Last update: Oct 2026

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

For one person, living is cheaper in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon): $855 a month against $1,589 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $8,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

77

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin 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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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,589

/mo nomad

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$855

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,589 in Medellin versus $855 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Medellin $1,589
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $855

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,364 in Medellin versus $1,400 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Medellin $2,364
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,400

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,139 in Medellin versus $1,944 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Medellin $3,139
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,944

Living in Medellin is roughly 86% 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: Medellin is 19% above, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) is 36% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.01 COP 25.8K

$1.90 ₫49.2K

321.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.55 COP 149.9K

$23.32 ₫603.7K

99.61%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.43 COP 30.4K

$4.67 ₫121.0K

101.93%

Cappuccino

$2.91 COP 9,374

$1.85 ₫48.0K

57.30%

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

$1.75 COP 5,643

$0.56 ₫14.4K

212.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.32 COP 4,263

$0.34 ₫8,860

288.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.13 COP 10.1K

$1.01 ₫26.2K

209.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.55 COP 17.9K

$1.69 ₫43.7K

228.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 COP 4,542

$1.58 ₫40.8K

-10.76%

White Bread (500g)

$2.44 COP 7,858

$1.04 ₫27.0K

134.62%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.63 COP 5,245

$0.99 ₫25.7K

64.65%

Eggs

$2.82 COP 9,084

$1.60 ₫41.5K

76.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.69 COP 31.2K

$12.23 ₫316.7K

-20.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.32 COP 30.0K

$3.54 ₫91.7K

163.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.46 COP 43.3K

$10.44 ₫270.3K

28.93%

Apples (1kg)

$4.00 COP 12.9K

$3.09 ₫79.9K

29.45%

Banana (1kg)

$1.48 COP 4,768

$1.26 ₫32.5K

17.46%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.12 COP 6,839

$1.57 ₫40.6K

35.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.25 COP 7,253

$1.26 ₫32.5K

78.57%

Potato (1kg)

$1.91 COP 6,155

$1.17 ₫30.4K

63.25%

Onion (1kg)

$1.62 COP 5,214

$1.15 ₫29.7K

40.87%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,696

$0.72 ₫18.7K

59.72%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 COP 4,063

$0.54 ₫14.0K

133.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.82 COP 12.3K

$1.22 ₫31.5K

213.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.11 COP 42.2K

$12.28 ₫317.9K

6.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.60 COP 5,136

$0.98 ₫25.4K

63.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,263

$1.49 ₫38.6K

51.68%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,770

$0.28 ₫7,252

317.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$75.0 COP 241.5K

$11.62 ₫301.0K

545.61%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 4,098

$0.73 ₫18.9K

73.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,600

$0.64 ₫16.7K

220.31%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.20 COP 26.4K

$3.17 ₫82.0K

158.68%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.27 COP 4,088

$0.95 ₫24.6K

33.68%

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

$26.8K COP 86.2M

$30.7K ₫795.9M

-12.90%

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

$34.4K COP 110.8M

$30.6K ₫791.9M

12.48%

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

$162 COP 522.3K

$102 ₫2.6M

58.56%

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

$13.12 COP 42.3K

$5.65 ₫146.2K

132.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.09 COP 90.5K

$10.52 ₫272.3K

167.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.33 COP 142.7K

$25.86 ₫669.5K

71.42%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.33 COP 52.6K

$11.82 ₫306.1K

38.16%

Cinema Ticket

$6.09 COP 19.6K

$3.39 ₫87.8K

79.65%

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

$764 COP 2.5M

$438 ₫11.3M

74.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,904 COP 28.7M

$23.3K ₫603.3M

-61.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$85.0 COP 273.6K

$51.5 ₫1.3M

64.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.5 COP 185.1K

$34.56 ₫894.6K

66.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$132 COP 424.2K

$91.3 ₫2.4M

44.27%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$95.8 COP 308.3K

$94.9 ₫2.5M

0.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,028 COP 3.3M

$577 ₫14.9M

78.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$604 COP 1.9M

$292 ₫7.6M

106.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,802 COP 5.8M

$1,293 ₫33.5M

39.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$993 COP 3.2M

$717 ₫18.6M

38.42%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,921 COP 12.6M

$4,714 ₫122.0M

-16.82%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,639 COP 5.3M

$1,882 ₫48.7M

-12.94%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$626 COP 2.0M

$486 ₫12.6M

28.89%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

8.64

26.62%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 6, 2026

Last update for Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon): October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$604 38.3%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$292 34.3% 51.7% $312

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$288 18.3%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$206 24.1% 28.7% $83

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$203 12.9%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$118 13.9% 41.8% $85

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$166 10.6%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$123 14.4% 26.4% $44

Eating Out

Medellin

$166 10.6%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$63 7.5% 61.8% $103

Getting Around

Medellin

$91 5.8%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$17 2% 81.7% $75

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$57 3.6%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$33 3.8% 42.2% $24

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,028 in Medellin and $577 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Medellin pays 29% 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: $47.00 in Medellin vs $23.00 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $288 vs $206 per month, with Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇻🇳 Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🕒 Local time

21:40 9:40 PM

09:40 9:40 AM

12 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

9,456,700

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.11 USD

10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR

100,000 VND = 3.86 USD

100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

VND, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3,220 COP (10,000 COP = 3.11 USD). 1 EUR = 3,611 COP (10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR).

Vietnamese Dong exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 25,889 VND (100,000 VND = 3.86 USD). 1 EUR = 29,037 VND (100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Medellin Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 18,100 km ≈ 23 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
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

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

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) wins on cost – living expenses run 86% lower than in Medellin. 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 29% higher in Medellin, 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: $1,028 in Medellin versus $577 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 $1,589 per month in Medellin versus $855 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) – a 86% 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 546% less than in Medellin. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $855 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $1,589 in Medellin, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) but tight or insufficient in Medellin. 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 $855 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, Medellin 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 86% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.