Vietnam is cheaper than most Western countries for day-to-day spending. It is not cheap across the board, and the gap closes fast in a few specific places — imported goods, international schools, private healthcare. Here's the honest breakdown.
Monthly budget, roughly
For a single person living reasonably comfortably in a city centre — not scraping by, not living large — budget estimates from cost-of-living trackers and expat guides generally land somewhere between $800 and $1,600 a month, rent included. A couple doing the same tends to land between $1,500 and $2,800. These ranges vary a lot by which city and neighbourhood you're in, and by how much of your spending stays local versus imported.
If you strip out rent, a single person's everyday costs (food, transport, utilities, going out) are commonly estimated around $400–$600 a month for a comfortable but unextravagant lifestyle.
Rent
A one-bedroom apartment in a central, foreigner-friendly area of Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi commonly runs $500–$800 a month. Move slightly out of the most central districts, or go for an older local building rather than a newer serviced one, and that can drop to $300–$450. Da Nang tends to run a little lower again outside the beachfront An Thuong area.
These figures usually exclude management fees, electricity, water and internet — ask for the real all-in monthly number before you get attached to a listing, because the gap between "quoted rent" and "what you actually pay" can be bigger than you'd expect.
Food
Street food and casual local restaurants are genuinely cheap — a meal can cost as little as $2–$3. Mid-range restaurants aimed at a broader audience run higher, and Western-style restaurants or imported-ingredient cooking (cheese, specific cuts of meat, wine) can cost close to what you'd pay at home, sometimes more, because it's imported.
Transport
Few people here own a car — it's expensive and mostly unnecessary. Ride-hailing apps (Grab, Xanh SM, Be) handle most trips cheaply; a typical short ride runs a couple of dollars. Many long-term residents eventually buy a motorbike, which is a bigger upfront cost but cuts your per-trip cost close to zero afterward.
Where the maths changes
International schools. Fees vary enormously by curriculum and school, and this is one of the biggest line items for relocating families — budget seriously for it rather than assuming "Vietnam is cheap" extends to school fees.
Private healthcare. Routine care is affordable; anything more serious, handled privately (which most expats do, since the public system is built primarily for Vietnamese nationals and isn't the easiest to navigate without the language), can approach Western private-healthcare costs. International health insurance is worth carrying rather than assuming you'll self-pay comfortably.
Imported goods. Anything shipped in from outside Vietnam — specific food brands, electronics, some clothing — carries import costs that show up at the till. Buying local equivalents where they exist keeps your budget closer to the lower end of these ranges.
City differences, briefly
Ho Chi Minh City tends to sit at the higher end of these ranges — it's the biggest, busiest city, and rent in the districts foreigners look at first reflects that. Hanoi runs a little lower on average, though the gap has narrowed as more foreign-oriented apartments have opened around Tay Ho. Da Nang is generally the most affordable of the three for comparable housing, outside the beachfront area. See each city guide for specifics.
A note on these numbers
Cost-of-living figures online vary a lot depending on the source, lifestyle assumptions, and when the data was collected. The ranges above were checked against multiple current cost-of-living and expat-budgeting sources (listed below) in October 2026. Treat them as a reasonable starting point for budgeting, not a guarantee — get current rent quotes and talk to people actually living in the city you're considering before finalizing a number you're relying on.