Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Qingdao, Shandong and Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

For one person, living is cheaper in Qingdao, Shandong: $756 a month against $855 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), rent and utilities included – about $1,200 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

37

Cost of Living Index in Qingdao, Shandong
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Qingdao, Shandong 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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Qingdao, Shandong

🇨🇳 China

$756

/mo nomad

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$855

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $756 in Qingdao, Shandong versus $855 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Qingdao, Shandong $756
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $855

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,233 in Qingdao, Shandong versus $1,400 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Qingdao, Shandong $1,233
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,400

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,709 in Qingdao, Shandong versus $1,944 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Qingdao, Shandong $1,709
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,944

Living in Qingdao, Shandong costs roughly 12% less than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Qingdao, Shandong 44% lower, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 36% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.91 ¥19.43

$1.90 ₫49.1K

53.16%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$17.98 ¥120

$23.32 ₫603.5K

-22.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.46 ¥29.79

$4.67 ₫120.9K

-4.50%

Cappuccino

$2.66 ¥17.78

$1.85 ₫47.9K

43.78%

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

$0.54 ¥3.64

$0.56 ₫14.4K

-3.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.32 ¥2.15

$0.34 ₫8,857

-5.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.11 ¥7.42

$1.01 ₫26.2K

9.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 ¥17.82

$1.69 ₫43.7K

57.99%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.91 ¥12.73

$1.58 ₫40.8K

20.89%

White Bread (500g)

$1.35 ¥9.05

$1.04 ₫27.0K

29.81%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.97 ¥6.50

$0.99 ₫25.7K

-2.02%

Eggs

$1.29 ¥8.63

$1.60 ₫41.5K

-19.38%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.27 ¥109

$12.23 ₫316.6K

33.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.36 ¥29.12

$3.54 ₫91.7K

23.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.66 ¥64.6

$10.44 ₫270.2K

-7.47%

Apples (1kg)

$1.41 ¥9.43

$3.09 ₫79.9K

-54.37%

Banana (1kg)

$1.20 ¥7.99

$1.26 ₫32.5K

-4.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.73 ¥11.55

$1.57 ₫40.6K

10.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.26 ¥8.39

$1.26 ₫32.5K

Potato (1kg)

$0.68 ¥4.53

$1.17 ₫30.4K

-41.88%

Onion (1kg)

$0.96 ¥6.44

$1.15 ₫29.7K

-16.52%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.94 ¥6.26

$0.72 ₫18.7K

30.56%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.61 ¥4.09

$0.54 ₫14.0K

12.96%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.79 ¥25.34

$1.22 ₫31.5K

210.66%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.69 ¥98.2

$12.28 ₫317.8K

19.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.01 ¥6.75

$0.98 ₫25.4K

3.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.57 ¥10.50

$1.49 ₫38.5K

5.37%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 ¥2.10

$0.28 ₫7,249

10.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$18.25 ¥122

$11.62 ₫300.8K

57.06%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.50 ¥10.03

$0.73 ₫18.9K

105.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.41 ¥2.74

$0.64 ₫16.7K

-35.94%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.06 ¥60.5

$3.17 ₫82.0K

185.80%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ¥8.74

$0.95 ₫24.6K

37.89%

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

$19.1K ¥127.4K

$30.7K ₫795.6M

-38.01%

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

$16.6K ¥110.7K

$30.6K ₫791.6M

-45.85%

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

$69.2 ¥463

$102 ₫2.6M

-32.33%

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

$6.73 ¥44.95

$5.65 ₫146.1K

19.12%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$7.73 ¥51.7

$10.52 ₫272.2K

-26.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$20.95 ¥140

$25.86 ₫669.2K

-18.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.21 ¥122

$11.82 ₫305.9K

54.06%

Cinema Ticket

$6.25 ¥41.79

$3.39 ₫87.8K

84.37%

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

$365 ¥2,439

$438 ₫11.3M

-16.63%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K ¥117.4K

$23.3K ₫603.1M

-24.65%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.5 ¥351

$51.5 ₫1.3M

1.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.25 ¥329

$34.56 ₫894.3K

42.51%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$93.9 ¥628

$91.3 ₫2.4M

2.82%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.2 ¥609

$94.9 ₫2.5M

-3.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$353 ¥2,362

$577 ₫14.9M

-38.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$199 ¥1,328

$292 ₫7.6M

-31.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$757 ¥5,056

$1,293 ₫33.5M

-41.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$418 ¥2,796

$717 ₫18.6M

-41.65%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,573 ¥23.9K

$4,714 ₫122.0M

-24.21%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,172 ¥14.5K

$1,882 ₫48.7M

15.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,196 ¥7,995

$486 ₫12.6M

146.29%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.37

8.64

-61.00%

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

Last update for Qingdao, Shandong: 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.

Groceries & Markets

Qingdao, Shandong

$221 28.7%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$206 24.1% 7.1% $16

Accommodation & Living

Qingdao, Shandong

$199 25.7%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$292 34.3% 47% $93

Clothing & Footwear

Qingdao, Shandong

$129 16.7%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$123 14.4% 5.1% $6.5

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Qingdao, Shandong

$84 10.8%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$118 13.9% 41.5% $35

Eating Out

Qingdao, Shandong

$83 10.7%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$63 7.5% 23.4% $19

Sport & Entertainment

Qingdao, Shandong

$33 4.3%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$33 3.8% 2.5% $0.8

Getting Around

Qingdao, Shandong

$23 3%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$17 2% 27.6% $6.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $353 in Qingdao, Shandong and $577 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Qingdao, Shandong pays 146% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $18.00 in Qingdao, Shandong vs $23.00 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Groceries flip the comparison at $221 vs $206, with Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Qingdao, Shandong

🇻🇳 Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🕒 Local time

17:59 5:59 PM

16:59 4:59 PM

1 h behind Qingdao, Shandong

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

10,071,722

9,456,700

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.134 EUR

100,000 VND = 3.86 USD

100,000 VND = 3.45 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

VND, USD, EUR to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 6.68 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.49 CNY (1 CNY = 0.134 EUR).

Vietnamese Dong exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 25,879 VND (100,000 VND = 3.86 USD). 1 EUR = 28,999 VND (100,000 VND = 3.45 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Qingdao, Shandong Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 3,130 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Qingdao, Shandong
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

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

Qingdao, Shandong wins on cost – living expenses run 13% lower than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Qingdao, Shandong the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 146% higher in Qingdao, Shandong, 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: $353 in Qingdao, Shandong 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 $756 per month in Qingdao, Shandong versus $855 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) – a 13% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Qingdao, Shandong runs roughly 57% 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 $756 in Qingdao, Shandong versus $855 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), a $1,500 budget is realistic in Qingdao, Shandong but tight or insufficient in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). The gap between the two cities makes Qingdao, Shandong the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Qingdao, Shandong delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $756 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Qingdao, Shandong hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Qingdao, Shandong 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 Qingdao, Shandong gentler on the wallet – expenses run 13% less than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.