Last update: Oct 2026

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

For one person, living is cheaper in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon): $855 a month against $1,699 in Kuala Belait, rent and utilities included – about $10,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

42

Cost of Living Index in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
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Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) Living Index
84

Cost of Living Index in Kuala Belait
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Kuala Belait Living Index

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Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$855

/mo nomad

Kuala Belait

🇧🇳 Brunei

$1,699

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $855 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $1,699 in Kuala Belait.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $855
Kuala Belait $1,699

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,400 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $2,569 in Kuala Belait.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,400
Kuala Belait $2,569

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,944 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $3,438 in Kuala Belait.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,944
Kuala Belait $3,438

Living in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) costs roughly 50% less than in Kuala Belait, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) is 36% below, Kuala Belait is 27% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.90 ₫49.1K

$7.91 BND 10.12

-75.98%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.32 ₫603.5K

$46.43 BND 59.4

-49.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.67 ₫120.9K

$7.85 BND 10.05

-40.51%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.01 BND 2.57

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.39 BND 3.06

Cappuccino

$1.85 ₫47.9K

$4.41 BND 5.64

-58.05%

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

$0.56 ₫14.4K

$0.89 BND 1.15

-37.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.34 ₫8,857

$0.50 BND 0.64

-32.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.01 ₫26.2K

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.69 ₫43.7K

Milk (1 liter)

$1.58 ₫40.8K

$1.84 BND 2.36

-14.13%

White Bread (500g)

$1.04 ₫27.0K

$2.43 BND 3.12

-57.20%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.99 ₫25.7K

$2.25 BND 2.88

-56.00%

Eggs

$1.60 ₫41.5K

$2.58 BND 3.31

-37.98%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.23 ₫316.6K

$18.59 BND 23.80

-34.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.54 ₫91.7K

$9.85 BND 12.61

-64.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.44 ₫270.2K

$24.88 BND 31.85

-58.04%

Apples (1kg)

$3.09 ₫79.9K

$4.69 BND 6.00

-34.12%

Banana (1kg)

$1.26 ₫32.5K

$2.17 BND 2.78

-41.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 ₫40.6K

$4.83 BND 6.18

-67.49%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.26 ₫32.5K

$2.47 BND 3.17

-48.99%

Potato (1kg)

$1.17 ₫30.4K

$1.71 BND 2.19

-31.58%

Onion (1kg)

$1.15 ₫29.7K

$2.90 BND 3.71

-60.34%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.72 ₫18.7K

$5.54 BND 7.09

-87.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.54 ₫14.0K

$0.93 BND 1.19

-41.94%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$11.59 BND 14.84

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.99 BND 7.67

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.22 ₫31.5K

$7.86 BND 10.07

-84.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.28 ₫317.8K

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.98 ₫25.4K

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.49 ₫38.5K

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.28 ₫7,249

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.62 ₫300.8K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.73 ₫18.9K

$3.99 BND 5.11

-81.70%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 ₫16.7K

$3.43 BND 4.39

-81.34%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.17 ₫82.0K

$11.59 BND 14.84

-72.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.95 ₫24.6K

$0.35 BND 0.45

171.43%

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

$30.7K ₫795.6M

$30.7K BND 39.3K

0.17%

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

$30.6K ₫791.6M

$27.2K BND 34.9K

12.26%

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

$102 ₫2.6M

$38.45 BND 49.23

166.06%

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

$5.65 ₫146.1K

$21.58 BND 27.63

-73.82%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.52 ₫272.2K

$64.4 BND 82.4

-83.65%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$25.86 ₫669.2K

$95.9 BND 123

-73.04%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.82 ₫305.9K

$27.34 BND 35.00

-56.77%

Cinema Ticket

$3.39 ₫87.8K

$5.51 BND 7.05

-38.48%

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

$438 ₫11.3M

$217 BND 278

101.27%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.3K ₫603.1M

$9,398 BND 12.0K

147.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$51.5 ₫1.3M

$74.8 BND 95.8

-31.15%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.56 ₫894.3K

$101 BND 129

-65.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.3 ₫2.4M

$153 BND 196

-40.28%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$94.9 ₫2.5M

$71.4 BND 91.4

32.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$577 ₫14.9M

$753 BND 964

-23.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$292 ₫7.6M

$771 BND 987

-62.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,293 ₫33.5M

$1,193 BND 1,527

8.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 ₫18.6M

$1,177 BND 1,506

-39.06%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,714 ₫122.0M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,882 ₫48.7M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$486 ₫12.6M

$3,398 BND 4,350

-85.70%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.64

3.88

122.68%

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

Last update for Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon): October 5, 2026

Last update for Kuala Belait: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$292 34.3%

Kuala Belait

$771 45.3% 164% $479

Groceries & Markets

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$206 24.1%

Kuala Belait

$354 20.8% 72.3% $149

Clothing & Footwear

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$123 14.4%

Kuala Belait

$180 10.6% 46.8% $57

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$118 13.9%

Kuala Belait

$124 7.3% 5% $5.9

Eating Out

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$63 7.5%

Kuala Belait

$145 8.5% 129% $82

Sport & Entertainment

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$33 3.8%

Kuala Belait

$107 6.3% 228% $74

Getting Around

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$17 2%

Kuala Belait

$21 * 1.2% 26.5% $4.4

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 $577 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and $753 in Kuala Belait. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kuala Belait pays 600% 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 $46.00 in Kuala Belait for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $206 vs $354 per month, with Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇻🇳 Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🇧🇳 Kuala Belait

🕒 Local time

15:03 3:03 PM

16:03 4:03 PM

1 h ahead of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,456,700

31,178

💱 Currency

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

Brunei Dollar BND $

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 VND = 3.86 USD

100,000 VND = 3.45 EUR

1 BND = 0.781 USD

1 BND = 0.696 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BND, USD, EUR to VND – Vietnamese Dong Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇻🇳 Vietnamese Dong (₫)

Vietnamese Dong exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 25,879 VND (100,000 VND = 3.86 USD). 1 EUR = 29,025 VND (100,000 VND = 3.45 EUR).

Brunei Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.28 BND (1 BND = 0.781 USD). 1 EUR = 1.44 BND (1 BND = 0.696 EUR).

USD to VND in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) Kuala Belait 1,070 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
Kuala Belait

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 Kuala Belait: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) wins on cost – living expenses run 99% lower than in Kuala Belait. 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 600% lower in Kuala Belait. 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: $577 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $753 in Kuala Belait. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 72% higher in Kuala Belait. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $855 per month in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $1,699 in Kuala Belait – a 99% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $855 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $1,699 in Kuala Belait, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) but tight or insufficient in Kuala Belait. 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 $855 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 Kuala Belait 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 99% less than in Kuala Belait. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.