Last update: Oct 2026

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

For one person, living is cheaper in Zibo: $723 a month against $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), rent and utilities included – about $1,600 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

36

Cost of Living Index in Zibo
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Zibo 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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Zibo

🇨🇳 China

$723

/mo nomad

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$859

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $723 in Zibo versus $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Zibo $723
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $859

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,158 in Zibo versus $1,395 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Zibo $1,158
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,395

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,594 in Zibo versus $1,931 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Zibo $1,594
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,931

Living in Zibo costs roughly 16% less than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Zibo 46% lower, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 36% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.23 ¥28.29

$1.91 ₫49.6K

121.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.35 ¥163

$22.84 ₫591.4K

6.61%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.89 ¥39.39

$4.54 ₫117.6K

29.74%

Cappuccino

$3.95 ¥26.39

$1.85 ₫48.0K

113.51%

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

$0.47 ¥3.18

$0.56 ₫14.6K

-16.07%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.28 ¥1.88

$0.32 ₫8,187

-12.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.93 ¥6.20

$1.06 ₫27.5K

-12.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.69 ¥11.27

$1.72 ₫44.5K

-1.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.43 ¥9.57

$1.66 ₫42.9K

-13.86%

White Bread (500g)

$0.73 ¥4.86

$1.11 ₫28.7K

-34.23%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.87 ¥5.85

$1.00 ₫25.9K

-13.00%

Eggs

$1.27 ¥8.51

$1.67 ₫43.2K

-23.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.16 ¥101

$12.08 ₫312.9K

25.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.07 ¥13.86

$3.68 ₫95.2K

-43.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$5.95 ¥39.78

$10.24 ₫265.2K

-41.89%

Apples (1kg)

$1.22 ¥8.18

$2.96 ₫76.6K

-58.78%

Banana (1kg)

$0.87 ¥5.82

$1.24 ₫32.2K

-29.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.03 ¥6.86

$1.56 ₫40.3K

-33.97%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.92 ¥6.12

$1.30 ₫33.6K

-29.23%

Potato (1kg)

$0.43 ¥2.88

$1.23 ₫31.9K

-65.04%

Onion (1kg)

$0.88 ¥5.88

$1.15 ₫29.8K

-23.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.44 ¥2.91

$0.74 ₫19.1K

-40.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ¥4.19

$0.56 ₫14.4K

12.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.36 ¥35.87

$1.24 ₫32.2K

332.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.27 ¥88.7

$12.60 ₫326.2K

5.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.73 ¥4.86

$0.96 ₫24.9K

-23.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.48 ¥9.87

$1.53 ₫39.6K

-3.27%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.29 ¥1.91

$0.26 ₫6,696

11.54%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$17.98 ¥120

$11.51 ₫298.0K

56.21%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.19 ¥7.94

$0.75 ₫19.5K

58.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.35 ¥2.37

$0.67 ₫17.4K

-47.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.33 ¥42.31

$3.03 ₫78.5K

108.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.09 ¥7.29

$0.96 ₫24.8K

13.54%

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

$19.1K ¥128.0K

$31.1K ₫804.4M

-38.38%

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

$14.8K ¥99.1K

$30.4K ₫786.1M

-51.20%

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

$94.6 ¥633

$102 ₫2.6M

-7.23%

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

$6.17 ¥41.28

$5.89 ₫152.6K

4.75%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$5.92 ¥39.61

$10.49 ₫271.7K

-43.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.36 ¥297

$25.54 ₫661.3K

73.69%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.33 ¥103

$11.92 ₫308.6K

28.61%

Cinema Ticket

$7.40 ¥49.48

$3.53 ₫91.4K

109.63%

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

$181 ¥1,211

$436 ₫11.3M

-58.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K ¥118.0K

$23.3K ₫602.9M

-24.20%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$29.37 ¥196

$52.8 ₫1.4M

-44.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$22.17 ¥148

$34.15 ₫884.3K

-35.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.1 ¥496

$90.3 ₫2.3M

-17.88%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.8 ¥601

$95.0 ₫2.5M

-5.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$304 ¥2,031

$589 ₫15.3M

-48.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$159 ¥1,061

$298 ₫7.7M

-46.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$593 ¥3,967

$1,292 ₫33.5M

-54.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$368 ¥2,459

$711 ₫18.4M

-48.27%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,094 ¥20.7K

$4,676 ₫121.1M

-33.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,981 ¥13.2K

$1,904 ₫49.3M

4.03%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$751 ¥5,024

$490 ₫12.7M

53.44%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.54

8.64

-59.03%

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

Last update for Zibo: October 11, 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

Zibo

$169 23.4%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$207 24.1% 22.4% $38

Accommodation & Living

Zibo

$159 22%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$298 34.7% 87.8% $139

Eating Out

Zibo

$110 15.2%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$63 7.4% 42.3% $46

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Zibo

$107 14.8%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$118 13.8% 10.9% $12

Clothing & Footwear

Zibo

$97 13.4%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$122 14.3% 26.3% $26

Sport & Entertainment

Zibo

$59 8.2%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$33 3.8% 44.9% $27

Getting Around

Zibo

$22 3.1%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$17 1.9% 24.6% $5.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $304 in Zibo and $589 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Zibo pays 53% 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 Zibo vs $23.00 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Groceries flip the comparison at $169 vs $207, with Zibo cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Zibo

🇻🇳 Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🕒 Local time

16:20 4:20 PM

15:20 3:20 PM

1 h behind Zibo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,708,400

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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Between locations

Zibo Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 3,110 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Zibo
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

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

Zibo wins on cost – living expenses run 19% lower than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Zibo the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 53% higher in Zibo, 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: $304 in Zibo 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 $723 per month in Zibo versus $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) – a 19% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Zibo runs roughly 56% 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 $723 in Zibo versus $859 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), a $1,500 budget is realistic in Zibo but tight or insufficient in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). The gap between the two cities makes Zibo the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Zibo delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $723 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Zibo hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Zibo 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 Zibo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 19% less than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.