Last update: Oct 2026

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

For one person, living costs are similar in Sentul and in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon): $878 and $859 a month, rent and utilities included.

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Cost of Living Index in Sentul
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Sentul 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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Sentul

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$878

/mo nomad

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$859

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $878 in Sentul versus $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Sentul $878
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $859

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,334 in Sentul versus $1,395 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Sentul $1,334
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,395

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,790 in Sentul versus $1,931 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Sentul $1,790
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,931

Living in Sentul is roughly 2% more expensive 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: Sentul 35% lower, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 36% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.64 MYR 14.84

$1.91 ₫49.6K

90.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$22.09 MYR 90.1

$22.84 ₫591.2K

-3.28%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.03 MYR 20.53

$4.54 ₫117.6K

10.79%

Cappuccino

$2.99 MYR 12.21

$1.85 ₫48.0K

61.62%

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

$0.83 MYR 3.40

$0.56 ₫14.6K

48.21%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.51 MYR 2.10

$0.32 ₫8,185

59.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.28 MYR 13.38

$1.06 ₫27.5K

209.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.87 MYR 23.93

$1.72 ₫44.5K

241.28%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 MYR 6.92

$1.66 ₫42.9K

2.41%

White Bread (500g)

$1.03 MYR 4.21

$1.11 ₫28.7K

-7.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MYR 5.80

$1.00 ₫25.9K

42.00%

Eggs

$1.74 MYR 7.11

$1.67 ₫43.1K

4.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.66 MYR 39.39

$12.08 ₫312.8K

-20.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.17 MYR 12.94

$3.68 ₫95.2K

-13.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.45 MYR 38.56

$10.24 ₫265.1K

-7.71%

Apples (1kg)

$3.25 MYR 13.26

$2.96 ₫76.5K

9.80%

Banana (1kg)

$1.68 MYR 6.87

$1.24 ₫32.2K

35.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 MYR 10.81

$1.56 ₫40.3K

69.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.60 MYR 6.53

$1.30 ₫33.6K

23.08%

Potato (1kg)

$1.46 MYR 5.97

$1.23 ₫31.9K

18.70%

Onion (1kg)

$1.64 MYR 6.70

$1.15 ₫29.8K

42.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.32 MYR 5.38

$0.74 ₫19.1K

78.38%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 MYR 2.08

$0.56 ₫14.4K

-8.93%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.16 MYR 16.99

$1.24 ₫32.1K

235.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.89 MYR 56.7

$12.60 ₫326.1K

10.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.65 MYR 10.81

$0.96 ₫24.9K

176.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.11 MYR 12.68

$1.53 ₫39.6K

103.27%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.81 MYR 3.31

$0.26 ₫6,694

211.54%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.06 MYR 49.19

$11.51 ₫297.9K

4.78%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.96 MYR 3.91

$0.75 ₫19.5K

28.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.38 MYR 1.57

$0.67 ₫17.4K

-43.28%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.97 MYR 36.60

$3.03 ₫78.5K

196.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.87 MYR 3.54

$0.96 ₫24.8K

-9.37%

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

$41.2K MYR 168.2K

$31.1K ₫804.3M

32.68%

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

$32.5K MYR 132.7K

$30.4K ₫785.9M

7.17%

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

$49.70 MYR 203

$102 ₫2.6M

-51.26%

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

$8.10 MYR 33.04

$5.89 ₫152.5K

37.52%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.39 MYR 112

$10.49 ₫271.6K

161.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.09 MYR 168

$25.54 ₫661.2K

60.88%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.45 MYR 30.40

$11.92 ₫308.5K

-37.50%

Cinema Ticket

$5.04 MYR 20.57

$3.53 ₫91.3K

42.78%

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

$161 MYR 658

$436 ₫11.3M

-63.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,446 MYR 18.1K

$23.3K ₫602.8M

-80.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$50.5 MYR 206

$52.8 ₫1.4M

-4.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$16.38 MYR 66.8

$34.15 ₫884.1K

-52.04%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.1 MYR 315

$90.3 ₫2.3M

-14.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.6 MYR 349

$95.0 ₫2.5M

-9.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$348 MYR 1,419

$589 ₫15.3M

-40.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$282 MYR 1,150

$298 ₫7.7M

-5.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$707 MYR 2,883

$1,292 ₫33.5M

-45.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$484 MYR 1,976

$711 ₫18.4M

-31.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,147 MYR 8,759

$4,676 ₫121.1M

-54.08%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,058 MYR 4,315

$1,904 ₫49.3M

-44.44%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$890 MYR 3,631

$490 ₫12.7M

81.81%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.06

8.64

-53.01%

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

Last update for Sentul: 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

Sentul

$282 32.1%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$298 34.7% 5.6% $16

Groceries & Markets

Sentul

$224 25.6%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$207 24.1% 7.6% $17

Eating Out

Sentul

$114 12.9%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$63 7.4% 44.2% $50

Clothing & Footwear

Sentul

$103 11.8%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$122 14.3% 18.5% $19

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sentul

$85 9.7%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$118 13.8% 38.9% $33

Sport & Entertainment

Sentul

$51 5.8%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$33 3.8% 36.3% $19

Getting Around

Sentul

$18 2.1%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$17 1.9% 8.4% $1.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $348 in Sentul and $589 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sentul pays 82% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $22.00 in Sentul vs $23.00 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Groceries flip the comparison at $224 vs $207, with Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Sentul

🇻🇳 Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🕒 Local time

14:08 2:08 PM

13:08 1:08 PM

1 h behind Sentul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

100,000

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

Sentul Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 1,010 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Sentul
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

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

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) wins on cost – living expenses run 2% lower than in Sentul. 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 82% higher in Sentul, 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: $348 in Sentul 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 $878 per month in Sentul versus $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) – a 2% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) runs roughly 5% less than in Sentul. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $878 in Sentul, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) but tight or insufficient in Sentul. The gap between the two cities makes Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $859 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Sentul 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 Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) gentler on the wallet – expenses run 2% less than in Sentul. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.