Which is cheaper, what exactly is cheaper, and how it feels on your money ยท Updated October 2026
Ho Chi Minh City is easier to travel (3.0 vs 3.4). Biggest gap: getting around โ Ho Chi Minh City 2 vs Petra 3. Closer to 1 is easier. Difficulty ranking โบ
| Item | Ho Chi Minh City | Petra | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local mealper person | โซ 60,000$2.28 | JD 4$5.64 | Ho Chi Minh City โ60% |
| Street food1 item | โซ 35,000$1.33 | JD 1$1.41 | Ho Chi Minh City โ6% |
| Restaurant dinnerper person | โซ 280,000$10.6 | JD 10$14.1 | Ho Chi Minh City โ25% |
| Coffeeone cup | โซ 50,000$1.9 | JD 3$4.23 | Ho Chi Minh City โ55% |
| Beerone bottle | โซ 35,000$1.33 | JD 6$8.46 | Ho Chi Minh City โ84% |
| Cocktail & wineone cup | โซ 120,000$4.56 | JD 7$9.87 | Ho Chi Minh City โ54% |
| Bottled water | โซ 9,000$0.34 | JD 0.5$0.71 | Ho Chi Minh City โ51% |
| Convenience store1 snack or drink | โซ 15,000$0.57 | JD 0.7$0.99 | Ho Chi Minh City โ42% |
| Taxi5 km in town | โซ 70,000$2.66 | JD 4$5.64 | Ho Chi Minh City โ53% |
| Tuk-tuk / moto taxishort hop | โซ 20,000$0.76 | JD 3$4.23 | Ho Chi Minh City โ82% |
| Transitone ride | โซ 7,000$0.27 | JD 0.5$0.71 | Ho Chi Minh City โ62% |
| Scooter rentalper day | โซ 150,000$5.7 | JD 30$42.3 | Ho Chi Minh City โ87% |
| Hotel night3-star | โซ 1,000,000$38 | JD 50$70.5 | Ho Chi Minh City โ46% |
| Studio rent (month) | โซ 10,000,000$380 | JD 200$282 | Petra โ26% |
| Laundry | โซ 30,000$1.14 | JD 5$7.05 | Ho Chi Minh City โ84% |
| SIM card1 week data | โซ 200,000$7.6 | JD 12$16.9 | Ho Chi Minh City โ55% |
| Haircutcut | โซ 100,000$3.8 | JD 5$7.05 | Ho Chi Minh City โ46% |
| Massage1 hour | โซ 300,000$11.4 | JD 25$35.3 | Ho Chi Minh City โ68% |
| Half-day tourper person | โซ 650,000$24.7 | JD 50$70.5 | Ho Chi Minh City โ65% |
| Entry ticketTourist town | โซ 50,000$1.9 | JD 50$70.5 | Ho Chi Minh City โ97% |
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%+.
Ho Chi Minh City is 37% cheaper than Petra. Daily budget $68 vs $125; a month $1,302 vs $1,732.
Ho Chi Minh City is easier: Ho Chi Minh City 3.0/5 vs Petra 3.4/5 (average of rip-offs, language, transport, payments and safety).
With a short-term studio and living costs, Ho Chi Minh City is about $1,302 and Petra about $1,732 per month.
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.