Earn Here, Spend ThereWhat is this money worth over there?
KOOpen app
Journey will show you around
City pricesDaily travel budget & monthly costPrice mapTap a city, see it in your moneyTrip budgetPlan a multi-city trip budgetTravel difficultyEasiest & hardest cities to travelCompareTwo cities side by sideBlogTravel money stories & rankingsCurrencyQuick conversion tablesExpense trackerLog trip costs from a receiptPopular cities
Compare cities โบ Chiang Mai vs Ho Chi Minh City
Chiang Mai vs Ho Chi Minh City cost of living 2026
Which is cheaper, what exactly is cheaper, and how it feels on your money ยท Updated October 2026
๐น๐ญ Chiang Mai
๐ป๐ณ Ho Chi Minh CityChiang Mai and Ho Chi Minh City cost about the same
Living on $1,232 a month in Chiang Mai feels like about $1,302 in Ho Chi Minh City โ same standard of living, compared by feel rather than exchange rate.
Cheaper on how many of 20 items?
Chiang Mai 5tie 1Ho Chi Minh City 14
Compare on YOUR lifestyleSet your rent, eating out, coffee & taxis โ see your real monthly difference ยท free
โบ
Per day
$66.9 vs $68
Per month
$1,232 vs $1,302
Local meal
เธฟ 80 vs โซ 60,000
$2.42 vs $2.28
Taxi 5 km
เธฟ 100 vs โซ 70,000
$3.03 vs $2.66
At a glance
FoodHo Chi Minh City 10% cheaper
Cafรฉs & drinksHo Chi Minh City 27% cheaper
TransportHo Chi Minh City 47% cheaper
StayChiang Mai 14% cheaper
Funsimilar
- Where Ho Chi Minh City is clearly cheaper: Transit (71%โ), Tuk-tuk / moto taxi (58%โ), Entry ticket (57%โ)
- Where Chiang Mai is clearly cheaper: Massage (34%โ), Studio rent (month) (16%โ)
By category
Salary equivalence
Enter a monthly income in Chiang Mai to see what gives the same standard of living in Ho Chi Minh City. Starts at the average Chiang Mai salary.
Travel difficulty
Chiang Mai
Ho Chi Minh City
Overall
Moderate2.4
Hard3.0
Rip-offs & haggling
3
4
Language
3
3
Getting around
2
2
Payments
2
3
Safety
2
3
Chiang Mai is easier to travel (2.4 vs 3.0). Biggest gap: rip-offs & haggling โ Chiang Mai 3 vs Ho Chi Minh City 4. Closer to 1 is easier. Difficulty ranking โบ
Item by item
| Item | Chiang Mai | Ho Chi Minh City | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local mealper person | เธฟ 80$2.42 | โซ 60,000$2.28 | Ho Chi Minh City โ6% |
| Street food1 item | เธฟ 50$1.52 | โซ 35,000$1.33 | Ho Chi Minh City โ12% |
| Restaurant dinnerper person | เธฟ 400$12.1 | โซ 280,000$10.6 | Ho Chi Minh City โ12% |
| Coffeeone cup | เธฟ 75$2.27 | โซ 50,000$1.9 | Ho Chi Minh City โ16% |
| Beerone bottle | เธฟ 85$2.58 | โซ 35,000$1.33 | Ho Chi Minh City โ48% |
| Cocktail & wineone cup | เธฟ 180$5.45 | โซ 120,000$4.56 | Ho Chi Minh City โ16% |
| Bottled water | เธฟ 10$0.3 | โซ 9,000$0.34 | Chiang Mai โ11% |
| Convenience store1 snack or drink | เธฟ 20$0.61 | โซ 15,000$0.57 | Ho Chi Minh City โ6% |
| Taxi5 km in town | เธฟ 100$3.03 | โซ 70,000$2.66 | Ho Chi Minh City โ12% |
| Tuk-tuk / moto taxishort hop | เธฟ 60$1.82 | โซ 20,000$0.76 | Ho Chi Minh City โ58% |
| Transitone ride | เธฟ 30$0.91 | โซ 7,000$0.27 | Ho Chi Minh City โ71% |
| Scooter rentalper day | เธฟ 250$7.58 | โซ 150,000$5.7 | Ho Chi Minh City โ25% |
| Hotel night3-star | เธฟ 1,100$33.3 | โซ 1,000,000$38 | Chiang Mai โ12% |
| Studio rent (month) | เธฟ 10,500$318 | โซ 10,000,000$380 | Chiang Mai โ16% |
| Laundry | เธฟ 35$1.06 | โซ 30,000$1.14 | Chiang Mai โ7% |
| SIM card1 week data | เธฟ 299$9.06 | โซ 200,000$7.6 | Ho Chi Minh City โ16% |
| Haircutcut | เธฟ 150$4.55 | โซ 100,000$3.8 | Ho Chi Minh City โ16% |
| Massage1 hour | เธฟ 250$7.58 | โซ 300,000$11.4 | Chiang Mai โ34% |
| Half-day tourper person | เธฟ 800$24.2 | โซ 650,000$24.7 | similar |
| Entry ticketTourist town | เธฟ 145$4.39 | โซ 50,000$1.9 | Ho Chi Minh City โ57% |
Reference prices start as estimates from published price levels; items with 3+ traveler reports use the median of real reports. Hostels and local eateries cut both by 30%+.
Compare on your own lifestyle in the appSet your rent, eating out, coffee and taxis โ see your real monthly difference and live traveler prices. No sign-up.
Open free โบ
FAQ
Which is cheaper, Chiang Mai or Ho Chi Minh City?
Chiang Mai and Ho Chi Minh City cost about the same. Daily budget $66.9 vs $68; a month $1,232 vs $1,302.
Which is easier to travel, Chiang Mai or Ho Chi Minh City?
Chiang Mai is easier: Chiang Mai 2.4/5 vs Ho Chi Minh City 3.0/5 (average of rip-offs, language, transport, payments and safety).
How do monthly costs compare between Chiang Mai and Ho Chi Minh City?
With a short-term studio and living costs, Chiang Mai is about $1,232 and Ho Chi Minh City about $1,302 per month.
Where do the numbers come from?
They start as estimates informed by published price levels; any item with 3+ traveler reports switches to the median of real reports. Live reports are in the app.
Related comparisons
๐ฌ๐ท Athens vs ๐ป๐ณ Ho Chi Minh City๐ฎ๐ฉ Bali vs ๐น๐ญ Chiang Mai๐ฎ๐ฉ Bali vs ๐ป๐ณ Ho Chi Minh City๐ช๐ธ Barcelona vs ๐น๐ญ Chiang Mai๐ช๐ธ Barcelona vs ๐ป๐ณ Ho Chi Minh City๐น๐ญ Bangkok vs ๐น๐ญ Chiang Mai๐น๐ญ Bangkok vs ๐ป๐ณ Ho Chi Minh City๐ญ๐บ Budapest vs ๐น๐ญ Chiang Mai