Last update: Oct 2026

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

For one person, living is cheaper in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon): $853 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $16,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

41

Cost of Living Index in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
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Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$853

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $853 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $2,210 in Lisbon.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $853
Lisbon $2,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,391 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $3,275 in Lisbon.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,391
Lisbon $3,275

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,930 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $4,341 in Lisbon.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,930
Lisbon $4,341

Living in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) costs roughly 61% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) is 37% below, Lisbon is 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.91 ₫49.3K

$16.65 €14.96

-88.53%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$22.93 ₫592.4K

$61.7 €55.5

-62.86%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.69 ₫121.2K

$11.36 €10.20

-58.71%

Cappuccino

$1.80 ₫46.5K

$2.97 €2.67

-39.39%

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

$0.55 ₫14.3K

$2.29 €2.06

-75.98%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.34 ₫8,812

$1.74 €1.56

-80.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.03 ₫26.7K

$3.40 €3.06

-69.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.72 ₫44.4K

$3.31 €2.97

-48.04%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 ₫43.1K

$1.16 €1.04

43.97%

White Bread (500g)

$1.09 ₫28.2K

$1.91 €1.72

-42.93%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.06 ₫27.3K

$1.51 €1.36

-29.80%

Eggs

$1.60 ₫41.3K

$4.02 €3.61

-60.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.08 ₫312.1K

$12.94 €11.62

-6.65%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.66 ₫94.5K

$7.77 €6.99

-52.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.35 ₫267.3K

$17.76 €15.96

-41.72%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 ₫77.7K

$2.30 €2.07

30.87%

Banana (1kg)

$1.26 ₫32.6K

$1.73 €1.56

-27.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.62 ₫41.9K

$1.86 €1.67

-12.90%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.27 ₫32.7K

$2.59 €2.33

-50.97%

Potato (1kg)

$1.18 ₫30.5K

$1.82 €1.64

-35.16%

Onion (1kg)

$1.19 ₫30.7K

$1.97 €1.77

-39.59%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.78 ₫20.1K

$1.47 €1.32

-46.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ₫14.3K

$0.72 €0.65

-23.61%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.26 ₫32.5K

$6.58 €5.92

-80.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.85 ₫331.9K

$5.61 €5.04

129.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 ₫23.1K

$1.36 €1.22

-33.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.46 ₫37.6K

$2.14 €1.92

-31.78%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.28 ₫7,260

$2.33 €2.10

-87.98%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.42 ₫295.0K

$44.68 €40.14

-74.44%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.70 ₫18.2K

$3.85 €3.46

-81.82%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.63 ₫16.3K

$1.07 €0.96

-41.12%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.09 ₫79.8K

$16.46 €14.79

-81.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.95 ₫24.6K

$2.20 €1.98

-56.82%

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

$30.5K ₫788.3M

$34.2K €30.7K

-10.75%

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

$29.7K ₫767.8M

$38.7K €34.8K

-23.24%

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

$102 ₫2.6M

$161 €145

-36.60%

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

$5.65 ₫145.8K

$18.41 €16.54

-69.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.43 ₫269.5K

$32.74 €29.41

-68.14%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$19.30 ₫498.7K

$44.55 €40.03

-56.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.81 ₫305.1K

$19.10 €17.16

-38.17%

Cinema Ticket

$3.83 ₫98.9K

$9.60 €8.62

-60.10%

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

$484 ₫12.5M

$668 €600

-27.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.3K ₫602.3M

$17.6K €15.8K

32.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.3 ₫1.4M

$102 €91.7

-48.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.35 ₫887.3K

$44.46 €39.95

-22.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.3 ₫2.4M

$98.5 €88.5

-6.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$94.2 ₫2.4M

$124 €111

-23.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$647 ₫16.7M

$1,608 €1,445

-59.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$297 ₫7.7M

$1,190 €1,069

-75.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,291 ₫33.3M

$2,812 €2,527

-54.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$719 ₫18.6M

$2,013 €1,809

-64.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,327 ₫111.8M

$7,839 €7,043

-44.80%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,987 ₫51.3M

$4,576 €4,111

-56.58%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$490 ₫12.7M

$1,575 €1,415

-68.87%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.64

3.85

124.42%

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

Last update for Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon): October 26, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$297 34.9%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8% 301% $893

Groceries & Markets

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$208 24.4%

Lisbon

$272 12.3% 30.9% $64

Clothing & Footwear

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$123 14.4%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 35% $43

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$118 13.9%

Lisbon

$212 9.6% 79.5% $94

Eating Out

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$63 7.4%

Lisbon

$243 11% 284% $179

Sport & Entertainment

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$27 3.2%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 136% $37

Getting Around

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$16 1.9%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 285% $47

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $647 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 3.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $23 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) vs $62 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $208 vs $272 per month, with Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇻🇳 Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

17:08 5:08 PM

10:08 10:08 AM

7 h behind Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,456,700

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 VND = 3.87 USD

100,000 VND = 3.48 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to VND – Vietnamese Dong Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇻🇳 Vietnamese Dong (₫)

Vietnamese Dong exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 25,832 VND (100,000 VND = 3.87 USD). 1 EUR = 28,750 VND (100,000 VND = 3.48 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

USD to VND in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) Lisbon 11,400 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
Lisbon

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 Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) wins on cost – living expenses run 61% lower than in Lisbon. 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 69% lower in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). 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: $647 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $853 per month in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $2,210 in Lisbon – a 159% 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 74% less than in Lisbon. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

Both work as nomad bases, but Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $853 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 Lisbon 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 61% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.