Last update: Oct 2026

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

For one person, living is cheaper in Seria: $567 a month against $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), rent and utilities included – about $3,500 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
28

Cost of Living Index in Seria
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Seria Living Index

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Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$859

/mo nomad

Seria

🇧🇳 Brunei

$567

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $567 in Seria.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $859
Seria $567

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,395 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $904 in Seria.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,395
Seria $904

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,931 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $1,242 in Seria.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,931
Seria $1,242

Living in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) is roughly 51% more expensive than in Seria, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities sit below the global median: Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 36% lower, Seria 58% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.91 ₫49.6K

$3.13 BND 4.00

-38.98%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$22.84 ₫591.2K

$27.07 BND 34.64

-15.63%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.54 ₫117.6K

$5.36 BND 6.86

-15.30%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.59 BND 2.04

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.32 BND 2.96

Cappuccino

$1.85 ₫48.0K

$3.88 BND 4.97

-52.32%

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

$0.56 ₫14.6K

$0.91 BND 1.16

-38.46%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.32 ₫8,185

$0.54 BND 0.69

-40.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.06 ₫27.5K

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.72 ₫44.5K

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ₫42.9K

$1.81 BND 2.32

-8.29%

White Bread (500g)

$1.11 ₫28.7K

$1.43 BND 1.83

-22.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.00 ₫25.9K

$1.21 BND 1.55

-17.36%

Eggs

$1.67 ₫43.1K

$1.38 BND 1.76

21.01%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.08 ₫312.8K

$6.17 BND 7.90

95.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.68 ₫95.2K

$4.41 BND 5.64

-16.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.24 ₫265.1K

$10.89 BND 13.93

-5.97%

Apples (1kg)

$2.96 ₫76.5K

$3.20 BND 4.09

-7.50%

Banana (1kg)

$1.24 ₫32.2K

$2.23 BND 2.85

-44.39%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.56 ₫40.3K

$2.98 BND 3.82

-47.65%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.30 ₫33.6K

$2.55 BND 3.27

-49.02%

Potato (1kg)

$1.23 ₫31.9K

$1.68 BND 2.15

-26.79%

Onion (1kg)

$1.15 ₫29.8K

$2.08 BND 2.66

-44.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.74 ₫19.1K

$3.74 BND 4.79

-80.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₫14.4K

$0.76 BND 0.98

-26.32%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$23.42 BND 29.96

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.22 BND 4.12

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.08 BND 1.38

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.24 ₫32.1K

$15.42 BND 19.73

-91.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.60 ₫326.1K

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.96 ₫24.9K

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.53 ₫39.6K

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

$4.02 BND 5.14

-81.34%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.67 ₫17.4K

$3.25 BND 4.15

-79.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.03 ₫78.5K

$11.77 BND 15.06

-74.26%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.96 ₫24.8K

$0.30 BND 0.38

220.00%

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

$31.1K ₫804.3M

$43.5K BND 55.7K

-28.66%

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

$30.4K ₫785.9M

$36.2K BND 46.3K

-16.16%

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

$102 ₫2.6M

$61.8 BND 79.0

65.12%

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

$5.89 ₫152.5K

$15.66 BND 20.03

-62.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.49 ₫271.6K

$64.1 BND 82.0

-83.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$25.54 ₫661.2K

$27.52 BND 35.20

-7.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.92 ₫308.5K

Cinema Ticket

$3.53 ₫91.3K

$5.36 BND 6.86

-34.14%

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

$436 ₫11.3M

$216 BND 276

102.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.3K ₫602.8M

$9,750 BND 12.5K

138.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.8 ₫1.4M

$31.04 BND 39.71

69.94%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.15 ₫884.1K

$27.71 BND 35.45

23.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.3 ₫2.3M

$50.3 BND 64.4

79.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$95.0 ₫2.5M

$46.16 BND 59.1

105.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$589 ₫15.3M

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$298 ₫7.7M

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,292 ₫33.5M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$711 ₫18.4M

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,676 ₫121.1M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,904 ₫49.3M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$490 ₫12.7M

$716 BND 917

-31.66%

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 10, 2026

Last update for Seria: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$298 34.7%

Seria

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$207 24.1%

Seria

$203 35.9% 1.9% $3.9

Clothing & Footwear

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$122 14.3%

Seria

$70 12.3% 43% $53

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$118 13.8%

Seria

$142 25% 19.6% $23

Eating Out

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$63 7.4%

Seria

$94 16.5% 47.4% $30

Sport & Entertainment

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$33 3.8%

Seria

$38 6.8% 17.3% $5.6

Getting Around

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$17 1.9%

Seria

$20 * 3.6% 21.6% $3.6

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Seria pays 46% 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 $27.00 in Seria. Groceries flip the comparison at $207 vs $203, with Seria cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇻🇳 Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🇧🇳 Seria

🕒 Local time

13:29 1:29 PM

14:29 2:29 PM

1 h ahead of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,456,700

30,097

💱 Currency

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

Brunei Dollar BND $

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 VND = 3.86 USD

100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR

1 BND = 0.782 USD

1 BND = 0.695 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 19, 2026: 1 USD = 25,889 VND (100,000 VND = 3.86 USD). 1 EUR = 29,105 VND (100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR).

Brunei Dollar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1.28 BND (1 BND = 0.782 USD). 1 EUR = 1.44 BND (1 BND = 0.695 EUR).

USD to VND in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) Seria 1,080 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
Seria

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 Seria: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Seria wins on cost – living expenses run 51% lower than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Seria the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 46% lower in Seria. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Supermarket bills run roughly 2% higher in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $859 per month in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $567 in Seria – a 51% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $567 in Seria versus $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), a $1,500 budget is realistic in Seria but tight or insufficient in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). The gap between the two cities makes Seria the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Seria delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $567 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Seria hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and Seria 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 Seria gentler on the wallet – expenses run 51% less than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.