Last update: Oct 2026

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

For one person, living is cheaper in Huzhou: $804 a month against $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), rent and utilities included – about $660 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)
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Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) Living Index
39

Cost of Living Index in Huzhou
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Huzhou Living Index

Jump to prices

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$859

/mo nomad

Huzhou

🇨🇳 China

$804

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $804 in Huzhou.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $859
Huzhou $804

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,395 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $1,330 in Huzhou.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,395
Huzhou $1,330

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,931 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $1,856 in Huzhou.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,931
Huzhou $1,856

Living in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) is roughly 7% more expensive than in Huzhou, 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, Huzhou 40% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.91 ₫49.6K

$4.37 ¥29.24

-56.29%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$22.84 ₫591.2K

$30.27 ¥202

-24.55%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.54 ₫117.6K

$5.38 ¥35.94

-15.61%

Cappuccino

$1.85 ₫48.0K

$3.28 ¥21.91

-43.60%

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

$0.56 ₫14.6K

$0.61 ¥4.10

-8.20%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.32 ₫8,185

$0.38 ¥2.54

-15.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.06 ₫27.5K

$1.23 ¥8.24

-13.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.72 ₫44.5K

$2.27 ¥15.15

-24.23%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ₫42.9K

$1.78 ¥11.90

-6.74%

White Bread (500g)

$1.11 ₫28.7K

$1.97 ¥13.16

-43.65%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.00 ₫25.9K

$1.04 ¥6.92

-3.85%

Eggs

$1.67 ₫43.1K

$1.72 ¥11.52

-2.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.08 ₫312.8K

$16.96 ¥113

-28.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.68 ₫95.2K

$3.21 ¥21.48

14.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.24 ₫265.1K

$12.93 ¥86.5

-20.80%

Apples (1kg)

$2.96 ₫76.5K

$2.21 ¥14.80

33.94%

Banana (1kg)

$1.24 ₫32.2K

$1.65 ¥11.06

-24.85%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.56 ₫40.3K

$2.01 ¥13.46

-22.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.30 ₫33.6K

$1.67 ¥11.14

-22.16%

Potato (1kg)

$1.23 ₫31.9K

$0.77 ¥5.12

59.74%

Onion (1kg)

$1.15 ₫29.8K

$0.94 ¥6.26

22.34%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.74 ₫19.1K

$0.66 ¥4.43

12.12%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₫14.4K

$0.59 ¥3.92

-5.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.24 ₫32.1K

$3.72 ¥24.88

-66.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.60 ₫326.1K

$10.80 ¥72.2

16.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.96 ₫24.9K

$0.89 ¥5.93

7.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.53 ₫39.6K

$1.62 ¥10.81

-5.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.26 ₫6,694

$0.29 ¥1.91

-10.34%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.51 ₫297.9K

$16.29 ¥109

-29.34%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.75 ₫19.5K

$2.04 ¥13.64

-63.24%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.67 ₫17.4K

$0.47 ¥3.13

42.55%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.03 ₫78.5K

$8.81 ¥58.9

-65.61%

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 ₫804.3M

$19.5K ¥130.3K

59.38%

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

$30.4K ₫785.9M

$18.5K ¥124.0K

63.74%

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

$102 ₫2.6M

$56.6 ¥379

80.08%

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

$5.89 ₫152.5K

$7.85 ¥52.5

-24.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.49 ₫271.6K

$10.59 ¥70.8

-0.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$25.54 ₫661.2K

$46.67 ¥312

-45.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.92 ₫308.5K

$13.48 ¥90.1

-11.57%

Cinema Ticket

$3.53 ₫91.3K

$9.16 ¥61.3

-61.46%

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

$436 ₫11.3M

$425 ¥2,840

2.74%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.3K ₫602.8M

$27.5K ¥183.9K

-15.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.8 ₫1.4M

$54.9 ¥367

-3.95%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.15 ₫884.1K

$37.32 ¥250

-8.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.3 ₫2.3M

$74.4 ¥497

21.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$95.0 ₫2.5M

$104 ¥695

-8.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$589 ₫15.3M

$300 ¥2,006

96.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$298 ₫7.7M

$181 ¥1,210

64.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,292 ₫33.5M

$617 ¥4,122

109.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$711 ₫18.4M

$409 ¥2,735

73.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,676 ₫121.1M

$3,531 ¥23.6K

32.43%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,904 ₫49.3M

$1,935 ¥12.9K

-1.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$490 ₫12.7M

$1,179 ¥7,884

-58.48%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.64

3.36

157.14%

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 Huzhou: 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%

Huzhou

$181 22.5% 39.2% $117

Groceries & Markets

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$207 24.1%

Huzhou

$235 29.2% 13.3% $27

Clothing & Footwear

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$122 14.3%

Huzhou

$122 15.1% 0.5% $0.7

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$118 13.8%

Huzhou

$75 9.3% 36.6% $43

Eating Out

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$63 7.4%

Huzhou

$105 13.1% 65.6% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$33 3.8%

Huzhou

$65 8.1% 99.4% $32

Getting Around

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$17 1.9%

Huzhou

$22 2.7% 31% $5.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $589 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and $300 in Huzhou. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Huzhou pays 141% 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 $30.00 in Huzhou for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $207 vs $235 per month, with Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇻🇳 Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🇨🇳 Huzhou

🕒 Local time

19:31 7:31 PM

20:31 8:31 PM

1 h ahead of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,456,700

2,893,542

💱 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 19, 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 19, 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) Huzhou 2,630 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
Huzhou

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 Huzhou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Huzhou wins on cost – living expenses run 7% lower than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Huzhou the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 141% lower in Huzhou. 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 $300 in Huzhou. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $859 per month in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $804 in Huzhou – a 7% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Huzhou runs roughly 42% 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 $804 in Huzhou versus $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), a $1,500 budget is realistic in Huzhou but tight or insufficient in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). The gap between the two cities makes Huzhou the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Huzhou delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $804 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Huzhou hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and Huzhou 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 Huzhou gentler on the wallet – expenses run 7% less than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.