Last update: Oct 2026

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

For one person, living is cheaper in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon): $853 a month against $951 in Muar, rent and utilities included – about $1,200 less a year. The total is higher in Muar despite lower rent and utilities.

48

Cost of Living Index in Muar
Learn more

Muar Living Index
41

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

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) Living Index

Jump to prices

Muar

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$951

/mo nomad

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$853

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $951 in Muar versus $853 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Muar $951
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $853

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,505 in Muar versus $1,391 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Muar $1,505
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,391

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,059 in Muar versus $1,930 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Muar $2,059
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,930

Living in Muar is roughly 11% more expensive than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Muar 30% lower, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 37% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.82 MYR 19.72

$1.91 ₫49.4K

152.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$29.01 MYR 119

$22.93 ₫592.6K

26.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.88 MYR 15.86

$4.69 ₫121.2K

-17.27%

Cappuccino

$3.05 MYR 12.46

$1.80 ₫46.5K

69.44%

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

$0.76 MYR 3.12

$0.55 ₫14.3K

38.18%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.46 MYR 1.88

$0.34 ₫8,815

35.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.44 MYR 18.14

$1.03 ₫26.7K

331.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.27 MYR 25.63

$1.72 ₫44.4K

264.53%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.13 MYR 8.72

$1.67 ₫43.1K

27.54%

White Bread (500g)

$1.07 MYR 4.37

$1.09 ₫28.2K

-1.83%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 MYR 7.58

$1.06 ₫27.3K

74.53%

Eggs

$2.44 MYR 9.96

$1.60 ₫41.3K

52.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.25 MYR 58.3

$12.08 ₫312.3K

17.96%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.44 MYR 18.17

$3.66 ₫94.5K

21.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.95 MYR 40.68

$10.35 ₫267.4K

-3.86%

Apples (1kg)

$3.36 MYR 13.75

$3.01 ₫77.8K

11.63%

Banana (1kg)

$1.85 MYR 7.55

$1.26 ₫32.6K

46.83%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 MYR 9.19

$1.62 ₫42.0K

38.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.51 MYR 6.19

$1.27 ₫32.7K

18.90%

Potato (1kg)

$1.22 MYR 4.97

$1.18 ₫30.5K

3.39%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 MYR 5.60

$1.19 ₫30.8K

15.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.16 MYR 4.74

$0.78 ₫20.2K

48.72%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.71 MYR 2.91

$0.55 ₫14.3K

29.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.45 MYR 18.19

$1.26 ₫32.6K

253.17%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.48 MYR 79.7

$12.85 ₫332.0K

51.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.48 MYR 14.24

$0.90 ₫23.2K

286.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.99 MYR 20.42

$1.46 ₫37.6K

241.78%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.64 MYR 2.63

$0.28 ₫7,263

128.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$10.62 MYR 43.43

$11.42 ₫295.1K

-7.01%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.19 MYR 4.85

$0.70 ₫18.2K

70.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.25 MYR 5.10

$0.63 ₫16.3K

98.41%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.87 MYR 19.93

$3.09 ₫79.8K

57.61%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.81 MYR 3.32

$0.95 ₫24.6K

-14.74%

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

$44.4K MYR 181.6K

$30.5K ₫788.5M

45.60%

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

$34.9K MYR 142.5K

$29.7K ₫768.1M

17.29%

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

$62.0 MYR 254

$102 ₫2.6M

-39.32%

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

$8.88 MYR 36.32

$5.65 ₫145.9K

57.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.21 MYR 107

$10.43 ₫269.6K

151.29%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.02 MYR 151

$19.30 ₫498.8K

91.81%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.79 MYR 23.66

$11.81 ₫305.3K

-50.97%

Cinema Ticket

$4.85 MYR 19.83

$3.83 ₫98.9K

26.63%

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

$240 MYR 981

$484 ₫12.5M

-50.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.3K MYR 54.5K

$23.3K ₫602.5M

-42.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.2 MYR 295

$52.3 ₫1.4M

38.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.83 MYR 171

$34.35 ₫887.6K

21.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$84.3 MYR 345

$92.3 ₫2.4M

-8.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$96.3 MYR 394

$94.2 ₫2.4M

2.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$445 MYR 1,818

$647 ₫16.7M

-31.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$253 MYR 1,033

$297 ₫7.7M

-14.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$617 MYR 2,521

$1,291 ₫33.3M

-52.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$518 MYR 2,117

$719 ₫18.6M

-28.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,001 MYR 8,180

$4,327 ₫111.8M

-53.76%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,229 MYR 5,023

$1,987 ₫51.3M

-38.17%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$603 MYR 2,465

$490 ₫12.7M

22.96%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.17

8.64

-51.74%

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

Last update for Muar: October 26, 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.

Groceries & Markets

Muar

$274 28.9%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$208 24.4% 24.2% $66

Accommodation & Living

Muar

$253 26.6%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$297 34.9% 17.6% $44

Clothing & Footwear

Muar

$133 14%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$123 14.4% 7.3% $9.7

Eating Out

Muar

$126 13.3%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$63 7.4% 50.1% $63

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Muar

$97 10.2%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$118 13.9% 21.8% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Muar

$47 4.9%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$27 3.2% 42.3% $20

Getting Around

Muar

$21 2.2%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$16 1.9% 20.4% $4.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $445 in Muar and $647 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Muar pays 23% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $29 in Muar vs $23 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $274 vs $208 per month, with Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Muar

🇻🇳 Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🕒 Local time

02:18 2:18 AM

01:18 1:18 AM

1 h behind Muar

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

314,776

9,456,700

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.219 EUR

100,000 VND = 3.87 USD

100,000 VND = 3.47 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 27, 2026: 1 USD = 4.09 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.56 MYR (1 MYR = 0.219 EUR).

Vietnamese Dong exchange rates as of October 27, 2026: 1 USD = 25,841 VND (100,000 VND = 3.87 USD). 1 EUR = 28,808 VND (100,000 VND = 3.47 EUR).

USD to MYR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

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

From you

Muar
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

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

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) wins on cost – living expenses run 10% lower than in Muar. 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 23% higher in Muar, 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: $445 in Muar 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 $951 per month in Muar versus $853 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) – a 11% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Muar runs roughly 7% less than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). 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 cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Muar 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.

It comes down to priorities – Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) wins on affordability, Muar on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.