Last update: Oct 2026

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

For one person, living is cheaper in Wenzhou: $628 a month against $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), rent and utilities included – about $2,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

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Cost of Living Index in Wenzhou
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Wenzhou 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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Wenzhou

🇨🇳 China

$628

/mo nomad

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$859

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $628 in Wenzhou versus $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Wenzhou $628
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $859

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,059 in Wenzhou versus $1,395 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Wenzhou $1,059
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,395

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,489 in Wenzhou versus $1,931 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Wenzhou $1,489
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,931

Living in Wenzhou costs roughly 27% less than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Wenzhou 53% lower, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 36% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.01 ¥20.11

$1.91 ₫49.6K

57.59%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.38 ¥203

$22.84 ₫591.4K

33.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.66 ¥51.2

$4.54 ₫117.6K

68.72%

Cappuccino

$2.65 ¥17.75

$1.85 ₫48.0K

43.24%

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

$0.52 ¥3.50

$0.56 ₫14.6K

-7.14%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.30 ¥2.02

$0.32 ₫8,187

-6.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.86 ¥5.73

$1.06 ₫27.5K

-18.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.03 ¥20.28

$1.72 ₫44.5K

76.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.08 ¥13.94

$1.66 ₫42.9K

25.30%

White Bread (500g)

$1.95 ¥13.01

$1.11 ₫28.7K

75.68%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.31 ¥8.78

$1.00 ₫25.9K

31.00%

Eggs

$1.98 ¥13.22

$1.67 ₫43.2K

18.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.61 ¥50.9

$12.08 ₫312.9K

-37.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.18 ¥14.61

$3.68 ₫95.2K

-40.76%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.49 ¥63.5

$10.24 ₫265.2K

-7.32%

Apples (1kg)

$1.90 ¥12.74

$2.96 ₫76.6K

-35.81%

Banana (1kg)

$1.79 ¥11.95

$1.24 ₫32.2K

44.35%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.69 ¥11.32

$1.56 ₫40.3K

8.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.12 ¥7.46

$1.30 ₫33.6K

-13.85%

Potato (1kg)

$0.61 ¥4.09

$1.23 ₫31.9K

-50.41%

Onion (1kg)

$0.72 ¥4.81

$1.15 ₫29.8K

-37.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.47 ¥3.12

$0.74 ₫19.1K

-36.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.59 ¥3.95

$0.56 ₫14.4K

5.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.37 ¥22.57

$1.24 ₫32.2K

171.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.24 ¥88.5

$12.60 ₫326.2K

5.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.22 ¥8.16

$0.96 ₫24.9K

27.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.23 ¥8.21

$1.53 ₫39.6K

-19.61%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.29 ¥1.91

$0.26 ₫6,696

11.54%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.51 ₫298.0K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.68 ¥11.26

$0.75 ₫19.5K

124.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.35 ¥2.35

$0.67 ₫17.4K

-47.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.75 ¥51.8

$3.03 ₫78.5K

155.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.26 ¥8.46

$0.96 ₫24.8K

31.25%

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

$19.5K ¥130.4K

$31.1K ₫804.4M

-37.22%

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

$15.5K ¥103.9K

$30.4K ₫786.1M

-48.80%

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

$29.91 ¥200

$102 ₫2.6M

-70.67%

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

$6.60 ¥44.12

$5.89 ₫152.6K

12.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$8.89 ¥59.4

$10.49 ₫271.7K

-15.25%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$13.62 ¥91.1

$25.54 ₫661.3K

-46.67%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.79 ¥179

$11.92 ₫308.6K

124.75%

Cinema Ticket

$7.60 ¥50.8

$3.53 ₫91.4K

115.30%

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

$1,247 ¥8,342

$436 ₫11.3M

185.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,703 ¥64.9K

$23.3K ₫602.9M

-58.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.55 ¥291

$52.8 ₫1.4M

-17.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$18.78 ¥126

$34.15 ₫884.3K

-45.01%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.5 ¥645

$90.3 ₫2.3M

6.92%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$44.71 ¥299

$95.0 ₫2.5M

-52.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$240 ¥1,603

$589 ₫15.3M

-59.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$170 ¥1,135

$298 ₫7.7M

-43.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$632 ¥4,229

$1,292 ₫33.5M

-51.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$363 ¥2,428

$711 ₫18.4M

-48.91%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,065 ¥27.2K

$4,676 ₫121.1M

-13.07%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,598 ¥17.4K

$1,904 ₫49.3M

36.46%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$868 ¥5,804

$490 ₫12.7M

77.26%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.46

8.64

-59.95%

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

Last update for Wenzhou: October 10, 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

Wenzhou

$196 31.1%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$207 24.1% 6% $12

Accommodation & Living

Wenzhou

$170 27%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$298 34.7% 75.5% $128

Eating Out

Wenzhou

$93 14.7%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$63 7.4% 31.4% $29

Clothing & Footwear

Wenzhou

$92 14.6%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$122 14.3% 33.7% $31

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Wenzhou

$45 7.2%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$118 13.8% 161% $73

Sport & Entertainment

Wenzhou

$29 4.6%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$33 3.8% 13.1% $3.8

Getting Around

Wenzhou

$4.6 * 0.7%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$17 1.9% 264% $12

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 $240 in Wenzhou and $589 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Wenzhou pays 77% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $30.00 in Wenzhou vs $23.00 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Groceries flip the comparison at $196 vs $207, with Wenzhou cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Wenzhou

🇻🇳 Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🕒 Local time

16:13 4:13 PM

15:13 3:13 PM

1 h behind Wenzhou

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,300,000

9,456,700

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.134 EUR

100,000 VND = 3.86 USD

100,000 VND = 3.45 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

VND, USD, EUR to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.49 CNY (1 CNY = 0.134 EUR).

Vietnamese Dong exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 25,894 VND (100,000 VND = 3.86 USD). 1 EUR = 28,990 VND (100,000 VND = 3.45 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Wenzhou Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 2,410 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Wenzhou
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

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

Wenzhou wins on cost – living expenses run 37% lower than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Wenzhou the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 77% higher in Wenzhou, 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: $240 in Wenzhou versus $589 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 6% higher in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $628 per month in Wenzhou versus $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) – a 37% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $628 in Wenzhou versus $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), a $1,000 budget is realistic in Wenzhou but tight or insufficient in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). The gap between the two cities makes Wenzhou the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Wenzhou delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $628 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Wenzhou hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Wenzhou 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 Wenzhou gentler on the wallet – expenses run 37% less than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.