Cost of living comparison

United Arab Emirates

compared to

Laos

Vientiane vs. Abu Dhabi Cost of Living Summary

Vientiane is 45.2% cheaper than Abu Dhabi.

Restaurants: pay 53.4% less in Vientiane
Groceries: pay 6.7% less in Vientiane
Transportation: pay 34.5% more in Vientiane
Housing: pay 68.2% less in Vientiane
Childcare: pay 23.1% less in Vientiane
Entertainment and Sports: pay 72.5% less in Vientiane
Clothing: pay 42.1% less in Vientiane

Expenses including entertainment and sports, housing, restaurants, clothing, childcare, and groceries are lower in Vientiane.

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Vientiane vs. Abu Dhabi Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Vientiane instead of Abu Dhabi, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 53.4% less for restaurants

	Abu Dhabi	Vientiane
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.17 AED30.00	$2.67 LAK60,242	-67.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.53 AED35.00	$5.35 LAK120K	-43.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.15 AED4.24	$0.71 LAK16,065	-38.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.42 AED1.53	$0.37 LAK8,409	-10.3%
Average			-53.4%

Abu Dhabi vs. Vientiane - Cost of restaurants

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pay 6.7% less for groceries

	Abu Dhabi	Vientiane
Bread 1 loaf	$1.62 AED5.94	$1.14 LAK25,732	-29.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.81 AED21.35	$13.59 LAK306K	+133.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.38 AED27.11	$7.61 LAK171K	+3.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.49 AED12.81	$1.87 LAK42,093	-46.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.40 AED16.17	$2.81 LAK63,318	-36.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.12 AED4.13	$1.09 LAK24,459	-3.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.95 AED3.48	$0.52 LAK11,660	-45.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.84 AED3.09	$1.19 LAK26,827	+41.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 AED2.60	$0.69 LAK15,636	-1.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.55 AED2.03	$0.66 LAK14,915	+20.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 AED1.96	$0.49 LAK10,993	-8.5%
Average			-6.7%

Abu Dhabi vs. Vientiane - Cost of groceries

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pay 34.5% more for transportation

	Abu Dhabi	Vientiane
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.63 AED13.33	$5.62 LAK127K	+55.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$26.55 AED97.50	$48.44 LAK1M	+82.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,949.09 AED110K	$28,190.13 LAK635M	-5.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.62 AED28.00	$8.47 LAK191K	+11.1%
Average			+34.5%

Abu Dhabi vs. Vientiane - Cost of transportation

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pay 68.2% less for housing

	Abu Dhabi	Vientiane
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$88.30 AED324.32	$12.33 LAK278K	-86.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,966.33 AED7,222.34	$643.47 LAK14M	-67.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,399.56 AED5,140.58	$414.50 LAK9M	-70.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$148.00 AED543.60	$69.22 LAK2M	-53.2%
Average			-68.2%

Abu Dhabi vs. Vientiane - Cost of housing

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pay 23.1% less for childcare

	Abu Dhabi	Vientiane
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$790.93 AED2,905.08	$625.02 LAK14M	-21.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$14,819.26 AED54,431.15	$11,083.07 LAK250M	-25.2%
Average			-23.1%

Abu Dhabi vs. Vientiane - Cost of childcare

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pay 72.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Abu Dhabi	Vientiane
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$11.57 AED42.50	$1.36 LAK30,623	-88.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.96 AED21.88	$1.79 LAK40,329	-69.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.67 AED24.50	$1.78 LAK40,161	-73.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$95.29 AED350.01	$47.54 LAK1M	-50.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.97 AED55.00	$4.23 LAK95,384	-71.7%
Average			-72.5%

Abu Dhabi vs. Vientiane - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 42.1% less for clothing

	Abu Dhabi	Vientiane
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$61.46 AED225.76	$26.74 LAK602K	-56.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$49.09 AED180.32	$66.85 LAK2M	+36.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$111.63 AED410.01	$56.75 LAK1M	-49.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$110.14 AED404.56	$41.00 LAK924K	-62.8%
Average			-42.1%

Abu Dhabi vs. Vientiane - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

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