City comparison
Cost of living in Ho Chi Minh City vs Lisbon
One person needs about €799 a month in Ho Chi Minh City and €1,874 in Lisbon, rent included — Ho Chi Minh City is 135% 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 Lisbon the way you live in Ho Chi Minh City on €3,000, you need
€7,036/ month net
135% more than today (+€4,036)
- Ho Chi Minh City today
- Basket €799 · left over €2,201 (73%)
- Lisbon at the matched salary
- Basket €1,874 · left over €5,162 (73%)
Local pay context: average tech net pay covers the basket 128% over in Lisbon (tight) 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
🇵🇹 Lisbon
Visa-friendly and well connected, but local salaries lag far behind expat-driven rents.
Monthly budget: €1,874
Sources: Statistics Portugal (INE) + Eurostat, HICP & house-rent statistics (2025) · 331 community reports
Should you move to Ho Chi Minh City or Lisbon?
On salary, Lisbon pays more for tech roles (€2,400 versus €1,300 a month), so the money left over after costs is €526 in Lisbon at the top end.
Rent drives most of the gap: €480 in Ho Chi Minh City against €1,300 in Lisbon. Groceries, transport and utilities move far less between the two.
For remote workers, the nomad index scores Ho Chi Minh City at 77 and Lisbon at 83 — see the full nomad index and our data methodology.