Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and Qingdao, Shandong

For one person, living is cheaper in Qingdao, Shandong: $756 a month against $855 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), rent and utilities included – about $1,200 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

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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
37

Cost of Living Index in Qingdao, Shandong
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Qingdao, Shandong Living Index

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Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$855

/mo nomad

Qingdao, Shandong

🇨🇳 China

$756

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and in Qingdao, Shandong

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $855 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $756 in Qingdao, Shandong.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $855
Qingdao, Shandong $756

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,400 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $1,233 in Qingdao, Shandong.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,400
Qingdao, Shandong $1,233

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,944 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $1,709 in Qingdao, Shandong.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,944
Qingdao, Shandong $1,709

Living in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) is roughly 13% more expensive than in Qingdao, Shandong, 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, Qingdao, Shandong 44% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.90 ₫49.1K

$2.91 ¥19.43

-34.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.32 ₫603.5K

$17.98 ¥120

29.70%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.67 ₫120.9K

$4.46 ¥29.79

4.71%

Cappuccino

$1.85 ₫47.9K

$2.66 ¥17.78

-30.45%

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

$0.56 ₫14.4K

$0.54 ¥3.64

3.70%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.34 ₫8,857

$0.32 ¥2.15

6.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.01 ₫26.2K

$1.11 ¥7.42

-9.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.69 ₫43.7K

$2.67 ¥17.82

-36.70%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.58 ₫40.8K

$1.91 ¥12.73

-17.28%

White Bread (500g)

$1.04 ₫27.0K

$1.35 ¥9.05

-22.96%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.99 ₫25.7K

$0.97 ¥6.50

2.06%

Eggs

$1.60 ₫41.5K

$1.29 ¥8.63

24.03%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.23 ₫316.6K

$16.27 ¥109

-24.83%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.54 ₫91.7K

$4.36 ¥29.12

-18.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.44 ₫270.2K

$9.66 ¥64.6

8.07%

Apples (1kg)

$3.09 ₫79.9K

$1.41 ¥9.43

119.15%

Banana (1kg)

$1.26 ₫32.5K

$1.20 ¥7.99

5.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 ₫40.6K

$1.73 ¥11.55

-9.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.26 ₫32.5K

$1.26 ¥8.39

Potato (1kg)

$1.17 ₫30.4K

$0.68 ¥4.53

72.06%

Onion (1kg)

$1.15 ₫29.7K

$0.96 ¥6.44

19.79%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.72 ₫18.7K

$0.94 ¥6.26

-23.40%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.54 ₫14.0K

$0.61 ¥4.09

-11.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.22 ₫31.5K

$3.79 ¥25.34

-67.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.28 ₫317.8K

$14.69 ¥98.2

-16.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.98 ₫25.4K

$1.01 ¥6.75

-2.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.49 ₫38.5K

$1.57 ¥10.50

-5.10%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.28 ₫7,249

$0.31 ¥2.10

-9.68%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.62 ₫300.8K

$18.25 ¥122

-36.33%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.73 ₫18.9K

$1.50 ¥10.03

-51.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 ₫16.7K

$0.41 ¥2.74

56.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.17 ₫82.0K

$9.06 ¥60.5

-65.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.95 ₫24.6K

$1.31 ¥8.74

-27.48%

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

$30.7K ₫795.6M

$19.1K ¥127.4K

61.32%

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

$30.6K ₫791.6M

$16.6K ¥110.7K

84.69%

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

$102 ₫2.6M

$69.2 ¥463

47.77%

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

$5.65 ₫146.1K

$6.73 ¥44.95

-16.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.52 ₫272.2K

$7.73 ¥51.7

36.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$25.86 ₫669.2K

$20.95 ¥140

23.44%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.82 ₫305.9K

$18.21 ¥122

-35.09%

Cinema Ticket

$3.39 ₫87.8K

$6.25 ¥41.79

-45.76%

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

$438 ₫11.3M

$365 ¥2,439

19.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.3K ₫603.1M

$17.6K ¥117.4K

32.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$51.5 ₫1.3M

$52.5 ¥351

-1.89%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.56 ₫894.3K

$49.25 ¥329

-29.83%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.3 ₫2.4M

$93.9 ¥628

-2.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$94.9 ₫2.5M

$91.2 ¥609

4.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$577 ₫14.9M

$353 ¥2,362

63.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$292 ₫7.6M

$199 ¥1,328

46.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,293 ₫33.5M

$757 ¥5,056

70.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 ₫18.6M

$418 ¥2,796

71.38%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,714 ₫122.0M

$3,573 ¥23.9K

31.94%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,882 ₫48.7M

$2,172 ¥14.5K

-13.35%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$486 ₫12.6M

$1,196 ¥7,995

-59.40%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.64

3.37

156.38%

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 Qingdao, Shandong: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$292 34.3%

Qingdao, Shandong

$199 25.7% 32% $93

Groceries & Markets

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$206 24.1%

Qingdao, Shandong

$221 28.7% 7.7% $16

Clothing & Footwear

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$123 14.4%

Qingdao, Shandong

$129 16.7% 5.3% $6.5

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$118 13.9%

Qingdao, Shandong

$84 10.8% 29.4% $35

Eating Out

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$63 7.5%

Qingdao, Shandong

$83 10.7% 30.6% $19

Sport & Entertainment

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$33 3.8%

Qingdao, Shandong

$33 4.3% 2.5% $0.8

Getting Around

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$17 2%

Qingdao, Shandong

$23 3% 38.1% $6.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $577 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and $353 in Qingdao, Shandong. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Qingdao, Shandong pays 146% 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 $18.00 in Qingdao, Shandong. Groceries flip the comparison at $206 vs $221, with Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇻🇳 Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🇨🇳 Qingdao, Shandong

🕒 Local time

17:55 5:55 PM

18:55 6:55 PM

1 h ahead of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,456,700

10,071,722

💱 Currency

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 VND = 3.86 USD

100,000 VND = 3.45 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.134 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, 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).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 6.68 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.49 CNY (1 CNY = 0.134 EUR).

USD to VND in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) Qingdao, Shandong 3,130 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
Qingdao, Shandong

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 Qingdao, Shandong: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Qingdao, Shandong wins on cost – living expenses run 13% lower than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Qingdao, Shandong the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 146% lower in Qingdao, Shandong. 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 $353 in Qingdao, Shandong. 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 $756 in Qingdao, Shandong – a 13% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Qingdao, Shandong runs roughly 57% 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 $756 in Qingdao, Shandong versus $855 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), a $1,500 budget is realistic in Qingdao, Shandong but tight or insufficient in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). The gap between the two cities makes Qingdao, Shandong the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Qingdao, Shandong delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $756 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Qingdao, Shandong hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and Qingdao, Shandong 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 Qingdao, Shandong gentler on the wallet – expenses run 13% less than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.