Last update: Oct 2026

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

For one person, living is cheaper in Ormoc: $671 a month against $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), rent and utilities included – about $2,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Ormoc
🇵🇭 Philippines
$671
/mo nomad
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
🇻🇳 Vietnam
$859
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $671 in Ormoc versus $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

  • Ormoc $671
  • Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $859

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,044 in Ormoc versus $1,395 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

  • Ormoc $1,044
  • Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,395

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,416 in Ormoc versus $1,931 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

  • Ormoc $1,416
  • Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,931

Living in Ormoc costs roughly 22% 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: Ormoc 50% lower, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 36% lower.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Ormoc
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$4.56 ₱287
$1.91 ₫49.6K
138.74%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$11.63 ₱732
$22.84 ₫591.2K
-49.08%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$4.82 ₱303
$4.54 ₫117.6K
6.17%
Cappuccino
$2.15 ₱135
$1.85 ₫48.0K
16.22%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.49 ₱30.91
$0.56 ₫14.6K
-12.50%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.33 ₱21.05
$0.32 ₫8,185
3.13%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$1.17 ₱73.9
$1.06 ₫27.5K
10.38%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.91 ₱120
$1.72 ₫44.5K
11.05%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Ormoc
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.63 ₱103
$1.66 ₫42.9K
-1.81%
White Bread (500g)
$1.05 ₱66.2
$1.11 ₫28.7K
-5.41%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$0.95 ₱60.0
$1.00 ₫25.9K
-5.00%
Eggs
$1.70 ₱107
$1.67 ₫43.1K
1.80%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$5.69 ₱359
$12.08 ₫312.8K
-52.90%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$3.20 ₱202
$3.68 ₫95.2K
-13.04%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$7.08 ₱446
$10.24 ₫265.1K
-30.86%
Apples (1kg)
$2.34 ₱147
$2.96 ₫76.5K
-20.95%
Banana (1kg)
$1.55 ₱97.6
$1.24 ₫32.2K
25.00%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.32 ₱146
$1.56 ₫40.3K
48.72%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.13 ₱71.3
$1.30 ₫33.6K
-13.08%
Potato (1kg)
$1.89 ₱119
$1.23 ₫31.9K
53.66%
Onion (1kg)
$2.12 ₱133
$1.15 ₫29.8K
84.35%
Lettuce (1 head)
$0.95 ₱59.6
$0.74 ₫19.1K
28.38%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.54 ₱33.87
$0.56 ₫14.4K
-3.57%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$2.52 ₱158
$1.24 ₫32.1K
103.23%
Wine (Bottle)
$8.53 ₱537
$12.60 ₫326.1K
-32.30%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$0.99 ₱62.4
$0.96 ₫24.9K
3.13%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.85 ₱116
$1.53 ₫39.6K
20.92%
🚌 Getting Around
Ormoc
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.27 ₱17.23
$0.26 ₫6,694
3.85%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$11.96 ₱753
$11.51 ₫297.9K
3.91%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$0.76 ₱47.78
$0.75 ₫19.5K
1.33%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.25 ₱15.56
$0.67 ₫17.4K
-62.69%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$1.96 ₱123
$3.03 ₫78.5K
-35.31%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.23 ₱77.3
$0.96 ₫24.8K
28.13%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$23.9K ₱1.5M
$31.1K ₫804.3M
-22.93%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$20.4K ₱1.3M
$30.4K ₫785.9M
-32.82%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Ormoc
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$66.2 ₱4,168
$102 ₫2.6M
-35.08%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$15.15 ₱954
$5.89 ₫152.5K
157.22%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$23.66 ₱1,490
$10.49 ₫271.6K
125.55%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Ormoc
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$34.33 ₱2,161
$25.54 ₫661.2K
34.42%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$4.76 ₱300
$11.92 ₫308.5K
-60.07%
Cinema Ticket
$6.14 ₱387
$3.53 ₫91.3K
73.94%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Ormoc
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$135 ₱8,468
$436 ₫11.3M
-69.18%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$9,002 ₱566.8K
$23.3K ₫602.8M
-61.34%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Ormoc
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$32.56 ₱2,050
$52.8 ₫1.4M
-38.27%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$19.67 ₱1,239
$34.15 ₫884.1K
-42.40%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$76.8 ₱4,838
$90.3 ₫2.3M
-14.87%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$55.0 ₱3,463
$95.0 ₫2.5M
-42.09%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Ormoc
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$272 ₱17.1K
$589 ₫15.3M
-53.85%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$159 ₱9,991
$298 ₫7.7M
-46.72%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$203 ₱12.8K
$1,292 ₫33.5M
-84.32%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$342 ₱21.5K
$711 ₫18.4M
-51.89%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$2,570 ₱161.8K
$4,676 ₫121.1M
-45.05%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$1,076 ₱67.7K
$1,904 ₫49.3M
-43.48%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Ormoc
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
-
$490 ₫12.7M
-
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
6.79
8.64
-21.41%

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

Last update for Ormoc: October 12, 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
Ormoc
$174
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
$207 19.4% $34
Accommodation & Living
Ormoc
$159
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
$298 87.7% $139
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Ormoc
$105
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
$118 12.7% $13
Eating Out
Ormoc
$90
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
$63 29.3% $26
Clothing & Footwear
Ormoc
$83
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
$122 47.8% $40
Sport & Entertainment
Ormoc
$47
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
$33 30% $14
Getting Around
Ormoc
$15
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
$17 10.6% $1.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $272 in Ormoc and $589 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $12.00 in Ormoc vs $23.00 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $174 vs $207 per month, with Ormoc cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇵🇭 Ormoc
🇻🇳 Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
🕒 Local time
01:10 1:10 AM
00:10 12:10 AM
1 h behind Ormoc
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
230,998
9,456,700
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

VND, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 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 19, 2026: 1 USD = 25,889 VND (100,000 VND = 3.86 USD). 1 EUR = 29,105 VND (100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Ormoc Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 1,960 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Ormoc
  • 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
Ormoc vs Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon): Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Which city is more expensive, Ormoc or Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)?
Ormoc wins on cost – living expenses run 28% lower than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Ormoc the obvious pick if budget is a priority.
How much do you need to earn to live comfortably in Ormoc and in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)?
You'd need roughly $1,007 in Ormoc and $1,288 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.
How much does a 1-bedroom apartment cost in Ormoc compared to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)?
Rent for a central apartment: $272 in Ormoc versus $589 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
How much does it cost to live in Ormoc compared to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)?
All in, you'll spend $671 per month in Ormoc versus $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) – a 28% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.
How expensive is transport in Ormoc compared to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)?
A monthly transit pass in Ormoc runs roughly 4% less than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.
Can you live on $1,500/month in Ormoc or in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)?
At $671 in Ormoc versus $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), a $1,500 budget is realistic in Ormoc but tight or insufficient in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). The gap between the two cities makes Ormoc the clear choice for anyone on this budget.
Which city is better for digital nomads, Ormoc or Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)?
Both work as nomad bases, but Ormoc delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $671 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Ormoc hard to pass up.
How safe is Ormoc compared to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)?
Safety-wise, Ormoc 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.
Which city is more affordable for expats?
Expats usually find Ormoc gentler on the wallet – expenses run 28% less than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.

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