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 Vung Tau
Ho Chi Minh City vs Vung Tau 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
๐ป๐ณ Vung TauVung Tau is 17% cheaper than Ho Chi Minh City
Living on $1,302 a month in Ho Chi Minh City feels like about $1,092 in Vung Tau โ same standard of living, compared by feel rather than exchange rate.
Cheaper on how many of 20 items?
Ho Chi Minh City 2tie 1Vung Tau 17
One day's budget in Ho Chi Minh City ($68) lasts 1.2 days in Vung Tau
Compare on YOUR lifestyleSet your rent, eating out, coffee & taxis โ see your real monthly difference ยท free
โบ
Per day
$68 vs $56.1
Per month
$1,302 vs $1,092
Local meal
โซ 60,000 vs โซ 50,000
$2.28 vs $1.9
Taxi 5 km
โซ 70,000 vs โซ 80,000
$2.66 vs $3.04
At a glance
FoodVung Tau 20% cheaper
Cafรฉs & drinksVung Tau 27% cheaper
TransportHo Chi Minh City 12% cheaper
StayVung Tau 25% cheaper
FunVung Tau 32% cheaper
- Where Vung Tau is clearly cheaper: Haircut (50%โ), Entry ticket (40%โ), Half-day tour (38%โ)
- Where Ho Chi Minh City is clearly cheaper: Transit (22%โ)
By category
Salary equivalence
Enter a monthly income in Ho Chi Minh City to see what gives the same standard of living in Vung Tau. Starts at the average Ho Chi Minh City salary.
Travel difficulty
Ho Chi Minh City
Vung Tau
Overall
Hard3.0
Hard3.0
Rip-offs & haggling
4
3
Language
3
4
Getting around
2
3
Payments
3
3
Safety
3
2
Both cities are about equally easy to travel. Biggest gap: rip-offs & haggling โ Ho Chi Minh City 4 vs Vung Tau 3. Closer to 1 is easier. Difficulty ranking โบ
Item by item
| Item | Ho Chi Minh City | Vung Tau | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local mealper person | โซ 60,000$2.28 | โซ 50,000$1.9 | Vung Tau โ17% |
| Street food1 item | โซ 35,000$1.33 | โซ 30,000$1.14 | Vung Tau โ14% |
| Restaurant dinnerper person | โซ 280,000$10.6 | โซ 200,000$7.6 | Vung Tau โ29% |
| Coffeeone cup | โซ 50,000$1.9 | โซ 45,000$1.71 | Vung Tau โ10% |
| Beerone bottle | โซ 35,000$1.33 | โซ 22,000$0.84 | Vung Tau โ37% |
| Cocktail & wineone cup | โซ 120,000$4.56 | โซ 80,000$3.04 | Vung Tau โ33% |
| Bottled water | โซ 9,000$0.34 | โซ 6,000$0.23 | Vung Tau โ33% |
| Convenience store1 snack or drink | โซ 15,000$0.57 | โซ 12,000$0.46 | Vung Tau โ20% |
| Taxi5 km in town | โซ 70,000$2.66 | โซ 80,000$3.04 | Ho Chi Minh City โ12% |
| Tuk-tuk / moto taxishort hop | โซ 20,000$0.76 | โซ 20,000$0.76 | similar |
| Transitone ride | โซ 7,000$0.27 | โซ 9,000$0.34 | Ho Chi Minh City โ22% |
| Scooter rentalper day | โซ 150,000$5.7 | โซ 130,000$4.94 | Vung Tau โ13% |
| Hotel night3-star | โซ 1,000,000$38 | โซ 800,000$30.4 | Vung Tau โ20% |
| Studio rent (month) | โซ 10,000,000$380 | โซ 7,000,000$266 | Vung Tau โ30% |
| Laundry | โซ 30,000$1.14 | โซ 25,000$0.95 | Vung Tau โ17% |
| SIM card1 week data | โซ 200,000$7.6 | โซ 180,000$6.84 | Vung Tau โ10% |
| Haircutcut | โซ 100,000$3.8 | โซ 50,000$1.9 | Vung Tau โ50% |
| Massage1 hour | โซ 300,000$11.4 | โซ 250,000$9.51 | Vung Tau โ17% |
| Half-day tourper person | โซ 650,000$24.7 | โซ 400,000$15.2 | Vung Tau โ38% |
| Entry ticketTourist town | โซ 50,000$1.9 | โซ 30,000$1.14 | Vung Tau โ40% |
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 Vung Tau?
Vung Tau is 17% cheaper than Ho Chi Minh City. Daily budget $68 vs $56.1; a month $1,302 vs $1,092.
Which is easier to travel, Ho Chi Minh City or Vung Tau?
About the same: Ho Chi Minh City 3.0/5, Vung Tau 3.0/5 (average of rip-offs, language, transport, payments and safety).
How do monthly costs compare between Ho Chi Minh City and Vung Tau?
With a short-term studio and living costs, Ho Chi Minh City is about $1,302 and Vung Tau about $1,092 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