Last update: Oct 2026

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

For one person, living is cheaper in Wuxi: $760 a month against $855 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), rent and utilities included – about $1,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

37

Cost of Living Index in Wuxi
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Wuxi 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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Wuxi

🇨🇳 China

$760

/mo nomad

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$855

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $760 in Wuxi versus $855 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Wuxi $760
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $855

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,177 in Wuxi versus $1,400 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Wuxi $1,177
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,400

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,594 in Wuxi versus $1,944 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Wuxi $1,594
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,944

Living in Wuxi costs roughly 11% 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: Wuxi 43% lower, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 36% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.75 ¥25.07

$1.90 ₫49.1K

97.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.92 ¥160

$23.32 ₫603.5K

2.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.39 ¥29.34

$4.67 ₫120.9K

-6.00%

Cappuccino

$3.05 ¥20.38

$1.85 ₫47.9K

64.86%

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

$0.49 ¥3.25

$0.56 ₫14.4K

-12.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.30 ¥2.00

$0.34 ₫8,857

-11.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.46 ¥9.75

$1.01 ₫26.2K

44.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.02 ¥20.21

$1.69 ₫43.7K

78.70%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.87 ¥12.51

$1.58 ₫40.8K

18.35%

White Bread (500g)

$2.17 ¥14.52

$1.04 ₫27.0K

108.65%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.09 ¥7.28

$0.99 ₫25.7K

10.10%

Eggs

$1.85 ¥12.36

$1.60 ₫41.5K

15.63%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.32 ¥89.0

$12.23 ₫316.6K

8.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.38 ¥22.61

$3.54 ₫91.7K

-4.52%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.07 ¥74.0

$10.44 ₫270.2K

6.03%

Apples (1kg)

$2.67 ¥17.81

$3.09 ₫79.9K

-13.59%

Banana (1kg)

$1.30 ¥8.70

$1.26 ₫32.5K

3.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 ¥11.10

$1.57 ₫40.6K

5.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.17 ¥7.83

$1.26 ₫32.5K

-7.14%

Potato (1kg)

$0.68 ¥4.56

$1.17 ₫30.4K

-41.88%

Onion (1kg)

$0.80 ¥5.35

$1.15 ₫29.7K

-30.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.59 ¥3.95

$0.72 ₫18.7K

-18.06%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.56 ¥3.73

$0.54 ₫14.0K

3.70%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.26 ¥35.13

$1.22 ₫31.5K

331.15%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.74 ¥78.5

$12.28 ₫317.8K

-4.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 ¥6.03

$0.98 ₫25.4K

-8.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 ¥14.58

$1.49 ₫38.5K

46.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.47 ¥3.15

$0.28 ₫7,249

67.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$18.61 ¥124

$11.62 ₫300.8K

60.15%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.51 ¥10.07

$0.73 ₫18.9K

106.85%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.39 ¥2.63

$0.64 ₫16.7K

-39.06%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.15 ¥61.2

$3.17 ₫82.0K

188.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ¥8.78

$0.95 ₫24.6K

37.89%

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

$19.6K ¥131.1K

$30.7K ₫795.6M

-36.20%

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

$19.1K ¥127.7K

$30.6K ₫791.6M

-37.53%

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

$37.03 ¥247

$102 ₫2.6M

-63.80%

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

$11.63 ¥77.7

$5.65 ₫146.1K

105.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.41 ¥183

$10.52 ₫272.2K

160.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$47.20 ¥315

$25.86 ₫669.2K

82.52%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.00 ¥46.75

$11.82 ₫305.9K

-40.78%

Cinema Ticket

$5.85 ¥39.09

$3.39 ₫87.8K

72.57%

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

$431 ¥2,882

$438 ₫11.3M

-1.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K ¥110.8K

$23.3K ₫603.1M

-28.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$35.65 ¥238

$51.5 ₫1.3M

-30.80%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$21.86 ¥146

$34.56 ₫894.3K

-36.75%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$65.6 ¥438

$91.3 ₫2.4M

-28.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$45.45 ¥304

$94.9 ₫2.5M

-52.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$334 ¥2,231

$577 ₫14.9M

-42.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$205 ¥1,367

$292 ₫7.6M

-29.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$584 ¥3,906

$1,293 ₫33.5M

-54.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$368 ¥2,462

$717 ₫18.6M

-48.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,654 ¥24.4K

$4,714 ₫122.0M

-22.49%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,955 ¥13.1K

$1,882 ₫48.7M

3.89%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,053 ¥7,035

$486 ₫12.6M

116.71%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.13

8.64

-63.77%

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

Last update for Wuxi: October 6, 2026

Last update for Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon): October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Wuxi

$221 29.2%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$206 24.1% 7% $15

Accommodation & Living

Wuxi

$205 27%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$292 34.3% 42.8% $88

Eating Out

Wuxi

$96 12.7%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$63 7.5% 34.1% $33

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Wuxi

$76 10.1%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$118 13.9% 55.7% $42

Clothing & Footwear

Wuxi

$76 10%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$123 14.4% 61.6% $47

Sport & Entertainment

Wuxi

$59 7.8%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$33 3.8% 44.6% $26

Getting Around

Wuxi

$24 3.2%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$17 2% 30.3% $7.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $334 in Wuxi and $577 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Wuxi pays 117% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $24.00 in Wuxi vs $23.00 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $221 vs $206 per month, with Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Wuxi

🇻🇳 Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🕒 Local time

17:00 5:00 PM

16:00 4:00 PM

1 h behind Wuxi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

7,462,135

9,456,700

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 6.68 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.5 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

Vietnamese Dong exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 25,879 VND (100,000 VND = 3.86 USD). 1 EUR = 29,025 VND (100,000 VND = 3.45 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Wuxi Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 2,700 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Wuxi
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

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

Wuxi wins on cost – living expenses run 13% lower than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Wuxi the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 117% higher in Wuxi, 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: $334 in Wuxi versus $577 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 $760 per month in Wuxi versus $855 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) – a 13% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Wuxi runs roughly 60% less than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $760 in Wuxi versus $855 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), a $2,000 budget is realistic in Wuxi but tight or insufficient in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). The gap between the two cities makes Wuxi the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Wuxi delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $760 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Wuxi hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Wuxi 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 Wuxi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 13% less than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.