Last update: Oct 2026

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

For one person, living is cheaper in Miri: $814 a month against $855 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), rent and utilities included – about $490 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 Miri
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Miri Living Index

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Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$855

/mo nomad

Miri

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$814

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $855 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $814 in Miri.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $855
Miri $814

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,400 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $1,247 in Miri.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,400
Miri $1,247

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,944 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $1,680 in Miri.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,944
Miri $1,680

Living in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) is roughly 5% more expensive than in Miri, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 36% lower, Miri 39% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.90 ₫49.1K

$3.43 MYR 14.02

-44.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.32 ₫603.5K

$12.16 MYR 49.65

91.78%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.67 ₫120.9K

$4.55 MYR 18.58

2.64%

Cappuccino

$1.85 ₫47.9K

$2.30 MYR 9.40

-19.57%

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

$0.56 ₫14.4K

$0.78 MYR 3.17

-28.21%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.34 ₫8,857

$0.30 MYR 1.24

13.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.01 ₫26.2K

$2.96 MYR 12.10

-65.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.69 ₫43.7K

$3.82 MYR 15.59

-55.76%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.58 ₫40.8K

$1.40 MYR 5.72

12.86%

White Bread (500g)

$1.04 ₫27.0K

$1.81 MYR 7.40

-42.54%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.99 ₫25.7K

$0.94 MYR 3.85

5.32%

Eggs

$1.60 ₫41.5K

$3.50 MYR 14.27

-54.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.23 ₫316.6K

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.54 ₫91.7K

$4.79 MYR 19.58

-26.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.44 ₫270.2K

$15.10 MYR 61.6

-30.86%

Apples (1kg)

$3.09 ₫79.9K

Banana (1kg)

$1.26 ₫32.5K

$1.96 MYR 8.01

-35.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 ₫40.6K

Tomato (1kg)

$1.26 ₫32.5K

Potato (1kg)

$1.17 ₫30.4K

Onion (1kg)

$1.15 ₫29.7K

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.72 ₫18.7K

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.54 ₫14.0K

$0.36 MYR 1.47

50.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.22 ₫31.5K

$4.35 MYR 17.77

-71.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.28 ₫317.8K

$19.28 MYR 78.7

-36.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.98 ₫25.4K

$3.08 MYR 12.59

-68.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.49 ₫38.5K

$2.41 MYR 9.85

-38.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.28 ₫7,249

$0.51 MYR 2.09

-45.10%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.62 ₫300.8K

$14.41 MYR 58.8

-19.36%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.73 ₫18.9K

$1.19 MYR 4.87

-38.66%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 ₫16.7K

$0.64 MYR 2.60

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.17 ₫82.0K

$6.05 MYR 24.71

-47.60%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.95 ₫24.6K

$0.65 MYR 2.64

46.15%

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

$30.7K ₫795.6M

$51.0K MYR 208.3K

-39.74%

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

$30.6K ₫791.6M

$32.7K MYR 133.3K

-6.33%

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

$102 ₫2.6M

$49.79 MYR 203

105.46%

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

$5.65 ₫146.1K

$9.53 MYR 38.91

-40.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.52 ₫272.2K

$33.24 MYR 136

-68.35%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$25.86 ₫669.2K

$29.63 MYR 121

-12.72%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.82 ₫305.9K

$6.17 MYR 25.21

91.57%

Cinema Ticket

$3.39 ₫87.8K

$4.45 MYR 18.18

-23.82%

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

$438 ₫11.3M

$102 MYR 416

329.37%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.3K ₫603.1M

$6,641 MYR 27.1K

250.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$51.5 ₫1.3M

$44.13 MYR 180

16.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.56 ₫894.3K

$22.74 MYR 92.9

51.98%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.3 ₫2.4M

$56.2 MYR 230

62.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$94.9 ₫2.5M

$42.80 MYR 175

121.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$577 ₫14.9M

$341 MYR 1,390

69.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$292 ₫7.6M

$280 MYR 1,145

4.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,293 ₫33.5M

$596 MYR 2,435

116.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 ₫18.6M

$594 MYR 2,425

20.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,714 ₫122.0M

$1,219 MYR 4,977

286.72%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,882 ₫48.7M

$671 MYR 2,741

180.35%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$486 ₫12.6M

$692 MYR 2,826

-29.81%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.64

4.12

109.71%

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 Miri: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$292 34.3%

Miri

$280 35.2% 4% $12

Groceries & Markets

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$206 24.1%

Miri

$194 * 24.4% 5.6% $11

Clothing & Footwear

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$123 14.4%

Miri

$75 9.4% 39.1% $48

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$118 13.9%

Miri

$93 11.6% 21.9% $26

Eating Out

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$63 7.5%

Miri

$96 12% 50.5% $32

Sport & Entertainment

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$33 3.8%

Miri

$39 4.8% 18% $5.9

Getting Around

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$17 2%

Miri

$21 2.6% 24.7% $4.1

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 $341 in Miri. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Miri pays 42% 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 $12.00 in Miri for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $206 vs $194 per month, with Miri cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇻🇳 Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🇲🇾 Miri

🕒 Local time

19:04 7:04 PM

20:04 8:04 PM

1 h ahead of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,456,700

248,877

💱 Currency

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 VND = 3.86 USD

100,000 VND = 3.45 EUR

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.219 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 25,879 VND (100,000 VND = 3.86 USD). 1 EUR = 28,999 VND (100,000 VND = 3.45 EUR).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.08 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.58 MYR (1 MYR = 0.219 EUR).

USD to VND in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

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

From you

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
Miri

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 Miri: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Miri wins on cost – living expenses run 5% lower than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Miri the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 42% lower in Miri. 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 $341 in Miri. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $855 per month in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $814 in Miri – a 5% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Miri runs roughly 24% 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 $814 in Miri versus $855 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), a $1,500 budget is realistic in Miri but tight or insufficient in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). The gap between the two cities makes Miri the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Miri delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $814 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Miri hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and Miri 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 Miri gentler on the wallet – expenses run 5% less than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.