Last update: Oct 2026

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

For one person, living costs are similar in Mandaluyong and in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon): $841 and $859 a month, rent and utilities included.

41

Cost of Living Index in Mandaluyong
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Mandaluyong 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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Mandaluyong

🇵🇭 Philippines

$841

/mo nomad

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$859

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $841 in Mandaluyong versus $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Mandaluyong $841
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $859

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,389 in Mandaluyong versus $1,395 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Mandaluyong $1,389
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,395

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,936 in Mandaluyong versus $1,931 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Mandaluyong $1,936
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,931

Living in Mandaluyong costs roughly 2% less than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Mandaluyong 38% lower, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 36% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.72 ₱297

$1.91 ₫49.6K

147.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$16.62 ₱1,046

$22.84 ₫591.2K

-27.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.53 ₱223

$4.54 ₫117.6K

-22.25%

Cappuccino

$2.18 ₱137

$1.85 ₫48.0K

17.84%

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

$0.99 ₱62.1

$0.56 ₫14.6K

76.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ₱30.84

$0.32 ₫8,185

53.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.22 ₱76.7

$1.06 ₫27.5K

15.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.41 ₱152

$1.72 ₫44.5K

40.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.68 ₱105

$1.66 ₫42.9K

1.20%

White Bread (500g)

$1.30 ₱81.6

$1.11 ₫28.7K

17.12%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.03 ₱64.8

$1.00 ₫25.9K

3.00%

Eggs

$2.21 ₱139

$1.67 ₫43.1K

32.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.18 ₱326

$12.08 ₫312.8K

-57.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.84 ₱305

$3.68 ₫95.2K

31.52%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.82 ₱429

$10.24 ₫265.1K

-33.40%

Apples (1kg)

$3.38 ₱213

$2.96 ₫76.5K

14.19%

Banana (1kg)

$1.89 ₱119

$1.24 ₫32.2K

52.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.09 ₱194

$1.56 ₫40.3K

98.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.85 ₱116

$1.30 ₫33.6K

42.31%

Potato (1kg)

$2.21 ₱139

$1.23 ₫31.9K

79.67%

Onion (1kg)

$2.63 ₱166

$1.15 ₫29.8K

128.70%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.62 ₱39.08

$0.74 ₫19.1K

-16.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ₱30.84

$0.56 ₫14.4K

-12.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.94 ₱185

$1.24 ₫32.1K

137.10%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.95 ₱564

$12.60 ₫326.1K

-28.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.95 ₱60.0

$0.96 ₫24.9K

-1.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 ₱130

$1.53 ₫39.6K

35.29%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.38 ₱23.73

$0.26 ₫6,694

46.15%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.51 ₫297.9K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.72 ₱45.59

$0.75 ₫19.5K

-4.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.47

$0.67 ₫17.4K

-65.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.95 ₱122

$3.03 ₫78.5K

-35.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.22 ₱76.5

$0.96 ₫24.8K

27.08%

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

$21.1K ₱1.3M

$31.1K ₫804.3M

-32.24%

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

$19.3K ₱1.2M

$30.4K ₫785.9M

-36.38%

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

$138 ₱8,711

$102 ₫2.6M

35.67%

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

$17.70 ₱1,114

$5.89 ₫152.5K

200.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.54 ₱1,545

$10.49 ₫271.6K

133.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.59 ₱1,989

$25.54 ₫661.2K

23.69%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.92 ₫308.5K

Cinema Ticket

$6.11 ₱385

$3.53 ₫91.3K

73.09%

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

$131 ₱8,261

$436 ₫11.3M

-69.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,790 ₱553.4K

$23.3K ₫602.8M

-62.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$29.06 ₱1,830

$52.8 ₫1.4M

-44.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$27.11 ₱1,707

$34.15 ₫884.1K

-20.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$71.2 ₱4,481

$90.3 ₫2.3M

-21.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$54.9 ₱3,454

$95.0 ₫2.5M

-42.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$622 ₱39.1K

$589 ₫15.3M

5.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$241 ₱15.1K

$298 ₫7.7M

-19.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,177 ₱74.1K

$1,292 ₫33.5M

-8.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$724 ₱45.6K

$711 ₫18.4M

1.91%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,810 ₱176.9K

$4,676 ₫121.1M

-39.91%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,904 ₫49.3M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$533 ₱33.6K

$490 ₫12.7M

8.92%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

8.64

-21.88%

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

Last update for Mandaluyong: October 10, 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

Mandaluyong

$241 28.6%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$298 34.7% 23.8% $57

Groceries & Markets

Mandaluyong

$200 23.7%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$207 24.1% 3.8% $7.5

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mandaluyong

$181 21.5%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$118 13.8% 34.5% $62

Eating Out

Mandaluyong

$91 10.9%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$63 7.4% 30.5% $28

Clothing & Footwear

Mandaluyong

$82 9.7%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$122 14.3% 49.4% $40

Sport & Entertainment

Mandaluyong

$44 5.2%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$33 3.8% 25.6% $11

Getting Around

Mandaluyong

$3.4 * 0.4%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$17 1.9% 393% $13

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 $622 in Mandaluyong and $589 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mandaluyong pays 9% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $17.00 in Mandaluyong vs $23.00 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $200 vs $207 per month, with Mandaluyong cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Mandaluyong

🇻🇳 Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🕒 Local time

06:20 6:20 AM

05:20 5:20 AM

1 h behind Mandaluyong

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

425,758

9,456,700

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

100,000 VND = 3.86 USD

100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

VND, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

Vietnamese Dong exchange rates as of October 17, 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 PHP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

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

From you

Mandaluyong
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

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

Mandaluyong wins on cost – living expenses run 2% lower than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Mandaluyong the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 9% higher in Mandaluyong, 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: $622 in Mandaluyong versus $589 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 4% 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 $841 per month in Mandaluyong versus $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) – a 2% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $841 in Mandaluyong versus $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), a $2,000 budget is realistic in Mandaluyong but tight or insufficient in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). The gap between the two cities makes Mandaluyong the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Mandaluyong delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $841 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Mandaluyong hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Mandaluyong 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 Mandaluyong gentler on the wallet – expenses run 2% less than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.