Last update: Oct 2026

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

For one person, living is cheaper in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon): $862 a month against $1,017 in Taguig City, rent and utilities included – about $1,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

49

Cost of Living Index in Taguig City
Learn more

Taguig City Living Index
42

Cost of Living Index in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
Learn more

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) Living Index

Jump to prices

Taguig City

🇵🇭 Philippines

$1,017

/mo nomad

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$862

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,017 in Taguig City versus $862 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Taguig City $1,017
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $862

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,533 in Taguig City versus $1,410 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Taguig City $1,533
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,410

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,049 in Taguig City versus $1,958 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Taguig City $2,049
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,958

Living in Taguig City is roughly 18% more expensive than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Taguig City 25% lower, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 36% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.90 ₱246

$1.98 ₫51.3K

96.97%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$26.47 ₱1,666

$23.14 ₫599.0K

14.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.09 ₱195

$4.76 ₫123.2K

-35.08%

Cappuccino

$2.47 ₱156

$1.86 ₫48.1K

32.80%

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

$0.74 ₱46.34

$0.51 ₫13.3K

45.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.44 ₱27.39

$0.32 ₫8,191

37.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.20 ₱75.6

$1.03 ₫26.7K

16.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.39 ₱151

$1.71 ₫44.4K

39.77%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 ₱121

$1.58 ₫40.8K

21.52%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 ₱90.7

$1.09 ₫28.3K

32.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.88 ₱55.4

$1.05 ₫27.2K

-16.19%

Eggs

$1.77 ₱112

$1.64 ₫42.6K

7.93%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.13 ₱323

$12.33 ₫319.2K

-58.39%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.59 ₱289

$3.58 ₫92.6K

28.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.01 ₱504

$10.56 ₫273.3K

-24.15%

Apples (1kg)

$2.29 ₱144

$2.97 ₫76.9K

-22.90%

Banana (1kg)

$1.82 ₱115

$1.26 ₫32.7K

44.44%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.74 ₱173

$1.62 ₫42.0K

69.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.06 ₱67.0

$1.31 ₫33.8K

-19.08%

Potato (1kg)

$1.66 ₱104

$1.19 ₫30.8K

39.50%

Onion (1kg)

$2.66 ₱168

$1.14 ₫29.6K

133.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.60 ₱101

$0.73 ₫18.8K

119.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ₱34.73

$0.56 ₫14.6K

-1.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.92 ₱184

$1.28 ₫33.0K

128.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.67 ₱546

$12.46 ₫322.5K

-30.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 ₱80.6

$0.96 ₫24.9K

33.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.00 ₱126

$1.48 ₫38.3K

35.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.20 ₱12.57

$0.26 ₫6,704

-23.08%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.43 ₫296.0K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.78 ₱49.42

$0.68 ₫17.7K

14.71%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.45

$0.62 ₫16.1K

-62.90%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.92 ₱121

$3.00 ₫77.7K

-36.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.25 ₱78.7

$0.91 ₫23.5K

37.36%

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

$21.2K ₱1.3M

$30.6K ₫791.4M

-30.66%

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

$19.4K ₱1.2M

$29.4K ₫760.1M

-34.09%

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

$110 ₱6,907

$104 ₫2.7M

5.71%

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

$15.53 ₱978

$5.79 ₫149.9K

168.22%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.08 ₱1,453

$10.48 ₫271.3K

120.23%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.31 ₱2,538

$26.08 ₫675.1K

54.56%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.90 ₫308.1K

Cinema Ticket

$6.58 ₱414

$3.89 ₫100.7K

69.15%

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

$133 ₱8,378

$440 ₫11.4M

-69.75%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,811 ₱554.7K

$24.1K ₫622.7M

-63.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$40.50 ₱2,550

$50.9 ₫1.3M

-20.45%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$27.26 ₱1,716

$35.18 ₫910.8K

-22.51%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$66.8 ₱4,207

$92.1 ₫2.4M

-27.46%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$58.4 ₱3,674

$96.5 ₫2.5M

-39.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$624 ₱39.3K

$582 ₫15.1M

7.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$443 ₱27.9K

$297 ₫7.7M

49.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,553 ₱160.8K

$1,298 ₫33.6M

96.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$819 ₱51.6K

$727 ₫18.8M

12.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,934 ₱247.7K

$4,782 ₫123.8M

-17.73%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,346 ₱84.7K

$1,853 ₫48.0M

-27.39%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$467 ₱29.4K

$490 ₫12.7M

-4.62%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.83

8.64

-20.95%

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

Last update for Taguig City: October 18, 2026

Last update for Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon): October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Taguig City

$443 43.6%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$297 34.4% 33.1% $147

Groceries & Markets

Taguig City

$196 19.3%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$208 24.1% 5.8% $11

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Taguig City

$148 14.6%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$120 13.9% 19.1% $28

Clothing & Footwear

Taguig City

$87 8.5%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$124 14.3% 42.4% $37

Eating Out

Taguig City

$86 8.4%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$64 7.5% 24.9% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Taguig City

$53 5.3%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$34 3.9% 36.7% $20

Getting Around

Taguig City

$2.7 * 0.3%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$16 1.9% 496% $14

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $624 in Taguig City and $582 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) pays 5% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $26.00 in Taguig City vs $23.00 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Groceries flip the comparison at $196 vs $208, with Taguig City cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Taguig City

🇻🇳 Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🕒 Local time

06:34 6:34 AM

05:34 5:34 AM

1 h behind Taguig City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

47,397

9,456,700

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

100,000 VND = 3.86 USD

100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

VND, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 22, 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 22, 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 PHP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Taguig City Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 1,610 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Taguig City
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

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

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) wins on cost – living expenses run 18% lower than in Taguig City. 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.

On paper, salaries run 5% lower in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $624 in Taguig City versus $582 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Taguig City pay roughly 6% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $1,017 per month in Taguig City versus $862 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) – a 18% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $862 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $1,017 in Taguig City, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) but tight or insufficient in Taguig City. 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 $862 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, Taguig City 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 18% less than in Taguig City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.