.3K

$1.83 ¥12.24

-19.13%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.26 ₫6,704

$0.17 ¥1.15

52.94%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.43 ₫296.0K

$17.58 ¥118

-34.98%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.68 ₫17.7K

$1.17 ¥7.80

-41.88%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.62 ₫16.1K

$0.23 ¥1.54

169.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.00 ₫77.7K

$3.20 ¥21.39

-6.25%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.91 ₫23.5K

$1.26 ¥8.42

-27.78%

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

$30.6K ₫791.4M

$15.7K ¥105.3K

94.09%

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

$29.4K ₫760.1M

$15.9K ¥106.6K

84.19%

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

$104 ₫2.7M

$54.9 ¥367

88.91%

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

$5.79 ₫149.9K

$6.29 ¥42.08

-7.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.48 ₫271.3K

$11.07 ¥74.0

-5.33%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$26.08 ₫675.1K

$34.07 ¥228

-23.45%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.90 ₫308.1K

$17.17 ¥115

-30.69%

Cinema Ticket

$3.89 ₫100.7K

$5.12 ¥34.21

-24.02%

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

$440 ₫11.4M

$409 ¥2,735

7.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$24.1K ₫622.7M

$24.3K ¥162.4K

-0.95%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$50.9 ₫1.3M

$60.7 ¥406

-16.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.18 ₫910.8K

$26.14 ¥175

34.58%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.1 ₫2.4M

$83.2 ¥556

10.73%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$96.5 ₫2.5M

$74.1 ¥496

30.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$582 ₫15.1M

$205 ¥1,371

183.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$297 ₫7.7M

$163 ¥1,090

81.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,298 ₫33.6M

$333 ¥2,225

290.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$727 ₫18.8M

$267 ¥1,788

171.94%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,782 ₫123.8M

$1,696 ¥11.3K

182.05%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,853 ₫48.0M

$1,105 ¥7,386

67.77%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$490 ₫12.7M

$933 ¥6,235

-47.46%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.64

3.75

130.40%

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

Last update for Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon): October 17, 2026

Last update for Hohhot: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$297 34.4%

Hohhot

$163 22.5% 45% $134

Groceries & Markets

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$208 24.1%

Hohhot

$204 28.1% 1.8% $3.8

Clothing & Footwear

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$124 14.3%

Hohhot

$110 15.2% 11.1% $14

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$120 13.9%

Hohhot

$72 10% 39.8% $48

Eating Out

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$64 7.5%

Hohhot

$111 15.3% 71.9% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$34 3.9%

Hohhot

$44 6.1% 30.8% $10

Getting Around

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$16 1.9%

Hohhot

$21 2.8% 26.6% $4.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $582 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and $205 in Hohhot. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Hohhot pays 90% 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 Hohhot for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $208 vs $204 per month, with Hohhot cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇻🇳 Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🇨🇳 Hohhot

🕒 Local time

05:20 5:20 AM

06:20 6:20 AM

1 h ahead of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,456,700

3,446,100

💱 Currency

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 VND = 3.86 USD

100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 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 20, 2026: 1 USD = 25,889 VND (100,000 VND = 3.86 USD). 1 EUR = 29,105 VND (100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to VND in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) Hohhot 3,380 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
Hohhot

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 Hohhot: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Hohhot wins on cost – living expenses run 19% lower than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Hohhot the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 90% lower in Hohhot. 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: $582 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $205 in Hohhot. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $862 per month in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $725 in Hohhot – a 19% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Hohhot runs roughly 54% less than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $725 in Hohhot versus $862 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), a $2,000 budget is realistic in Hohhot but tight or insufficient in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). The gap between the two cities makes Hohhot the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Hohhot delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $725 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Hohhot hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and Hohhot 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 Hohhot gentler on the wallet – expenses run 19% less than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.