Cost of Living in Ho Chi Minh City, 🇻🇳 Vietnam - For Locals, Nomads, and Tourists

Researched Updated Oct 19, 2026 Last changed Oct 31, 2026 About costs

Cost breakdown

Digital nomad: short-term stay (1-3 months). Furnished Airbnb or coliving near center, coworking, eating out ~3x/day, travel health insurance.

Expat: long-term resident (1+ years). Renting apartment in center, mix of cooking and dining out, local health insurance, settled lifestyle.

Family: middle-class 4-person family. 2-3 bedroom in suburbs, groceries for 4, international school, car/transport, family health plan.

Local: budget-conscious local resident. Renting outside center, cooking at home, public transport, local phone plan.

Tourist: short-stay visitor (1-14 days). Hotel/Airbnb nightly, all meals at restaurants, taxis, sightseeing.

CategoryCost

Housing 1 3 13 $575 $383 $766 $249 $58

Utilities 1 $103 $107 $172 $103 —

Internet & Mobile 1 $16 $16 $29 $16 $0

Groceries 1 $103 $134 $249 $96 $6

Transportation 1 8 9 $115 $84 $211 $17 $17

Dining Out 1 $216 $172 $307 $46 $17

Leisure Activities 1 11 $70 $101 $1,073 $46 $19

Health Insurance 10 12 $67 $96 $383 $11 $2

Visa & Legal Fees 7 $8 $17 $33 — $1

Total $1,273 $1,110 $3,223 $584 $120

Itemized prices

Local prices converted to the selected currency.

Housing

Apartment (1 bedroom) 1 3 4 $296.28 $153 – $575 per month

Coworking Space 5 6 $107.28 per month

Airbnb (1 month) 3 13 $536.02 $460 – $612 per month

Coliving Space 1 3 $325.67 per month

Food & Dining

Coffee 1 $1.80 per cup

Beer 1 $1.04 per pint

Meal (Inexpensive) 1 $1.91 per meal

Fast Food Combo 1 $4.60 per meal

Apples 1 $2.99 per kg

Bread 1 $0.97 per loaf

Milk 1 $1.61 per liter

Rice 1 $1.02 per kg

Chicken Fillets 1 $3.61 per kg

Beef 1 $10.26 per kg

Wine (Mid-range) 1 $12.54 per bottle

Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 1 $22.99 per meal

Water (1.5L bottle) 1 $0.57 per bottle

Transportation

Taxi Start 1 $0.72 per trip

Taxi per km 1 $0.63 per km

Monthly Transport Pass 1 $11.49 per month

Gasoline 2 $1.11 per liter

Ride-hailing (5km) 1 $1.91 per trip

Scooter Rental 8 9 $57.47 per month

Services

Mobile Plan 1 $5.72 per month

Internet (60 Mbps+) 1 $10.41 per month

Gym Membership 1 $25.79 per month

Tennis Court (Weekend) 1 $11.88 per hour

SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 1 $7.66 one-time

Entertainment

Cinema Ticket 1 $3.45 per ticket

Clothing

Jeans 1 $51.42 per pair

Summer Dress 1 $34.53 per dress

Running Shoes 1 $91.26 per pair

Personal Care

Haircut 1 $3.07 per visit

Laundry 1 $0.96 per kg

Healthcare

Doctor Visit (GP) 12 $13.22 per visit

Pharmacy (basic meds) 1 $1.91 per purchase

About these costs

Method: Researched
Last updated: Oct 19, 2026
Last changed: Oct 31, 2026
Exchange rate: 1 USD = 26,100 VND on Oct 19, 2026

Checked against the sources below and compared with similar cities. Numbers in the list point to these sources.

