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 Ho Chi Minh City vs Mombasa
Ho Chi Minh City vs Mombasa cost of living 2026
Which is cheaper, what exactly is cheaper, and how it feels on your money ยท Updated October 2026
๐ป๐ณ Ho Chi Minh City
๐ฐ๐ช MombasaHo Chi Minh City is 9% cheaper than Mombasa
Living on $1,302 a month in Ho Chi Minh City feels like about $988 in Mombasa โ same standard of living, compared by feel rather than exchange rate.
Cheaper on how many of 20 items?
Ho Chi Minh City 15tie 1Mombasa 4
One day's budget in Mombasa ($97.8) lasts 1.4 days in Ho Chi Minh City
Compare on YOUR lifestyleSet your rent, eating out, coffee & taxis โ see your real monthly difference ยท free
โบ
Per day
$68 vs $97.8
Per month
$1,302 vs $988
Local meal
โซ 60,000 vs KSh 400
$2.28 vs $3.1
Taxi 5 km
โซ 70,000 vs KSh 400
$2.66 vs $3.1
At a glance
FoodHo Chi Minh City 10% cheaper
Cafรฉs & drinksHo Chi Minh City 31% cheaper
TransportHo Chi Minh City 46% cheaper
Staysimilar
FunHo Chi Minh City 63% cheaper
- Where Mombasa is clearly cheaper: Studio rent (month) (55%โ), Haircut (49%โ), SIM card (18%โ)
- Where Ho Chi Minh City is clearly cheaper: Entry ticket (80%โ), Scooter rental (63%โ), Transit (57%โ)
By category
Salary equivalence
Enter a monthly income in Ho Chi Minh City to see what gives the same standard of living in Mombasa. Starts at the average Ho Chi Minh City salary.
Travel difficulty
Ho Chi Minh City
Mombasa
Overall
Hard3.0
Hard3.0
Rip-offs & haggling
4
4
Language
3
2
Getting around
2
3
Payments
3
3
Safety
3
3
Both cities are about equally easy to travel. Biggest gap: language โ Ho Chi Minh City 3 vs Mombasa 2. Closer to 1 is easier. Difficulty ranking โบ
Item by item
| Item | Ho Chi Minh City | Mombasa | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local mealper person | โซ 60,000$2.28 | KSh 400$3.1 | Ho Chi Minh City โ26% |
| Street food1 item | โซ 35,000$1.33 | KSh 150$1.16 | Mombasa โ13% |
| Restaurant dinnerper person | โซ 280,000$10.6 | KSh 1,500$11.6 | Ho Chi Minh City โ8% |
| Coffeeone cup | โซ 50,000$1.9 | KSh 300$2.33 | Ho Chi Minh City โ18% |
| Beerone bottle | โซ 35,000$1.33 | KSh 300$2.33 | Ho Chi Minh City โ43% |
| Cocktail & wineone cup | โซ 120,000$4.56 | KSh 800$6.2 | Ho Chi Minh City โ26% |
| Bottled water | โซ 9,000$0.34 | KSh 50$0.39 | Ho Chi Minh City โ12% |
| Convenience store1 snack or drink | โซ 15,000$0.57 | KSh 80$0.62 | Ho Chi Minh City โ8% |
| Taxi5 km in town | โซ 70,000$2.66 | KSh 400$3.1 | Ho Chi Minh City โ14% |
| Tuk-tuk / moto taxishort hop | โซ 20,000$0.76 | KSh 200$1.55 | Ho Chi Minh City โ51% |
| Transitone ride | โซ 7,000$0.27 | KSh 80$0.62 | Ho Chi Minh City โ57% |
| Scooter rentalper day | โซ 150,000$5.7 | KSh 2,000$15.5 | Ho Chi Minh City โ63% |
| Hotel night3-star | โซ 1,000,000$38 | KSh 8,000$62 | Ho Chi Minh City โ39% |
| Studio rent (month) | โซ 10,000,000$380 | KSh 22,000$171 | Mombasa โ55% |
| Laundry | โซ 30,000$1.14 | KSh 150$1.16 | similar |
| SIM card1 week data | โซ 200,000$7.6 | KSh 800$6.2 | Mombasa โ18% |
| Haircutcut | โซ 100,000$3.8 | KSh 250$1.94 | Mombasa โ49% |
| Massage1 hour | โซ 300,000$11.4 | KSh 2,500$19.4 | Ho Chi Minh City โ41% |
| Half-day tourper person | โซ 650,000$24.7 | KSh 5,000$38.8 | Ho Chi Minh City โ36% |
| Entry ticketTourist town | โซ 50,000$1.9 | KSh 1,200$9.3 | Ho Chi Minh City โ80% |
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, Ho Chi Minh City or Mombasa?
Ho Chi Minh City is 9% cheaper than Mombasa. Daily budget $68 vs $97.8; a month $1,302 vs $988.
Which is easier to travel, Ho Chi Minh City or Mombasa?
About the same: Ho Chi Minh City 3.0/5, Mombasa 3.0/5 (average of rip-offs, language, transport, payments and safety).
How do monthly costs compare between Ho Chi Minh City and Mombasa?
With a short-term studio and living costs, Ho Chi Minh City is about $1,302 and Mombasa about $988 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 ๐ป๐ณ Ho Chi Minh City๐ช๐ธ Barcelona vs ๐ป๐ณ Ho Chi Minh City๐น๐ญ Bangkok vs ๐ป๐ณ Ho Chi Minh City๐ญ๐บ Budapest vs ๐ป๐ณ Ho Chi Minh City๐ฐ๐ท Busan vs ๐ป๐ณ Ho Chi Minh City๐ต๐ญ Cebu vs ๐ป๐ณ Ho Chi Minh City๐ฑ๐ฐ Colombo vs ๐ป๐ณ Ho Chi Minh City