Last update: Oct 2026

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

For one person, living is cheaper in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon): $862 a month against $1,017 in Taguig City, rent and utilities included – about $1,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

42

Cost of Living Index in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
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Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Taguig City
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Taguig City Living Index

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Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$862

/mo nomad

Taguig City

🇵🇭 Philippines

$1,017

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $862 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $1,017 in Taguig City.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $862
Taguig City $1,017

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,410 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $1,533 in Taguig City.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,410
Taguig City $1,533

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,958 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $2,049 in Taguig City.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,958
Taguig City $2,049

Living in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) costs roughly 15% less than in Taguig City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 36% lower, Taguig City 25% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.98 ₫51.3K

$3.90 ₱246

-49.23%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.14 ₫599.0K

$26.47 ₱1,666

-12.58%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.76 ₫123.2K

$3.09 ₱195

54.05%

Cappuccino

$1.86 ₫48.1K

$2.47 ₱156

-24.70%

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

$0.51 ₫13.3K

$0.74 ₱46.34

-31.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.32 ₫8,191

$0.44 ₱27.39

-27.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.03 ₫26.7K

$1.20 ₱75.6

-14.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.71 ₫44.4K

$2.39 ₱151

-28.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.58 ₫40.8K

$1.92 ₱121

-17.71%

White Bread (500g)

$1.09 ₫28.3K

$1.44 ₱90.7

-24.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.05 ₫27.2K

$0.88 ₱55.4

19.32%

Eggs

$1.64 ₫42.6K

$1.77 ₱112

-7.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.33 ₫319.2K

$5.13 ₱323

140.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.58 ₫92.6K

$4.59 ₱289

-22.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.56 ₫273.3K

$8.01 ₱504

31.84%

Apples (1kg)

$2.97 ₫76.9K

$2.29 ₱144

29.69%

Banana (1kg)

$1.26 ₫32.7K

$1.82 ₱115

-30.77%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.62 ₫42.0K

$2.74 ₱173

-40.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.31 ₫33.8K

$1.06 ₱67.0

23.58%

Potato (1kg)

$1.19 ₫30.8K

$1.66 ₱104

-28.31%

Onion (1kg)

$1.14 ₫29.6K

$2.66 ₱168

-57.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.73 ₫18.8K

$1.60 ₱101

-54.38%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₫14.6K

$0.55 ₱34.73

1.82%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.28 ₫33.0K

$2.92 ₱184

-56.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.46 ₫322.5K

$8.67 ₱546

43.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.96 ₫24.9K

$1.28 ₱80.6

-25.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.48 ₫38.3K

$2.00 ₱126

-26.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.26 ₫6,704

$0.20 ₱12.57

30.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.43 ₫296.0K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.68 ₫17.7K

$0.78 ₱49.42

-12.82%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.62 ₫16.1K

$0.23 ₱14.45

169.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.00 ₫77.7K

$1.92 ₱121

56.25%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.91 ₫23.5K

$1.25 ₱78.7

-27.20%

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

$30.6K ₫791.4M

$21.2K ₱1.3M

44.23%

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

$29.4K ₫760.1M

$19.4K ₱1.2M

51.71%

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

$104 ₫2.7M

$110 ₱6,907

-5.41%

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

$5.79 ₫149.9K

$15.53 ₱978

-62.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.48 ₫271.3K

$23.08 ₱1,453

-54.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$26.08 ₫675.1K

$40.31 ₱2,538

-35.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.90 ₫308.1K

Cinema Ticket

$3.89 ₫100.7K

$6.58 ₱414

-40.88%

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

$440 ₫11.4M

$133 ₱8,378

230.59%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$24.1K ₫622.7M

$8,811 ₱554.7K

172.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$50.9 ₫1.3M

$40.50 ₱2,550

25.70%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.18 ₫910.8K

$27.26 ₱1,716

29.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.1 ₫2.4M

$66.8 ₱4,207

37.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$96.5 ₫2.5M

$58.4 ₱3,674

65.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$582 ₫15.1M

$624 ₱39.3K

-6.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$297 ₫7.7M

$443 ₱27.9K

-33.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,298 ₫33.6M

$2,553 ₱160.8K

-49.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$727 ₫18.8M

$819 ₱51.6K

-11.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,782 ₫123.8M

$3,934 ₱247.7K

21.55%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,853 ₫48.0M

$1,346 ₱84.7K

37.73%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$490 ₫12.7M

$467 ₱29.4K

4.84%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.64

6.83

26.50%

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

Last update for Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon): October 17, 2026

Last update for Taguig City: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$297 34.4%

Taguig City

$443 43.6% 49.5% $147

Groceries & Markets

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$208 24.1%

Taguig City

$196 19.3% 5.5% $11

Clothing & Footwear

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$124 14.3%

Taguig City

$87 8.5% 29.8% $37

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$120 13.9%

Taguig City

$148 14.6% 23.6% $28

Eating Out

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$64 7.5%

Taguig City

$86 8.4% 33.1% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$34 3.9%

Taguig City

$53 5.3% 57.9% $20

Getting Around

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$16 1.9%

Taguig City

$2.7 * 0.3% 83.2% $14

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 $582 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and $624 in Taguig City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) pays 5% 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 $26.00 in Taguig City. Groceries flip the comparison at $208 vs $196, with Taguig City cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇻🇳 Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🇵🇭 Taguig City

🕒 Local time

09:42 9:42 AM

10:42 10:42 AM

1 h ahead of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,456,700

47,397

💱 Currency

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 VND = 3.86 USD

100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to VND – Vietnamese Dong Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇻🇳 Vietnamese Dong (₫)

Vietnamese Dong exchange rates as of October 23, 2026: 1 USD = 25,889 VND (100,000 VND = 3.86 USD). 1 EUR = 29,105 VND (100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 23, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to VND in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) Taguig City 1,610 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
Taguig City

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 Taguig City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) wins on cost – living expenses run 18% lower than in Taguig City. 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.

Average pay runs 5% higher in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $582 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $624 in Taguig City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Taguig City pay roughly 6% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $862 per month in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $1,017 in Taguig City – a 18% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $862 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $1,017 in Taguig City, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) but tight or insufficient in Taguig City. The gap between the two cities makes Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $862 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 Taguig City 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 18% less than in Taguig City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.