This guide is for executives and HR managers at Spanish companies who want to budget for staff in Vietnam. By the end you will know what official sources and recruitment agency surveys say about salaries in 2026, why their figures do not match, and how to calculate the total employer cost compared with Spain.
Why there are so many different figures
Search for "average salary in Vietnam" and you will find figures ranging from around €200 to several thousand euros a month. That does not mean some are wrong: each source measures a different population.
- The regional minimum wage is a legal floor. It tells you the least you can pay, not what you will pay a qualified professional.
- Official statistics measure the average income of the entire employed population, including agriculture, the self-employed and informal work.
- Recruitment agency reports mainly reflect formal, urban, skilled employment, based on their own surveys.
To build a budget you need all three: the minimum to comply with the law, the official average to understand the context, and the sector ranges to set pay. Throughout this guide we convert at roughly 29,000 dong (VND) per euro, a rounded figure based on Vietcombank's rate on 14 October 2026 (about 28,245 VND buying and 29,735 VND selling). The rate fluctuates, so treat the euro amounts as approximate.
The regional minimum wage in 2026
Vietnam does not have a single minimum wage. Decree 293/2025/NĐ-CP sets four levels depending on where the employee works, effective from 1 January 2026:
| Region | Monthly minimum | Hourly minimum | Approximate equivalent |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | 5,310,000 VND | 25,500 VND | ≈ €183 |
| II | 4,730,000 VND | 22,700 VND | ≈ €163 |
| III | 4,140,000 VND | 20,000 VND | ≈ €143 |
| IV | 3,700,000 VND | 17,800 VND | ≈ €128 |
The average increase over 2025 was around 7.2%. Region I has the highest level. The applicable region depends on the commune or ward where the workplace is located; the list is in the annex to the decree, and it is worth checking for each address.
Two practical consequences:
- For simple jobs under normal conditions, the salary you declare for contributions cannot be lower than the regional minimum.
- The minimum is of little use as a benchmark for qualified profiles. An administrative assistant or a technician in a large city is normally paid considerably more.
Average income according to official statistics
Vietnam's National Statistics Office (Cục Thống kê, formerly the GSO) publishes the average monthly income of the employed population every quarter. According to its October 2026 release:
| Indicator | Monthly income | Approximate equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| National average, Q3 2026 | 9.2 M VND | ≈ €317 |
| National average, first 9 months of 2026 | 9.1 M VND | ≈ €314 |
| Salaried employees, first 9 months of 2026 | 10.1 M VND | ≈ €348 |
| Services, Q3 | 10.9 M VND | ≈ €376 |
| Industry and construction, Q3 | 9.9 M VND | ≈ €341 |
| Agriculture, forestry and fisheries, Q3 | 5.4 M VND | ≈ €186 |
| Urban areas, 9 months | 10.7 M VND | ≈ €369 |
| Rural areas, 9 months | 8.0 M VND | ≈ €276 |
Average income in the third quarter rose by 9.9% compared with the same quarter of 2025. Over the first nine months of the year, men earned an average of 10.2 million and women 7.8 million.
How to read these figures:
- It is income, not payroll cost. It includes the self-employed and informal workers, who do not pay contributions like a salaried employee.
- The salaried employee figure is the most useful if you plan to hire, as it is closer to a formal payslip.
- It is a national average. It mixes a major city with the countryside. In Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi, and in office jobs, salaries are normally higher.
Ranges by sector and role according to recruitment agencies
There are no official statistics on salaries by job. For that, people use reports from recruitment firms. Two of the most widely cited are Navigos Group's and, for technology, ITviec's.
Navigos Group 2026 report
In January 2026 Navigos published its salary and labour market report, based on more than 1,600 workers in Vietnam and more than 250 companies. It gives minimum and maximum ranges by sector. Some examples of entry-level salaries, according to the summary published by Mekong ASEAN:
| Role (entry-level salary) | Monthly range | Approximate equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| Software developer | 13–32 M VND | ≈ €450–1,100 |
| Finance and accounting | 14–31 M VND | ≈ €480–1,070 |
| Supply chain | 10–34 M VND | ≈ €345–1,170 |
| Architecture and design (construction) | 18–55 M VND | ≈ €620–1,900 |
| Banking customer service | 5–13 M VND | ≈ €170–450 |
For management roles, the ranges climb steeply and vary widely by sector. The same report places directors in technology and telecommunications at between 105 and 200 million VND a month (≈ €3,600–6,900), and those in FMCG and food at between 263 and 461 million (≈ €9,100–15,900).
Other figures from the report that help in negotiations:
- About 62% of the workers surveyed received a pay rise in 2025, mostly below 10%. 8.57% reported a pay cut.
- 71.2% of respondents expect greater demand for AI and machine learning specialists, and 42.8% for big data specialists.
ITviec 2025-2026 report
For technology, ITviec publishes medians by role and experience based on 1,839 responses collected in 2025. A back-end developer has a median of 12.4 million VND a month with less than one year of experience and 54.9 million with more than eight years (≈ €430–1,890). The median for a CTO or technical director is around 101 million (≈ €3,490). The report does not state whether the figures are gross or net. If you are interested in a software team, we look at this in more detail in our guide on software development costs in Vietnam compared with Spain.
Why they do not match
- Sample: recruitment agencies survey candidates and companies in their own network, with a bias towards urban, skilled and multinational employment.
- Measure: Navigos gives minimum–maximum ranges; ITviec, medians; the statistics office, average income.
- Gross or net: this is not always clear. Always ask the candidate which they mean.
