Last update: Oct 2026

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

For one person, living is cheaper in Langkawi: $537 a month against $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), rent and utilities included – about $3,900 less a year. Other living expenses 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
40

Cost of Living Index in Langkawi
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Langkawi Living Index

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Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$859

/mo nomad

Langkawi

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$537

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $537 in Langkawi.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $859
Langkawi $537

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,395 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $770 in Langkawi.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,395
Langkawi $770

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,931 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $1,003 in Langkawi.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,931
Langkawi $1,003

Living in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) is roughly 60% more expensive than in Langkawi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 36% lower, Langkawi 60% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.91 ₫49.6K

$3.27 MYR 13.33

-41.59%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$22.84 ₫591.2K

$19.71 MYR 80.4

15.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.54 ₫117.6K

$6.38 MYR 26.04

-28.84%

Cappuccino

$1.85 ₫48.0K

$1.65 MYR 6.72

12.12%

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

$0.56 ₫14.6K

$0.82 MYR 3.36

-31.71%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.32 ₫8,185

$0.53 MYR 2.18

-39.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.06 ₫27.5K

$1.72 MYR 7.03

-38.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.72 ₫44.5K

$2.26 MYR 9.22

-23.89%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ₫42.9K

$1.74 MYR 7.10

-4.60%

White Bread (500g)

$1.11 ₫28.7K

$1.31 MYR 5.36

-15.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.00 ₫25.9K

Eggs

$1.67 ₫43.1K

$1.79 MYR 7.30

-6.70%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.08 ₫312.8K

$17.48 MYR 71.3

-30.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.68 ₫95.2K

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.24 ₫265.1K

Apples (1kg)

$2.96 ₫76.5K

$2.02 MYR 8.23

46.53%

Banana (1kg)

$1.24 ₫32.2K

$0.99 MYR 4.05

25.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.56 ₫40.3K

$1.68 MYR 6.86

-7.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.30 ₫33.6K

$1.67 MYR 6.83

-22.16%

Potato (1kg)

$1.23 ₫31.9K

Onion (1kg)

$1.15 ₫29.8K

$0.76 MYR 3.09

51.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.74 ₫19.1K

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₫14.4K

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.24 ₫32.1K

$3.69 MYR 15.04

-66.40%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.60 ₫326.1K

$8.82 MYR 36.00

42.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.96 ₫24.9K

$0.94 MYR 3.82

2.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.53 ₫39.6K

$1.19 MYR 4.87

28.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.26 ₫6,694

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.51 ₫297.9K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.75 ₫19.5K

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.67 ₫17.4K

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.03 ₫78.5K

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.96 ₫24.8K

$0.88 MYR 3.57

9.09%

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

$31.1K ₫804.3M

$24.4K MYR 99.6K

27.25%

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

$30.4K ₫785.9M

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

$102 ₫2.6M

$36.65 MYR 150

178.25%

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

$5.89 ₫152.5K

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.49 ₫271.6K

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$25.54 ₫661.2K

$24.82 MYR 101

2.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.92 ₫308.5K

Cinema Ticket

$3.53 ₫91.3K

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

$436 ₫11.3M

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.3K ₫602.8M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.8 ₫1.4M

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.15 ₫884.1K

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.3 ₫2.3M

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$95.0 ₫2.5M

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$589 ₫15.3M

$308 MYR 1,255

91.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$298 ₫7.7M

$244 MYR 997

21.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,292 ₫33.5M

$374 MYR 1,528

245.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$711 ₫18.4M

$320 MYR 1,304

122.36%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,676 ₫121.1M

$1,168 MYR 4,765

300.37%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,904 ₫49.3M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$490 ₫12.7M

$1,240 MYR 5,060

-60.53%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.64

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 Langkawi: 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%

Langkawi

$244 45.5% 17.9% $53

Groceries & Markets

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$207 24.1%

Langkawi

$148 * 27.5% 28.8% $60

Clothing & Footwear

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$122 14.3%

Langkawi

- * 0% 100%

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$118 13.8%

Langkawi

$37 * 6.8% 69% $82

Eating Out

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$63 7.4%

Langkawi

$84 15.6% 31.8% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$33 3.8%

Langkawi

$25 * 4.6% 23.9% $7.8

Getting Around

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$17 1.9%

Langkawi

- * 0% 100%

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 $308 in Langkawi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Langkawi pays 153% 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 $20.00 in Langkawi for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $207 vs $148 per month, with Langkawi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇻🇳 Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🇲🇾 Langkawi

🕒 Local time

05:51 5:51 AM

06:51 6:51 AM

1 h ahead of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,456,700

30,212

💱 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 17, 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 17, 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

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Between locations

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) Langkawi 900 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
Langkawi

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 Langkawi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Langkawi wins on cost – living expenses run 60% lower than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Langkawi the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 153% lower in Langkawi. 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 $308 in Langkawi. 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 $537 in Langkawi – a 60% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Supermarket bills run roughly 41% higher in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $537 in Langkawi versus $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), a $2,000 budget is realistic in Langkawi but tight or insufficient in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). The gap between the two cities makes Langkawi the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Langkawi delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $537 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Langkawi hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and Langkawi 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 Langkawi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 60% less than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.