Last update: Oct 2026

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

For one person, living is cheaper in Rawang: $741 a month against $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), rent and utilities included – about $1,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

36

Cost of Living Index in Rawang
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Rawang 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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Rawang

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$741

/mo nomad

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$859

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $741 in Rawang versus $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Rawang $741
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $859

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,183 in Rawang versus $1,395 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Rawang $1,183
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,395

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,624 in Rawang versus $1,931 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Rawang $1,624
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,931

Living in Rawang costs roughly 14% 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: Rawang 45% lower, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 36% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.75 MYR 15.31

$1.91 ₫49.6K

96.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.68 MYR 80.3

$22.84 ₫591.2K

-13.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.04 MYR 20.55

$4.54 ₫117.6K

11.01%

Cappuccino

$2.99 MYR 12.20

$1.85 ₫48.0K

61.62%

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

$0.83 MYR 3.38

$0.56 ₫14.6K

48.21%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.39 MYR 1.61

$0.32 ₫8,185

21.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.25 MYR 17.33

$1.06 ₫27.5K

300.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.39 MYR 17.89

$1.72 ₫44.5K

155.23%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 MYR 7.96

$1.66 ₫42.9K

17.47%

White Bread (500g)

$1.04 MYR 4.26

$1.11 ₫28.7K

-6.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.76 MYR 7.19

$1.00 ₫25.9K

76.00%

Eggs

$2.23 MYR 9.08

$1.67 ₫43.1K

33.53%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.15 MYR 57.7

$12.08 ₫312.8K

17.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.48 MYR 18.29

$3.68 ₫95.2K

21.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.85 MYR 40.19

$10.24 ₫265.1K

-3.81%

Apples (1kg)

$3.06 MYR 12.49

$2.96 ₫76.5K

3.38%

Banana (1kg)

$1.84 MYR 7.49

$1.24 ₫32.2K

48.39%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.63 MYR 10.73

$1.56 ₫40.3K

68.59%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.44 MYR 5.89

$1.30 ₫33.6K

10.77%

Potato (1kg)

$1.32 MYR 5.37

$1.23 ₫31.9K

7.32%

Onion (1kg)

$1.33 MYR 5.43

$1.15 ₫29.8K

15.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.18 MYR 4.80

$0.74 ₫19.1K

59.46%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.57 MYR 2.34

$0.56 ₫14.4K

1.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.54 MYR 18.53

$1.24 ₫32.1K

266.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.13 MYR 78.1

$12.60 ₫326.1K

51.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.96 MYR 12.09

$0.96 ₫24.9K

208.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.09 MYR 20.75

$1.53 ₫39.6K

232.68%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.77 MYR 3.12

$0.26 ₫6,694

196.15%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.31 MYR 50.2

$11.51 ₫297.9K

6.95%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.66 MYR 6.77

$0.75 ₫19.5K

121.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.37 MYR 1.52

$0.67 ₫17.4K

-44.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.88 MYR 28.05

$3.03 ₫78.5K

127.06%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.89 MYR 3.64

$0.96 ₫24.8K

-7.29%

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

$42.4K MYR 173.0K

$31.1K ₫804.3M

36.50%

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

$34.7K MYR 141.4K

$30.4K ₫785.9M

14.17%

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

$36.56 MYR 149

$102 ₫2.6M

-64.15%

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

$9.78 MYR 39.90

$5.89 ₫152.5K

66.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.31 MYR 120

$10.49 ₫271.6K

179.41%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.87 MYR 163

$25.54 ₫661.2K

56.11%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.13 MYR 29.08

$11.92 ₫308.5K

-40.18%

Cinema Ticket

$4.90 MYR 19.99

$3.53 ₫91.3K

38.81%

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

$301 MYR 1,227

$436 ₫11.3M

-31.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.9K MYR 44.6K

$23.3K ₫602.8M

-53.07%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$59.8 MYR 244

$52.8 ₫1.4M

13.29%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.75 MYR 146

$34.15 ₫884.1K

4.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.6 MYR 337

$90.3 ₫2.3M

-8.50%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$70.9 MYR 289

$95.0 ₫2.5M

-25.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$140 MYR 569

$589 ₫15.3M

-76.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$103 MYR 421

$298 ₫7.7M

-65.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$577 MYR 2,354

$1,292 ₫33.5M

-55.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$232 MYR 945

$711 ₫18.4M

-67.39%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,051 MYR 8,368

$4,676 ₫121.1M

-56.14%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,090 MYR 4,445

$1,904 ₫49.3M

-42.77%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,035 MYR 4,223

$490 ₫12.7M

111.42%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.18

8.64

-51.62%

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

Last update for Rawang: 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.

Groceries & Markets

Rawang

$266 35.9%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$207 24.1% 22% $59

Eating Out

Rawang

$116 15.6%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$63 7.4% 45.3% $52

Clothing & Footwear

Rawang

$112 15.1%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$122 14.3% 9.3% $10

Accommodation & Living

Rawang

$103 13.9%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$298 34.7% 188% $195

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rawang

$76 10.2%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$118 13.8% 56.5% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Rawang

$50 6.7%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$33 3.8% 34.4% $17

Getting Around

Rawang

$19 2.6%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$17 1.9% 11.9% $2.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $140 in Rawang and $589 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Rawang pays 111% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $20.00 in Rawang vs $23.00 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Groceries flip the comparison at $266 vs $207, with Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Rawang

🇻🇳 Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🕒 Local time

10:45 10:45 AM

09:45 9:45 AM

1 h behind Rawang

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

50,000

9,456,700

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.218 EUR

100,000 VND = 3.86 USD

100,000 VND = 3.44 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 18, 2026: 1 USD = 4.08 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.59 MYR (1 MYR = 0.218 EUR).

Vietnamese Dong exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 25,889 VND (100,000 VND = 3.86 USD). 1 EUR = 29,105 VND (100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR).

USD to MYR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Rawang Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 1,000 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Rawang
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

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

Rawang wins on cost – living expenses run 16% lower than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Rawang the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 111% higher in Rawang, 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: $140 in Rawang 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 $741 per month in Rawang versus $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) – a 16% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Rawang 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.

At $741 in Rawang versus $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), a $1,000 budget is realistic in Rawang but tight or insufficient in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). The gap between the two cities makes Rawang the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Rawang delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $741 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Rawang hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Rawang 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 Rawang gentler on the wallet – expenses run 16% less than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.