Last update: Oct 2026

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

For one person, living costs are similar in Tawau and in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon): $888 and $862 a month, rent and utilities included.

45

Cost of Living Index in Tawau
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Tawau 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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Tawau

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$888

/mo nomad

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$862

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $888 in Tawau versus $862 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Tawau $888
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $862

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,354 in Tawau versus $1,410 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Tawau $1,354
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,410

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,820 in Tawau versus $1,958 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Tawau $1,820
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,958

Living in Tawau is roughly 3% more expensive than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Tawau 34% lower, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 36% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.14 MYR 12.80

$1.98 ₫51.3K

58.59%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.22 MYR 78.4

$23.14 ₫599.0K

-16.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.21 MYR 17.19

$4.76 ₫123.2K

-11.55%

Cappuccino

$3.15 MYR 12.86

$1.86 ₫48.1K

69.35%

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

$0.95 MYR 3.86

$0.51 ₫13.3K

86.27%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.36 MYR 1.46

$0.32 ₫8,191

12.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.66 MYR 10.83

$1.03 ₫26.7K

158.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.52 MYR 18.45

$1.71 ₫44.4K

164.33%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 MYR 7.10

$1.58 ₫40.8K

10.13%

White Bread (500g)

$1.00 MYR 4.09

$1.09 ₫28.3K

-8.26%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.49 MYR 6.06

$1.05 ₫27.2K

41.90%

Eggs

$2.16 MYR 8.80

$1.64 ₫42.6K

31.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.36 MYR 58.6

$12.33 ₫319.2K

16.46%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.35 MYR 17.75

$3.58 ₫92.6K

21.51%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.83 MYR 40.10

$10.56 ₫273.3K

-6.91%

Apples (1kg)

$3.04 MYR 12.41

$2.97 ₫76.9K

2.36%

Banana (1kg)

$1.67 MYR 6.83

$1.26 ₫32.7K

32.54%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.48 MYR 10.13

$1.62 ₫42.0K

53.09%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.49 MYR 6.10

$1.31 ₫33.8K

13.74%

Potato (1kg)

$1.31 MYR 5.32

$1.19 ₫30.8K

10.08%

Onion (1kg)

$1.21 MYR 4.94

$1.14 ₫29.6K

6.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 MYR 4.37

$0.73 ₫18.8K

46.58%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.57 MYR 2.31

$0.56 ₫14.6K

1.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.48 MYR 18.30

$1.28 ₫33.0K

250.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.05 MYR 77.7

$12.46 ₫322.5K

52.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.02 MYR 12.32

$0.96 ₫24.9K

214.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.98 MYR 20.32

$1.48 ₫38.3K

236.49%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.70 MYR 2.84

$0.26 ₫6,704

169.23%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.41 MYR 50.6

$11.43 ₫296.0K

8.57%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.25 MYR 5.11

$0.68 ₫17.7K

83.82%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.48 MYR 1.97

$0.62 ₫16.1K

-22.58%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.98 MYR 28.49

$3.00 ₫77.7K

132.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.87 MYR 3.57

$0.91 ₫23.5K

-4.40%

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

$50.2K MYR 204.8K

$30.6K ₫791.4M

64.22%

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

$36.0K MYR 146.9K

$29.4K ₫760.1M

22.66%

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

$49.37 MYR 201

$104 ₫2.7M

-52.42%

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

$10.55 MYR 43.02

$5.79 ₫149.9K

82.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.74 MYR 117

$10.48 ₫271.3K

174.24%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.34 MYR 177

$26.08 ₫675.1K

66.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.82 MYR 27.83

$11.90 ₫308.1K

-42.69%

Cinema Ticket

$3.77 MYR 15.39

$3.89 ₫100.7K

-3.08%

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

$183 MYR 746

$440 ₫11.4M

-58.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,623 MYR 31.1K

$24.1K ₫622.7M

-68.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$58.9 MYR 240

$50.9 ₫1.3M

15.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.06 MYR 135

$35.18 ₫910.8K

-6.03%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.3 MYR 303

$92.1 ₫2.4M

-19.32%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.2 MYR 360

$96.5 ₫2.5M

-8.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$387 MYR 1,578

$582 ₫15.1M

-33.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$253 MYR 1,030

$297 ₫7.7M

-14.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$596 MYR 2,433

$1,298 ₫33.6M

-54.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$447 MYR 1,823

$727 ₫18.8M

-38.55%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,936 MYR 7,900

$4,782 ₫123.8M

-59.51%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,216 MYR 4,962

$1,853 ₫48.0M

-34.36%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$418 MYR 1,707

$490 ₫12.7M

-14.60%

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 Tawau: October 17, 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.

Groceries & Markets

Tawau

$260 29.2%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$208 24.1% 20% $52

Accommodation & Living

Tawau

$253 28.4%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$297 34.4% 17.4% $44

Clothing & Footwear

Tawau

$114 12.9%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$124 14.3% 8% $9.1

Eating Out

Tawau

$103 11.6%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$64 7.5% 37.6% $39

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tawau

$89 10%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$120 13.9% 35.4% $31

Sport & Entertainment

Tawau

$51 5.7%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$34 3.9% 33.5% $17

Getting Around

Tawau

$19 2.1%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$16 1.9% 13.8% $2.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $387 in Tawau 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 17% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $19.00 in Tawau vs $23.00 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Groceries flip the comparison at $260 vs $208, with Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Tawau

🇻🇳 Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🕒 Local time

06:14 6:14 AM

05:14 5:14 AM

1 h behind Tawau

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

420,806

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 20, 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 20, 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

Tawau Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 1,430 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Tawau
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

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

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) wins on cost – living expenses run 3% lower than in Tawau. 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 17% 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: $387 in Tawau versus $582 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 $888 per month in Tawau versus $862 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) – a 3% 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 9% less than in Tawau. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $862 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $888 in Tawau, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) but tight or insufficient in Tawau. 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, Tawau 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 3% less than in Tawau. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.