Last update: Oct 2026

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

For one person, living is cheaper in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon): $859 a month against $963 in Kota Damansara, rent and utilities included – about $1,200 less a year. The total is higher in Kota Damansara despite lower rent and utilities.

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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
46

Cost of Living Index in Kota Damansara
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Kota Damansara Living Index

Jump to prices

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$859

/mo nomad

Kota Damansara

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$963

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $963 in Kota Damansara.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $859
Kota Damansara $963

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,395 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $1,455 in Kota Damansara.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,395
Kota Damansara $1,455

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,931 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $1,946 in Kota Damansara.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,931
Kota Damansara $1,946

Living in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) costs roughly 11% less than in Kota Damansara, 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, Kota Damansara 29% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.91 ₫49.6K

$4.79 MYR 19.55

-60.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$22.84 ₫591.2K

$19.44 MYR 79.3

17.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.54 ₫117.6K

$4.81 MYR 19.63

-5.61%

Cappuccino

$1.85 ₫48.0K

$2.97 MYR 12.10

-37.71%

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

$0.56 ₫14.6K

$0.79 MYR 3.22

-29.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.32 ₫8,185

$0.50 MYR 2.05

-36.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.06 ₫27.5K

$4.50 MYR 18.36

-76.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.72 ₫44.5K

$6.15 MYR 25.09

-72.03%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ₫42.9K

$1.74 MYR 7.09

-4.60%

White Bread (500g)

$1.11 ₫28.7K

$1.06 MYR 4.31

4.72%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.00 ₫25.9K

$1.45 MYR 5.91

-31.03%

Eggs

$1.67 ₫43.1K

$1.73 MYR 7.07

-3.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.08 ₫312.8K

$13.90 MYR 56.7

-13.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.68 ₫95.2K

$4.47 MYR 18.23

-17.67%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.24 ₫265.1K

$9.94 MYR 40.56

3.02%

Apples (1kg)

$2.96 ₫76.5K

$3.36 MYR 13.72

-11.90%

Banana (1kg)

$1.24 ₫32.2K

$1.73 MYR 7.06

-28.32%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.56 ₫40.3K

$2.31 MYR 9.43

-32.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.30 ₫33.6K

$1.54 MYR 6.27

-15.58%

Potato (1kg)

$1.23 ₫31.9K

$1.27 MYR 5.19

-3.15%

Onion (1kg)

$1.15 ₫29.8K

$1.39 MYR 5.68

-17.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.74 ₫19.1K

$1.17 MYR 4.76

-36.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₫14.4K

$0.56 MYR 2.27

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.24 ₫32.1K

$4.36 MYR 17.79

-71.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.60 ₫326.1K

$14.74 MYR 60.1

-14.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.96 ₫24.9K

$3.19 MYR 13.03

-69.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.53 ₫39.6K

$4.24 MYR 17.31

-63.92%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.26 ₫6,694

$0.64 MYR 2.59

-59.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.51 ₫297.9K

$13.02 MYR 53.1

-11.60%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.75 ₫19.5K

$0.94 MYR 3.85

-20.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.67 ₫17.4K

$0.71 MYR 2.89

-5.63%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.03 ₫78.5K

$5.03 MYR 20.53

-39.76%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.96 ₫24.8K

$0.87 MYR 3.54

10.34%

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

$31.1K ₫804.3M

$41.0K MYR 167.4K

-24.31%

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

$30.4K ₫785.9M

$34.4K MYR 140.3K

-11.71%

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

$102 ₫2.6M

$52.0 MYR 212

96.12%

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

$5.89 ₫152.5K

$8.82 MYR 35.97

-33.22%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.49 ₫271.6K

$26.10 MYR 106

-59.81%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$25.54 ₫661.2K

$44.68 MYR 182

-42.84%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.92 ₫308.5K

$7.57 MYR 30.90

57.46%

Cinema Ticket

$3.53 ₫91.3K

$4.98 MYR 20.33

-29.12%

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

$436 ₫11.3M

$164 MYR 667

166.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.3K ₫602.8M

$4,538 MYR 18.5K

413.11%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.8 ₫1.4M

$54.2 MYR 221

-2.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.15 ₫884.1K

$16.64 MYR 67.9

105.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.3 ₫2.3M

$82.9 MYR 338

8.85%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$95.0 ₫2.5M

$94.2 MYR 384

0.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$589 ₫15.3M

$451 MYR 1,841

30.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$298 ₫7.7M

$311 MYR 1,267

-4.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,292 ₫33.5M

$691 MYR 2,818

87.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$711 ₫18.4M

$537 MYR 2,191

32.35%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,676 ₫121.1M

$2,037 MYR 8,308

129.62%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,904 ₫49.3M

$1,083 MYR 4,417

75.83%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$490 ₫12.7M

$853 MYR 3,478

-42.58%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.64

4.06

112.81%

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 Kota Damansara: 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%

Kota Damansara

$311 32.3% 4.3% $13

Groceries & Markets

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$207 24.1%

Kota Damansara

$251 26% 20.9% $43

Clothing & Footwear

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$122 14.3%

Kota Damansara

$112 11.6% 8.9% $11

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$118 13.8%

Kota Damansara

$87 9% 26.6% $31

Eating Out

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$63 7.4%

Kota Damansara

$128 13.3% 102% $65

Sport & Entertainment

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$33 3.8%

Kota Damansara

$55 5.7% 67.6% $22

Getting Around

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$17 1.9%

Kota Damansara

$20 2.1% 20.5% $3.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $589 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and $451 in Kota Damansara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kota Damansara pays 74% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $23.00 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) vs $19.00 in Kota Damansara. Groceries flip the comparison at $207 vs $251, with Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇻🇳 Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🇲🇾 Kota Damansara

🕒 Local time

16:34 4:34 PM

17:34 5:34 PM

1 h ahead of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,456,700

500,000

💱 Currency

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 VND = 3.86 USD

100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.218 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MYR, 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).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 4.08 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.59 MYR (1 MYR = 0.218 EUR).

USD to VND in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) Kota Damansara 1,020 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
Kota Damansara

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 Kota Damansara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) wins on cost – living expenses run 12% lower than in Kota Damansara. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 74% lower in Kota Damansara. 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 $451 in Kota Damansara. 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 $963 in Kota Damansara – a 12% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) runs roughly 13% less than in Kota Damansara. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $963 in Kota Damansara, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) but tight or insufficient in Kota Damansara. The gap between the two cities makes Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $859 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and Kota Damansara 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 Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) gentler on the wallet – expenses run 12% less than in Kota Damansara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.