Cost of living comparison

United Arab Emirates

compared to

Laos

Vientiane vs. Abu Dhabi Cost of Living Summary

Vientiane is 26.0% cheaper than Abu Dhabi.

Restaurants: pay 44.5% less in Vientiane
Groceries: pay 0.9% more in Vientiane
Transportation: pay 44.2% more in Vientiane
Housing: pay 53.1% less in Vientiane
Childcare: pay 36.5% less in Vientiane
Entertainment and Sports: pay 63.8% less in Vientiane
Clothing: pay 29.4% less in Vientiane

The cost of transportation and groceries in Vientiane are more expensive than in Abu Dhabi. Expenses including entertainment and sports, housing, restaurants, childcare, and clothing 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 44.5% less for restaurants

	Abu Dhabi	Vientiane
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.89 AED40.00	$2.31 LAK52,069	-78.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.53 AED35.00	$5.54 LAK125K	-41.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.29 AED4.74	$0.62 LAK13,983	-52.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.44 AED1.61	$0.42 LAK9,372	-5.5%
Average			-44.5%

Abu Dhabi vs. Vientiane - Cost of restaurants

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pay 0.9% more for groceries

	Abu Dhabi	Vientiane
Bread 1 loaf	$1.60 AED5.89	$1.17 LAK26,328	-27.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.28 AED19.39	$13.94 LAK314K	+164.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.50 AED27.54	$7.32 LAK165K	-2.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.64 AED13.37	$1.81 LAK40,863	-50.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.12 AED15.11	$2.99 LAK67,492	-27.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.15 AED4.21	$0.90 LAK20,206	-21.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 AED3.00	$0.50 LAK11,284	-38.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.83 AED3.05	$0.94 LAK21,177	+13.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.67 AED2.46	$0.61 LAK13,699	-9.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.53 AED1.96	$0.74 LAK16,690	+38.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.65 AED2.39	$0.47 LAK10,497	-28.6%
Average			+0.9%

Abu Dhabi vs. Vientiane - Cost of groceries

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pay 44.2% more for transportation

	Abu Dhabi	Vientiane
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.94 AED10.80	$5.18 LAK117K	+76.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$25.87 AED95.00	$50.18 LAK1M	+94.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$44,639.07 AED164K	$28,736.24 LAK648M	-35.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.62 AED28.00	$10.86 LAK245K	+42.4%
Average			+44.2%

Abu Dhabi vs. Vientiane - Cost of transportation

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pay 53.1% less for housing

	Abu Dhabi	Vientiane
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$100.96 AED370.79	$11.39 LAK257K	-88.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,490.68 AED5,474.52	$866.78 LAK20M	-41.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,109.19 AED4,073.48	$784.74 LAK18M	-29.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$115.93 AED425.75	$55.21 LAK1M	-52.4%
Average			-53.1%

Abu Dhabi vs. Vientiane - Cost of housing

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pay 36.5% less for childcare

	Abu Dhabi	Vientiane
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$625.43 AED2,296.88	$338.54 LAK8M	-45.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$12,786.81 AED46,959.57	$9,334.55 LAK211M	-27.0%
Average			-36.5%

Abu Dhabi vs. Vientiane - Cost of childcare

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pay 63.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Abu Dhabi	Vientiane
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$11.29 AED41.45	$1.50 LAK33,845	-86.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.77 AED21.18	$1.73 LAK39,051	-70.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.26 AED23.00	$1.96 LAK44,259	-68.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$62.90 AED230.98	$50.52 LAK1M	-19.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.61 AED50.00	$3.56 LAK80,270	-73.9%
Average			-63.8%

Abu Dhabi vs. Vientiane - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 29.4% less for clothing

	Abu Dhabi	Vientiane
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$60.62 AED222.62	$27.70 LAK625K	-54.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$51.93 AED190.71	$69.25 LAK2M	+33.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$98.09 AED360.23	$58.22 LAK1M	-40.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$96.21 AED353.33	$42.19 LAK952K	-56.1%
Average			-29.4%

Abu Dhabi vs. Vientiane - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: August 2026

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