Last update: Oct 2026

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

For one person, living is cheaper in Quanzhou: $815 a month against $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), rent and utilities included – about $530 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

40

Cost of Living Index in Quanzhou
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Quanzhou 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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Quanzhou

🇨🇳 China

$815

/mo nomad

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$859

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $815 in Quanzhou versus $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Quanzhou $815
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $859

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,204 in Quanzhou versus $1,395 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Quanzhou $1,204
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,395

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,593 in Quanzhou versus $1,931 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Quanzhou $1,593
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,931

Living in Quanzhou costs roughly 5% less than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Quanzhou 40% lower, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 36% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.20 ¥14.68

$1.91 ₫49.5K

15.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.02 ¥201

$22.84 ₫590.9K

31.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.48 ¥43.31

$4.54 ₫117.5K

42.73%

Cappuccino

$3.26 ¥21.80

$1.85 ₫48.0K

76.22%

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

$0.96 ¥6.39

$0.56 ₫14.6K

71.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 ¥1.79

$0.32 ₫8,180

-15.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.95 ¥19.68

$1.06 ₫27.5K

178.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 ¥11.71

$1.72 ₫44.5K

1.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.45 ¥9.71

$1.66 ₫42.8K

-12.65%

White Bread (500g)

$0.86 ¥5.73

$1.11 ₫28.6K

-22.52%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.93 ¥6.23

$1.00 ₫25.9K

-7.00%

Eggs

$1.53 ¥10.26

$1.67 ₫43.1K

-8.38%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.68 ¥51.3

$12.08 ₫312.6K

-36.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.30 ¥15.34

$3.68 ₫95.1K

-37.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$5.12 ¥34.22

$10.24 ₫264.9K

-50.00%

Apples (1kg)

$1.46 ¥9.73

$2.96 ₫76.5K

-50.68%

Banana (1kg)

$0.99 ¥6.61

$1.24 ₫32.1K

-20.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.72 ¥4.80

$1.56 ₫40.3K

-53.85%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.08 ¥7.20

$1.30 ₫33.5K

-16.92%

Potato (1kg)

$0.46 ¥3.10

$1.23 ₫31.8K

-62.60%

Onion (1kg)

$1.05 ¥6.99

$1.15 ₫29.8K

-8.70%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.16 ¥1.09

$0.74 ₫19.1K

-78.38%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.48 ¥3.17

$0.56 ₫14.4K

-14.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.15 ¥21.06

$1.24 ₫32.1K

154.03%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.67 ¥51.2

$12.60 ₫325.9K

-39.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 ¥5.91

$0.96 ₫24.9K

-8.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.38 ¥9.19

$1.53 ₫39.5K

-9.80%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 ¥2.07

$0.26 ₫6,690

19.23%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$23.44 ¥157

$11.51 ₫297.7K

103.65%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.22 ¥8.17

$0.75 ₫19.5K

62.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.35 ¥2.34

$0.67 ₫17.3K

-47.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.01 ¥60.2

$3.03 ₫78.5K

197.36%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.25 ¥8.35

$0.96 ₫24.8K

30.21%

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

$17.6K ¥117.5K

$31.1K ₫803.8M

-43.38%

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

$15.7K ¥104.8K

$30.4K ₫785.4M

-48.31%

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

$52.8 ¥353

$102 ₫2.6M

-48.26%

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

$7.95 ¥53.1

$5.89 ₫152.4K

34.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$12.15 ¥81.2

$10.49 ₫271.5K

15.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.4 ¥363

$25.54 ₫660.8K

113.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.63 ¥124

$11.92 ₫308.3K

56.29%

Cinema Ticket

$5.83 ¥38.92

$3.53 ₫91.3K

65.16%

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

$514 ¥3,435

$436 ₫11.3M

17.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.8K ¥78.9K

$23.3K ₫602.4M

-49.28%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$20.64 ¥138

$52.8 ₫1.4M

-60.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.07 ¥228

$34.15 ₫883.6K

-0.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.7 ¥619

$90.3 ₫2.3M

2.70%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$96.5 ¥645

$95.0 ₫2.5M

1.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$277 ¥1,849

$589 ₫15.3M

-53.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$303 ¥2,025

$298 ₫7.7M

1.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$503 ¥3,358

$1,292 ₫33.4M

-61.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$410 ¥2,740

$711 ₫18.4M

-42.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,004 ¥20.1K

$4,676 ₫121.0M

-35.77%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,008 ¥13.4K

$1,904 ₫49.3M

5.49%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$829 ¥5,540

$490 ₫12.7M

69.37%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.15

8.64

-63.54%

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

Last update for Quanzhou: October 11, 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

Quanzhou

$303 37.2%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$298 34.7% 1.7% $5.2

Groceries & Markets

Quanzhou

$137 16.8%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$207 24.1% 51.6% $71

Clothing & Footwear

Quanzhou

$110 13.5%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$122 14.3% 11.6% $13

Eating Out

Quanzhou

$99 12.2%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$63 7.4% 36.1% $36

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Quanzhou

$73 8.9%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$118 13.8% 62.4% $45

Sport & Entertainment

Quanzhou

$66 8.1%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$33 3.8% 50.6% $33

Getting Around

Quanzhou

$28 3.4%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$17 1.9% 39.8% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $277 in Quanzhou and $589 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Quanzhou pays 69% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $30.00 in Quanzhou vs $23.00 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Groceries flip the comparison at $137 vs $207, with Quanzhou cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Quanzhou

🇻🇳 Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🕒 Local time

19:35 7:35 PM

18:35 6:35 PM

1 h behind Quanzhou

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,128,530

9,456,700

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

100,000 VND = 3.87 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 16, 2026: 1 USD = 6.68 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.49 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

Vietnamese Dong exchange rates as of October 16, 2026: 1 USD = 25,872 VND (100,000 VND = 3.87 USD). 1 EUR = 29,017 VND (100,000 VND = 3.45 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Quanzhou Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 2,010 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Quanzhou
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

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

Quanzhou wins on cost – living expenses run 5% lower than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Quanzhou the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 69% higher in Quanzhou, 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: $277 in Quanzhou versus $589 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 $815 per month in Quanzhou versus $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) – a 5% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Quanzhou runs roughly 104% 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 $815 in Quanzhou versus $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), a $2,000 budget is realistic in Quanzhou but tight or insufficient in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). The gap between the two cities makes Quanzhou the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Quanzhou delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $815 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Quanzhou hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Quanzhou 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 Quanzhou gentler on the wallet – expenses run 5% less than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.