Ho Chi Minh vs Seoul - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 02, 2025

	Ho Chi Minh	Seoul
🚶 Cost of living one person	$735	$1334
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$2016	$3862
🏠 One person rent	$376	$608
🏘️ Family rent	$815	$1634
🍽️ Food expenses	$210	$488
🚐 Transport expenses	$72.4	$144
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$487	$2911
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	2 km	18 km
🎓 Higher education	66	100
😀 Quality of life	65	95
🏙️ Population	9.39M	9.67M

The cost of living in Ho Chi Minh is 45% less expensive than in Seoul. Cities ranked 6739th and 4104th ($735 vs $1334) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 3rd in Vietnam and South Korea, respectively. Check Vietnam vs South Korea comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.7 months in Ho Chi Minh compared to 2.2 months in Seoul. Ho Chi Minh ranked 1st best city to live in Vietnam vs Seoul ranked 1st in South Korea, while ranked 4253rd and 30th among best cities to live in the world.

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Cost of living in Ho Chi Minh vs Seoul infographic

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<img src="https://livingcost.org/assets/photo/cost/ho-chi-minh/seoul.jpg" alt="Cost of living in Ho Chi Minh vs Seoul infographic" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"><p>Source: <a href="https://livingcost.org/cost/ho-chi-minh/seoul" target="_blank">Ho Chi Minh vs Seoul - Cost of Living Comparison</a></p>

Prices in Ho Chi Minh vs Seoul

Prices for goods and services in Ho Chi Minh and Seoul are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

	Ho Chi Minh	Seoul
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$2.17	$7.53
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$23.4	$40.1
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$4.72	$5.87
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.18	$3.5
☕ Cappuccino	$1.88	$3.57
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$0.5	$1.58
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$459	$754
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$281	$422
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1102	$2293
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$634	$1250
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$50.1	$99.6
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$77.2	$155
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$9.54	$20.3
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	9.56%	4.85%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$4334	$19682
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$2039	$11168
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.27	$1.05
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$11.9	$44.5
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$5.97	$8.29
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$0.89	$1.17
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.54	$2.06
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$1.06	$3.08
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1	$3.06
🥚 Eggs, x12	$1.49	$3.38
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$12.3	$12.7
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.66	$8.56
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$10.5	$32
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.62	$7.25
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.02	$3.37
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.22	$5.31
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.12	$5.9
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.25	$3.54
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.21	$2.82
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.34	$0.81
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$0.82	$2.18
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$11.7	$20.3
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$0.93	$2.46
🚬 Cigarette pack	$1.3	$3.17
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$1.78	$4.67
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$3.41	$5.75
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.12	$2.16
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$0.89	$2.86
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$21.4	$48.3
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$4.32	$10.5
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$20.2	$22.9
💇 Haircut, simple	$9.65	$9.53
👖 Brand Jeans	$41.1	$58.3
👟 Brand Sneakers	$105	$82.4
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$277	$420
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$14143	$20197

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

$349

$907

$6.64K

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Ho Chi Minh

Distance	City	Cost of living
21 km or 13 mi	Thu Dau Mot	$530
25 km or 15 mi	Bien Hoa	$425
72 km or 45 mi	Vung Tau	$494
96 km or 60 mi	Svay Rieng	$678
113 km or 70 mi	Sa Dec	$512
127 km or 79 mi	Can Tho	$454
141 km or 88 mi	Long Xuyen	$508
153 km or 95 mi	Soc Trang	$514
162 km or 100 mi	Prey Veng	$721
167 km or 104 mi	Phan Thiet	$506
181 km or 112 mi	Mui Ne	$507
184 km or 114 mi	Kampong Cham	$513
189 km or 117 mi	Rach Gia	$526
198 km or 123 mi	Bac Lieu	$504
205 km or 127 mi	Phnom Penh	$836
233 km or 145 mi	Da Lat	$577
244 km or 151 mi	Ca Mau	$516
257 km or 160 mi	Buon Ma Thuot	$531
270 km or 168 mi	Phan Rang-Thap Cham	$534
271 km or 168 mi	Kampot	$596
300 km or 186 mi	Phu Quoc	$519
309 km or 192 mi	Stung Treng	$634
320 km or 199 mi	Nha Trang	$535
343 km or 213 mi	Sihanoukville	$755
414 km or 257 mi	Siem Reap	$644
433 km or 269 mi	Qui Nhon	$516
452 km or 281 mi	Battambang	$573
488 km or 303 mi	Ko Chang	$677
502 km or 312 mi	Serei Saophoan	$639
527 km or 327 mi	Ubon Ratchathani	$545
533 km or 331 mi	Quang Ngai	$427
584 km or 363 mi	Klaeng	$685
592 km or 368 mi	Hoi An	$584
605 km or 376 mi	Da Nang	$593
637 km or 396 mi	Hue	$393
663 km or 412 mi	Nong Prue	$752
664 km or 413 mi	Chaophraya Surasak	$739
668 km or 415 mi	Pattaya	$781
670 km or 416 mi	Laem Chabang	$743
676 km or 420 mi	Nakhon Ratchasima	$588

Cities near Seoul

Distance	City	Cost of living
13 km or 7.9 mi	Guri	$1122
17 km or 10 mi	Goyang	$1171
17 km or 10 mi	Gwangmyeong	$1089
17 km or 11 mi	Gwacheon	$1070
19 km or 12 mi	Uijeongbu	$955
20 km or 12 mi	Hanam	$1161
20 km or 12 mi	Namyangju	$1129
20 km or 13 mi	Seongnam	$1400
21 km or 13 mi	Siheung	$1283
21 km or 13 mi	Bucheon	$1163
22 km or 14 mi	Anyang	$1022
23 km or 14 mi	Yangju	$974
24 km or 15 mi	Gunpo	$1098
26 km or 16 mi	Gimpo	$1099
27 km or 17 mi	Uiwang	$1063
30 km or 19 mi	Gwangju	$1165
32 km or 20 mi	Paju	$1075
33 km or 20 mi	Ansan	$1070
33 km or 21 mi	Suwon	$1022
34 km or 21 mi	Incheon	$1092
37 km or 23 mi	Dongducheon	$1055
39 km or 24 mi	Pocheon	$1040
42 km or 26 mi	Yongin	$1127
47 km or 29 mi	Hwaseong	$1089
49 km or 31 mi	Osan	$1042
52 km or 32 mi	Icheon	$1020
58 km or 36 mi	Kaesong	$1565
65 km or 40 mi	Yeoju	$1026
66 km or 41 mi	Pyeongtaek	$984
69 km or 43 mi	Anseong	$1026
72 km or 45 mi	Chuncheon	$865
83 km or 52 mi	Dangjin	$1033
86 km or 53 mi	Wonju	$1074
87 km or 54 mi	Cheonan	$1151
101 km or 63 mi	Seosan	$1036
107 km or 66 mi	Chungju	$900
114 km or 71 mi	Cheongju	$936
118 km or 73 mi	Jecheon	$1016
123 km or 77 mi	Haeju	$1550
124 km or 77 mi	Sejong	$1019