Last update: Oct 2026

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

For one person, living is cheaper in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon): $859 a month against $1,663 in Tokyo, rent and utilities included – about $9,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Tokyo
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Tokyo Living Index
42

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

Jump to prices

Tokyo

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,663

/mo nomad

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$859

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,663 in Tokyo versus $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Tokyo $1,663
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $859

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,592 in Tokyo versus $1,395 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Tokyo $2,592
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,395

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,521 in Tokyo versus $1,931 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Tokyo $3,521
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,931

Living in Tokyo is roughly 94% more expensive than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Tokyo is 23% above, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) is 36% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.47 ¥1,180

$1.91 ₫49.6K

291.10%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.48 ¥5,921

$22.84 ₫591.2K

64.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.90 ¥774

$4.54 ₫117.6K

7.93%

Cappuccino

$3.62 ¥571

$1.85 ₫48.0K

95.68%

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

$1.66 ¥262

$0.56 ₫14.6K

196.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 ¥133

$0.32 ₫8,185

162.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.69 ¥582

$1.06 ₫27.5K

248.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.24 ¥829

$1.72 ₫44.5K

204.65%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.49 ¥236

$1.66 ₫42.9K

-10.24%

White Bread (500g)

$1.75 ¥276

$1.11 ₫28.7K

57.66%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$5.63 ¥889

$1.00 ₫25.9K

463.00%

Eggs

$2.20 ¥348

$1.67 ₫43.1K

31.74%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.19 ¥1,767

$12.08 ₫312.8K

-7.37%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.84 ¥1,081

$3.68 ₫95.2K

85.87%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.61 ¥2,624

$10.24 ₫265.1K

62.21%

Apples (1kg)

$4.80 ¥759

$2.96 ₫76.5K

62.16%

Banana (1kg)

$2.24 ¥354

$1.24 ₫32.2K

80.65%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.22 ¥666

$1.56 ₫40.3K

170.51%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.20 ¥821

$1.30 ₫33.6K

300.00%

Potato (1kg)

$3.29 ¥520

$1.23 ₫31.9K

167.48%

Onion (1kg)

$3.05 ¥481

$1.15 ₫29.8K

165.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ¥188

$0.74 ₫19.1K

60.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.81 ¥129

$0.56 ₫14.4K

44.64%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.92 ¥619

$1.24 ₫32.1K

216.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.65 ¥1,524

$12.60 ₫326.1K

-23.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 ¥258

$0.96 ₫24.9K

69.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.70 ¥426

$1.53 ₫39.6K

76.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.25 ¥197

$0.26 ₫6,694

380.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$63.9 ¥10.1K

$11.51 ₫297.9K

455.00%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.13 ¥494

$0.75 ₫19.5K

317.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.21 ¥507

$0.67 ₫17.4K

379.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.55 ¥2,931

$3.03 ₫78.5K

512.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.05 ¥166

$0.96 ₫24.8K

9.38%

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

$21.5K ¥3.4M

$31.1K ₫804.3M

-30.64%

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

$15.2K ¥2.4M

$30.4K ₫785.9M

-50.06%

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

$149 ¥23.5K

$102 ₫2.6M

45.63%

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

$21.59 ¥3,412

$5.89 ₫152.5K

266.55%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.62 ¥4,837

$10.49 ₫271.6K

191.90%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$66.7 ¥10.5K

$25.54 ₫661.2K

161.04%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.58 ¥4,042

$11.92 ₫308.5K

114.60%

Cinema Ticket

$12.68 ¥2,004

$3.53 ₫91.3K

259.21%

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

$1,350 ¥213.3K

$436 ₫11.3M

209.40%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.9K ¥2.8M

$23.3K ₫602.8M

-23.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.0 ¥8,853

$52.8 ₫1.4M

6.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.14 ¥5,236

$34.15 ₫884.1K

-2.96%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$64.3 ¥10.2K

$90.3 ₫2.3M

-28.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$70.2 ¥11.1K

$95.0 ₫2.5M

-26.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,253 ¥197.9K

$589 ₫15.3M

112.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$700 ¥110.6K

$298 ₫7.7M

135.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,502 ¥395.3K

$1,292 ₫33.5M

93.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,430 ¥225.9K

$711 ₫18.4M

101.21%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$9,428 ¥1.5M

$4,676 ₫121.1M

101.62%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,236 ¥669.3K

$1,904 ₫49.3M

122.53%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,998 ¥473.7K

$490 ₫12.7M

512.43%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.25

8.64

-73.96%

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

Last update for Tokyo: October 12, 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

Tokyo

$700 42.1%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$298 34.7% 57.4% $402

Groceries & Markets

Tokyo

$325 19.5%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$207 24.1% 36.2% $118

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tokyo

$201 12.1%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$118 13.8% 41% $82

Eating Out

Tokyo

$157 9.4%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$63 7.4% 59.5% $93

Clothing & Footwear

Tokyo

$101 6.1%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$122 14.3% 21.7% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Tokyo

$92 5.5%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$33 3.8% 64.6% $59

Getting Around

Tokyo

$88 5.3%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$17 1.9% 81.1% $71

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,253 in Tokyo and $589 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Tokyo pays 512% 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: $37.00 in Tokyo vs $23.00 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $325 vs $207 per month, with Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Tokyo

🇻🇳 Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🕒 Local time

20:37 8:37 PM

18:37 6:37 PM

2 h behind Tokyo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

13,613,660 Capital

9,456,700

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR

100,000 VND = 3.86 USD

100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

VND, USD, EUR to JPY – Japanese Yen Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇵 Japanese Yen (¥)

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR).

Vietnamese Dong exchange rates as of October 19, 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 JPY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Tokyo Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 4,330 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Tokyo
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

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

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) wins on cost – living expenses run 94% lower than in Tokyo. 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 512% higher in Tokyo, 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: $1,253 in Tokyo 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 $1,663 per month in Tokyo versus $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) – a 94% 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 455% less than in Tokyo. 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 $1,663 in Tokyo, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) but tight or insufficient in Tokyo. 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, Tokyo 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 94% less than in Tokyo. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.