City comparison
Cost of living in Ho Chi Minh City vs Barcelona
One person needs about €799 a month in Ho Chi Minh City and €2,105 in Barcelona, rent included — Ho Chi Minh City is 163% cheaper overall.
Salary you'd need to keep the same lifestyle
Enter your current net monthly pay. We scale it by the full cost basket — rent, groceries, transport, utilities, eating out and internet.
To live in Barcelona the way you live in Ho Chi Minh City on €3,000, you need
€7,904/ month net
163% more than today (+€4,904)
- Ho Chi Minh City today
- Basket €799 · left over €2,201 (73%)
- Barcelona at the matched salary
- Basket €2,105 · left over €5,799 (73%)
Local pay context: average tech net pay covers the basket 133% over in Barcelona (adequate) vs 163% in Ho Chi Minh City. Purchasing power index · How we calculate this
🇻🇳 Ho Chi Minh City
Very low burn rate and a fast-growing dev scene; visas need planning.
Monthly budget: €799
Sources: Eurostat, Harmonised price indices (2025) · 0 community reports
🇪🇸 Barcelona
Beach-and-metro city with the deepest startup scene in southern Europe — and rents that now reflect it.
Monthly budget: €2,105
Sources: INE Spain + Eurostat, HICP & Encuesta de arrendamientos (2025) · 412 community reports
Should you move to Ho Chi Minh City or Barcelona?
On salary, Barcelona pays more for tech roles (€2,800 versus €1,300 a month), so the money left over after costs is €695 in Barcelona at the top end.
Rent drives most of the gap: €480 in Ho Chi Minh City against €1,450 in Barcelona. Groceries, transport and utilities move far less between the two.
For remote workers, the nomad index scores Ho Chi Minh City at 77 and Barcelona at 81 — see the full nomad index and our data methodology.