Last update: Oct 2026

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

For one person, living is cheaper in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon): $859 a month against $909 in Kepong, rent and utilities included – about $600 less a year. The total is higher in Kepong despite lower rent and utilities.

44

Cost of Living Index in Kepong
Learn more

Kepong Living Index
42

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

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) Living Index

Jump to prices

Kepong

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$909

/mo nomad

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$859

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Kepong and in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $909 in Kepong versus $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Kepong $909
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $859

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,366 in Kepong versus $1,395 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Kepong $1,366
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,395

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,823 in Kepong versus $1,931 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Kepong $1,823
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,931

Living in Kepong is roughly 6% more expensive than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Kepong 33% lower, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 36% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.75 MYR 15.31

$1.91 ₫49.6K

96.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.50 MYR 100.0

$22.84 ₫591.2K

7.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.94 MYR 20.13

$4.54 ₫117.6K

8.81%

Cappuccino

$3.01 MYR 12.28

$1.85 ₫48.0K

62.70%

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

$0.87 MYR 3.55

$0.56 ₫14.6K

55.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.45 MYR 1.82

$0.32 ₫8,185

40.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 MYR 13.86

$1.06 ₫27.5K

220.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.84 MYR 23.81

$1.72 ₫44.5K

239.53%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.76 MYR 7.18

$1.66 ₫42.9K

6.02%

White Bread (500g)

$1.04 MYR 4.24

$1.11 ₫28.7K

-6.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MYR 5.81

$1.00 ₫25.9K

42.00%

Eggs

$1.80 MYR 7.34

$1.67 ₫43.1K

7.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.81 MYR 40.00

$12.08 ₫312.8K

-18.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 MYR 13.47

$3.68 ₫95.2K

-10.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.58 MYR 39.08

$10.24 ₫265.1K

-6.45%

Apples (1kg)

$3.31 MYR 13.51

$2.96 ₫76.5K

11.82%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 MYR 6.91

$1.24 ₫32.2K

36.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.71 MYR 11.06

$1.56 ₫40.3K

73.72%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.70 MYR 6.93

$1.30 ₫33.6K

30.77%

Potato (1kg)

$1.47 MYR 5.99

$1.23 ₫31.9K

19.51%

Onion (1kg)

$1.66 MYR 6.77

$1.15 ₫29.8K

44.35%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.32 MYR 5.37

$0.74 ₫19.1K

78.38%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 MYR 2.22

$0.56 ₫14.4K

-1.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.17 MYR 17.00

$1.24 ₫32.1K

236.29%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.90 MYR 56.7

$12.60 ₫326.1K

10.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.67 MYR 10.90

$0.96 ₫24.9K

178.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.99 MYR 12.20

$1.53 ₫39.6K

95.42%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.82 MYR 3.34

$0.26 ₫6,694

215.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.06 MYR 49.18

$11.51 ₫297.9K

4.78%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.00 MYR 4.09

$0.75 ₫19.5K

33.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.38 MYR 1.56

$0.67 ₫17.4K

-43.28%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.05 MYR 36.91

$3.03 ₫78.5K

198.68%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.86 MYR 3.53

$0.96 ₫24.8K

-10.42%

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

$41.3K MYR 168.5K

$31.1K ₫804.3M

32.92%

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

$32.0K MYR 130.6K

$30.4K ₫785.9M

5.47%

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

$49.51 MYR 202

$102 ₫2.6M

-51.45%

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

$8.27 MYR 33.74

$5.89 ₫152.5K

40.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.27 MYR 111

$10.49 ₫271.6K

159.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.01 MYR 159

$25.54 ₫661.2K

52.74%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.74 MYR 27.48

$11.92 ₫308.5K

-43.46%

Cinema Ticket

$4.86 MYR 19.82

$3.53 ₫91.3K

37.68%

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

$164 MYR 668

$436 ₫11.3M

-62.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,528 MYR 18.5K

$23.3K ₫602.8M

-80.55%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.7 MYR 223

$52.8 ₫1.4M

3.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.36 MYR 99.4

$34.15 ₫884.1K

-28.67%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.3 MYR 336

$90.3 ₫2.3M

-8.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$84.5 MYR 345

$95.0 ₫2.5M

-11.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$404 MYR 1,649

$589 ₫15.3M

-31.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$303 MYR 1,235

$298 ₫7.7M

1.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$668 MYR 2,726

$1,292 ₫33.5M

-48.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$482 MYR 1,967

$711 ₫18.4M

-32.15%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,997 MYR 8,147

$4,676 ₫121.1M

-57.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,073 MYR 4,378

$1,904 ₫49.3M

-43.63%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$644 MYR 2,628

$490 ₫12.7M

31.57%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.06

8.64

-53.01%

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

Last update for Kepong: October 11, 2026

Last update for Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon): October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Kepong

$303 33.3%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$298 34.7% 1.7% $5

Groceries & Markets

Kepong

$228 25.1%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$207 24.1% 9.2% $21

Eating Out

Kepong

$115 12.6%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$63 7.4% 44.8% $51

Clothing & Footwear

Kepong

$111 12.2%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$122 14.3% 10.7% $12

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kepong

$85 9.4%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$118 13.8% 39.2% $33

Sport & Entertainment

Kepong

$49 5.4%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$33 3.8% 33.1% $16

Getting Around

Kepong

$18 2%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$17 1.9% 8.7% $1.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $404 in Kepong and $589 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kepong pays 32% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $25.00 in Kepong vs $23.00 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $228 vs $207 per month, with Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Kepong

🇻🇳 Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🕒 Local time

10:44 10:44 AM

09:44 9:44 AM

1 h behind Kepong

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

85,960

9,456,700

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.218 EUR

100,000 VND = 3.86 USD

100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

VND, USD, EUR to MYR – Malaysian Ringgit Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇾 Malaysian Ringgit (RM)

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 4.08 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.59 MYR (1 MYR = 0.218 EUR).

Vietnamese Dong exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 25,889 VND (100,000 VND = 3.86 USD). 1 EUR = 29,105 VND (100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR).

USD to MYR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Kepong Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 1,010 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Kepong
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

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

Kepong vs Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon): Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) wins on cost – living expenses run 6% lower than in Kepong. 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 32% higher in Kepong, 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: $404 in Kepong versus $589 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $909 per month in Kepong versus $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) – a 6% 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 5% less than in Kepong. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $909 in Kepong, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) but tight or insufficient in Kepong. 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 $859 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, Kepong and Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 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 6% less than in Kepong. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.