Compared with Hanoi, Da Nang, Bangkok, Chiang Mai

Numbeo cost of living, Ho Chi Minh City (Oct 2026)Index
Vietnam RON 95 gasoline, 12 Oct 2026Index
Furnished 1BR Tan Dinh Q1, 12M VND/monthListings
District 12 furnished 1BR 6.3M VND/monthListings
The Hive Villa hot desk 1.5M VND/monthOfficial
Dreamplex coworking from 2.5M VND/monthOfficial
UK FCDO Vietnam entry — e-visa USD 25/50Official
Monthly scooter rental 1.5–2.5M VNDListings
Motorbike monthly 1.5M VNDListings
SafetyWing Essential USD 62.72 per 4 weeksOfficial
HCMC international school 2026/27 fee bandsSecondary
Vinmec general consultation price bandsOfficial
Vinhomes Ba Son 1BR from 12M VND/monthListings

Change history

Oct 31, 2026
- Method Generated Researched
- Airbnb (1 month) 917.2 536.02
- Apartment (1 bedroom) 592.36 296.28
- Apples 2.75 2.99
- Beef 11.85 10.26
- Beer 1.72 1.04
39 more changes
- Bread 0.84 0.97
- Chicken Fillets 4.78 3.61
- Cinema Ticket 4.59 3.45
- Coffee 2.1 1.8
- Coliving Space 458.6 325.67
- Coworking Space 122.29 107.28
- Dining Out local 95.54, nomad 687.9, expat 343.95, family 573.25, tourist 45.86 local 45.98, nomad 215.52, expat 172.41, family 306.51, tourist 17.24
- Doctor Visit (GP) 28.66 13.22
- Fast Food Combo 4.78 4.6
- Gasoline 0.94 1.11
- Groceries local 133.76, nomad 76.43, expat 286.62, family 687.9, tourist 3.82 local 95.78, nomad 103.45, expat 134.1, family 249.04, tourist 5.75
- Gym Membership 36.31 25.79
- Haircut 8.41 3.07
- Health Insurance local 19.11, nomad 68.79, expat 57.32, family 210.19, tourist 0 local 11.49, nomad 67.2, expat 95.78, family 382.76, tourist 2.27
- Housing local 286.62, nomad 859.87, expat 535.03, family 1337.58, tourist 57.32 local 249.04, nomad 574.71, expat 382.76, family 765.52, tourist 58
- Internet & Mobile local 9.55, nomad 45.86, expat 24.84, family 57.32, tourist 1.34 local 16.13, family 28.74, tourist 0.26
- Internet (60 Mbps+) 11.27 10.41
- Jeans 42.04 51.42
- Laundry 1.34 0.96
- Leisure Activities local 38.22, nomad 286.62, expat 191.08, family 382.17, tourist 19.11 local 45.98, nomad 70.25, expat 100.91, family 1072.8, tourist 19.11
- Meal (Inexpensive) 2.48 1.91
- Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 30.57 22.99
- Mobile Plan 6.88 5.72
- Monthly Transport Pass 9.55 11.49
- Pharmacy (basic meds) 4.39 1.91
- Rice 1.07 1.02
- Ride-hailing (5km) 2.87 1.91
- Running Shoes 87.9 91.26
- SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 9.55 7.66
- Scooter Rental 6.88 57.47
- Summer Dress 32.48 34.53
- Taxi Start 0.57 0.72
- Taxi per km 0.67 0.63
- Tennis Court (Weekend) 13.38 11.88
- Transportation local 22.93, nomad 133.76, expat 95.54, family 305.73, tourist 17.2 local 17.24, nomad 114.94, expat 84.29, family 210.73
- Utilities local 45.86, nomad 95.54, expat 107.01, family 229.3, tourist 0 local 103.07, expat 107.28, family 172.41, tourist 0
- Visa & Legal Fees local 0, nomad 45.86, expat 32.48, family 114.65, tourist 0.96 local 0, nomad 8.33, expat 16.67, family 33.33, tourist 0.83
- Water (1.5L bottle) 0.54 0.57
- Wine (Mid-range) 14.52 12.54
Visa & Legal Fees expat 15.33 → 16.67 USD, Leisure Activities nomad 70.5 → 70.25 USD, Leisure Activities expat 95.78 → 100.91 USD, Health Insurance nomad 67.69 → 67.2 USD — second lint fix pass: category totals aligned to stated item formulas; e-visa source moved to FCDO; Transportation nomad assumes scooter not bus pass (gov.uk, janmotorbike.com)

Ho Chi Minh City cost of living