Last update: Oct 2026

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

For one person, living is cheaper in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon): $853 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $16,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
41

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

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$853

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon 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 Lisbon and in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $853 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Lisbon $2,210
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $853

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,391 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Lisbon $3,275
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,391

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $1,930 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Lisbon $4,341
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,930

Living in Lisbon is roughly 159% more expensive than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) is 37% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.95

$1.91 ₫49.3K

771.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.5

$22.93 ₫592.4K

169.25%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.20

$4.69 ₫121.2K

142.22%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.67

$1.80 ₫46.5K

65.00%

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

$2.29 €2.06

$0.55 ₫14.3K

316.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.34 ₫8,812

411.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.06

$1.03 ₫26.7K

230.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$1.72 ₫44.4K

92.44%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.67 ₫43.1K

-30.54%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.72

$1.09 ₫28.2K

75.23%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$1.06 ₫27.3K

42.45%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$1.60 ₫41.3K

151.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.62

$12.08 ₫312.1K

7.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.98

$3.66 ₫94.5K

112.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.95

$10.35 ₫267.3K

71.59%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$3.01 ₫77.7K

-23.59%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$1.26 ₫32.6K

37.30%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$1.62 ₫41.9K

14.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$1.27 ₫32.7K

103.94%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.64

$1.18 ₫30.5K

54.24%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$1.19 ₫30.7K

65.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.78 ₫20.1K

88.46%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.55 ₫14.3K

30.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.91

$1.26 ₫32.5K

422.22%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.04

$12.85 ₫331.9K

-56.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$0.90 ₫23.1K

51.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$1.46 ₫37.6K

46.58%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

$0.28 ₫7,260

732.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

$11.42 ₫295.0K

291.24%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.46

$0.70 ₫18.2K

450.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.63 ₫16.3K

69.84%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

$3.09 ₫79.8K

432.69%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.98

$0.95 ₫24.6K

131.58%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$30.5K ₫788.3M

12.04%

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

$38.7K €34.8K

$29.7K ₫767.8M

30.28%

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

$161 €145

$102 ₫2.6M

57.72%

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

$18.41 €16.54

$5.65 ₫145.8K

225.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.41

$10.43 ₫269.5K

213.90%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.02

$19.30 ₫498.7K

130.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

$11.81 ₫305.1K

61.73%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.62

$3.83 ₫98.9K

150.65%

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

$668 €600

$484 ₫12.5M

37.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$23.3K ₫602.3M

-24.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.6

$52.3 ₫1.4M

95.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.94

$34.35 ₫887.3K

29.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.5

$92.3 ₫2.4M

6.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$94.2 ₫2.4M

31.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

$647 ₫16.7M

148.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

$297 ₫7.7M

300.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,526

$1,291 ₫33.3M

117.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,808

$719 ₫18.6M

179.95%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,042

$4,327 ₫111.8M

81.16%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,110

$1,987 ₫51.3M

130.30%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,415

$490 ₫12.7M

221.26%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

8.64

-55.44%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon): October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$297 34.9% 75% $893

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$208 24.4% 23.6% $64

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$63 7.4% 74% $179

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$118 13.9% 44.3% $94

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$123 14.4% 25.9% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$27 3.2% 57.7% $37

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$16 1.9% 74.1% $47

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $647 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 3.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $23 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $208 per month, with Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇻🇳 Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🕒 Local time

14:13 2:13 PM

21:13 9:13 PM

7 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

9,456,700

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

100,000 VND = 3.87 USD

100,000 VND = 3.48 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

VND, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

Vietnamese Dong exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 25,832 VND (100,000 VND = 3.87 USD). 1 EUR = 28,750 VND (100,000 VND = 3.48 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Between locations

Lisbon Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 11,400 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

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Lisbon
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

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

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) wins on cost – living expenses run 61% lower than in Lisbon. 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 in Lisbon is about 3.2 times higher, 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: $1,608 in Lisbon versus $647 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 $2,210 per month in Lisbon versus $853 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) – a 159% 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 74% less than in Lisbon. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

Both work as nomad bases, but Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $853 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, Lisbon 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 61% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.