Use the ranges as a bracket, not a price. For a specific role, cross-check them against real job adverts published in the city where you plan to hire.
Employer contributions and charges
On top of gross salary, the company pays mandatory contributions. Under the 2024 Social Insurance Law, the rates for 2026 are as follows:
| Item | Employer (Vietnamese) | Employee (Vietnamese) | Employer (foreign) | Employee (foreign) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retirement and survivorship | 14% | 8% | 14% | 8% |
| Sickness and maternity | 3% | — | 3% | — |
| Occupational accidents | 0.5% | — | 0.5% | — |
| Unemployment | 1% | 1% | — | — |
| Health insurance | 3% | 1.5% | 3% | 1.5% |
| Total | 21.5% | 10.5% | 20.5% | 9.5% |
On top of this comes the trade union fee (kinh phí công đoàn): 2% of the payroll on which social insurance is paid, borne by the company and not deductible from salary.
One detail makes a big difference for senior profiles: the social insurance contribution base is capped at 20 times the reference level, which is currently the public base salary. Until 30 June 2026 the cap was 46.8 million VND a month; since 1 July 2026, with the base salary of 2.53 million set by Decree 161/2026/ND-CP, it is 50.6 million (≈ €1,745). Above that salary, the company pays no more for those items. Unemployment insurance has its own ceiling. If you plan to hire foreign nationals, the rules have exceptions; confirm them with an employment adviser.
What an employee costs: three examples
These examples are indicative and do not include bonuses, private insurance, meals, transport or other benefits that vary by company. They assume a Vietnamese employee.
- Average salaried employee (10.1 M VND). Contributions of 21.5% (≈ 2.17 M) plus the 2% union fee (≈ 0.20 M). Monthly cost: about 12.5 million VND, ≈ €430. Per year, about €5,160.
- Mid-level technical profile (30 M VND). Below the cap, the full 23.5% applies (≈ 7.05 M). Monthly cost: about 37 million VND, ≈ €1,280. Per year, about €15,300.
- Senior profile (70 M VND). Since July 2026, social and health insurance are paid only on 50.6 M (20.5% ≈ 10.4 M); unemployment, 1% (≈ 0.7 M); the union fee, 2% of the base (≈ 1.0 M). Monthly cost: about 82 million VND, ≈ €2,830. The effective burden falls to around 17%.
Example 3 shows why the percentage of employer charges is not fixed: the higher the salary, the lower their relative weight.
Comparison with Spain
For Spain we use official data that is as comparable as possible:
- National minimum wage 2026: €1,221 a month over 14 payments, €17,094 a year, under Royal Decree 126/2026.
- Average annual salary 2024: €29,540.26 per worker; in information and communications, €42,741.94, according to INE's Annual Wage Structure Survey published in May 2026.
- Employer contributions 2026 under the General Scheme: 23.60% for common contingencies, 5.50% for unemployment on a permanent contract, 0.20% for FOGASA (the wage guarantee fund), 0.60% for vocational training and 0.75% for the MEI (intergenerational equity mechanism), plus the occupational accident rate by activity. The maximum base is €5,101.20 a month.
| Vietnam (2026) | Spain | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual minimum wage | ≈ €2,200 (region I, 12 months) | €17,094 (2026) |
| Average annual income or salary | ≈ €4,180 (salaried employees, 9 months of 2026, annualised) | €29,540 (2024) |
| Employer charges | 21.5% + 2% union fee, with a low cap | ≈ 30.6% + accidents, cap €5,101.20/month |
| Approximate average cost | ≈ €5,160/year | ≈ €38,600/year |
In this comparison, the average cost of a salaried employee in Spain is roughly seven and a half times that in Vietnam. But it compares different sources and years, and averages for very different populations. For skilled urban profiles the gap is smaller: in the mid-level technical example, about €15,300 a year against roughly €55,800 in cost for an average salary in Spain's information and communications sector, about three and a half times as much.
Before deciding, add what does not appear on the payslip: local structure, management, staff turnover and travel. And bear in mind that hiring directly requires an entity in Vietnam; in our guide on representative office, branch or company in Vietnam we compare the options. If you are assessing the country as a whole, our Vietnam market entry page explains how we approach it.
Frequently asked questions
What is the minimum wage in Vietnam in 2026?
It depends on the region. Since 1 January 2026 it ranges from 3,700,000 VND a month in region IV to 5,310,000 VND in region I, the highest level. That is roughly €128 to €183 at the October 2026 exchange rate.
What is the average salary in Vietnam?
According to the statistics office, average monthly income was 9.2 million VND in the third quarter of 2026, about €317. For salaried employees, the average for the first nine months was 10.1 million. In skilled jobs in major cities, salaries are normally considerably higher.
How much does the company pay on top of salary?
For a Vietnamese employee, 21.5% for social insurance, health insurance and unemployment, plus a 2% union fee, with the social and health insurance base capped at 50.6 million VND a month since July 2026 (46.8 million until June). For foreign employees, the employer's share is 20.5% because no unemployment contribution is paid.
Which source should I use to set a salary?
For a specific role, recruitment agencies' sector reports and real job adverts in your city are more useful than the official average. Use several sources, check whether they refer to gross or net pay and treat the ranges as indicative.
How Agilean can help
At Agilean we help Spanish and European companies prepare their entry into Vietnam from Ho Chi Minh City. Our team can help you estimate labour costs with up-to-date data, choose the right structure for hiring and coordinate with local employment and tax advisers. You can see how we work on our Vietnam market entry page.