Last update: Oct 2026

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

For one person, living is cheaper in Malacca: $612 a month against $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), rent and utilities included – about $3,000 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

30

Cost of Living Index in Malacca
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Malacca Living Index
42

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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Malacca

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$612

/mo nomad

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$859

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $612 in Malacca versus $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Malacca $612
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $859

Estimated couple costs with rent: $977 in Malacca versus $1,395 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Malacca $977
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,395

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,343 in Malacca versus $1,931 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Malacca $1,343
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,931

Living in Malacca costs roughly 29% less than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Malacca 55% lower, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 36% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.27 MYR 13.36

$1.91 ₫49.6K

71.20%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.71 MYR 76.3

$22.84 ₫591.2K

-18.08%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.80 MYR 19.60

$4.54 ₫117.6K

5.73%

Cappuccino

$2.83 MYR 11.56

$1.85 ₫48.0K

52.97%

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

$0.77 MYR 3.15

$0.56 ₫14.6K

37.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.54 MYR 2.21

$0.32 ₫8,185

68.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.93 MYR 7.87

$1.06 ₫27.5K

82.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.97 MYR 12.10

$1.72 ₫44.5K

72.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MYR 7.03

$1.66 ₫42.9K

3.61%

White Bread (500g)

$1.11 MYR 4.52

$1.11 ₫28.7K

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MYR 5.78

$1.00 ₫25.9K

42.00%

Eggs

$1.72 MYR 7.02

$1.67 ₫43.1K

2.99%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$18.49 MYR 75.4

$12.08 ₫312.8K

53.06%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.59 MYR 18.73

$3.68 ₫95.2K

24.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.83 MYR 44.18

$10.24 ₫265.1K

5.76%

Apples (1kg)

$3.26 MYR 13.29

$2.96 ₫76.5K

10.14%

Banana (1kg)

$1.76 MYR 7.18

$1.24 ₫32.2K

41.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.38 MYR 9.72

$1.56 ₫40.3K

52.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.64 MYR 6.69

$1.30 ₫33.6K

26.15%

Potato (1kg)

$1.47 MYR 5.99

$1.23 ₫31.9K

19.51%

Onion (1kg)

$1.74 MYR 7.09

$1.15 ₫29.8K

51.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.37 MYR 5.61

$0.74 ₫19.1K

85.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 MYR 2.23

$0.56 ₫14.4K

-1.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.19 MYR 17.11

$1.24 ₫32.1K

237.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.92 MYR 56.8

$12.60 ₫326.1K

10.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.17 MYR 8.84

$0.96 ₫24.9K

126.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.11 MYR 12.67

$1.53 ₫39.6K

103.27%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.47 MYR 1.92

$0.26 ₫6,694

80.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.40 MYR 50.6

$11.51 ₫297.9K

7.73%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.00 MYR 4.09

$0.75 ₫19.5K

33.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.70 MYR 2.85

$0.67 ₫17.4K

4.48%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$12.03 MYR 49.08

$3.03 ₫78.5K

297.03%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.51 MYR 2.10

$0.96 ₫24.8K

-46.87%

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

$41.7K MYR 170.3K

$31.1K ₫804.3M

34.36%

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

$34.9K MYR 142.4K

$30.4K ₫785.9M

14.95%

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

$51.7 MYR 211

$102 ₫2.6M

-49.30%

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

$11.20 MYR 45.69

$5.89 ₫152.5K

90.15%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.12 MYR 115

$10.49 ₫271.6K

168.06%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$22.13 MYR 90.3

$25.54 ₫661.2K

-13.35%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.76 MYR 47.97

$11.92 ₫308.5K

-1.34%

Cinema Ticket

$5.02 MYR 20.49

$3.53 ₫91.3K

42.21%

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

$163 MYR 665

$436 ₫11.3M

-62.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,501 MYR 18.4K

$23.3K ₫602.8M

-80.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.7 MYR 223

$52.8 ₫1.4M

3.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$16.80 MYR 68.5

$34.15 ₫884.1K

-50.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.3 MYR 336

$90.3 ₫2.3M

-8.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.7 MYR 399

$95.0 ₫2.5M

2.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$192 MYR 784

$589 ₫15.3M

-67.39%

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)

$1,191 MYR 4,861

$4,676 ₫121.1M

-74.52%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$804 MYR 3,280

$1,904 ₫49.3M

-57.77%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$411 MYR 1,677

$490 ₫12.7M

-16.04%

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 Malacca: 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.

Groceries & Markets

Malacca

$261 42.7%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$207 24.1% 20.6% $54

Clothing & Footwear

Malacca

$113 18.5%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$122 14.3% 8.2% $9.3

Eating Out

Malacca

$95 15.6%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$63 7.4% 33.5% $32

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Malacca

$91 14.9%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$118 13.8% 30% $27

Sport & Entertainment

Malacca

$32 5.3%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$33 3.8% 1.3% $0.4

Getting Around

Malacca

$19 3.1%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$17 1.9% 11.3% $2.1

Accommodation & Living

Malacca

- * 0%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$298 34.7%

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 $192 in Malacca and $589 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) pays 19% 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: $19.00 in Malacca vs $23.00 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Groceries flip the comparison at $261 vs $207, with Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Malacca

🇻🇳 Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🕒 Local time

08:13 8:13 AM

07:13 7:13 AM

1 h behind Malacca

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

579,000

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 19, 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 19, 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

Malacca Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 1,070 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Malacca
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

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

Malacca wins on cost – living expenses run 40% lower than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Malacca the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 19% lower in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). 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: $192 in Malacca 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 $612 per month in Malacca versus $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) – a 40% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Malacca runs roughly 8% 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 $612 in Malacca versus $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), a $2,000 budget is realistic in Malacca but tight or insufficient in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). The gap between the two cities makes Malacca the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Malacca delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $612 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Malacca hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Malacca 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 Malacca gentler on the wallet – expenses run 40% less than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.