Cost of living comparison

Turkmenistan

compared to

Laos

Vientiane vs. Ashgabat Cost of Living Summary

Vientiane is 73.5% more expensive than Ashgabat.

Restaurants: pay 68.5% less in Vientiane
Groceries: pay 54.8% less in Vientiane
Transportation: pay 2.7 times more in Vientiane
Housing: pay 48.7% less in Vientiane
Childcare: pay 7.6 times more in Vientiane
Entertainment and Sports: pay 77.6% less in Vientiane
Clothing: pay 64.7% less in Vientiane

The cost of childcare and transportation in Vientiane are more expensive than in Ashgabat. Expenses including entertainment and sports, restaurants, clothing, groceries, and housing are lower in Vientiane. Notably, childcare and transportation are significantly more expensive in Vientiane.

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Vientiane vs. Ashgabat Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Vientiane instead of Ashgabat, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 68.5% less for restaurants

	Ashgabat	Vientiane
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$34.29 TMT120.34	$2.31 LAK52,025	-93.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$13.57 TMT47.64	$5.54 LAK125K	-59.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.32 TMT8.13	$0.62 LAK13,971	-73.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.80 TMT2.81	$0.42 LAK9,364	-48.1%
Average			-68.5%

Ashgabat vs. Vientiane - Cost of restaurants

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pay 54.8% less for groceries

	Ashgabat	Vientiane
Bread 1 loaf	$1.68 TMT5.89	$1.17 LAK26,306	-30.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$20.00 TMT70.20	$13.94 LAK314K	-30.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$18.21 TMT63.90	$7.32 LAK165K	-59.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.17 TMT21.66	$1.81 LAK40,828	-70.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$8.42 TMT29.57	$2.99 LAK67,434	-64.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.46 TMT8.64	$0.90 LAK20,189	-63.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$4.00 TMT14.06	$0.50 LAK11,274	-87.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$3.47 TMT12.17	$0.94 LAK21,159	-72.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.60 TMT5.63	$0.61 LAK13,687	-62.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.91 TMT3.18	$0.74 LAK16,676	-18.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.81 TMT2.84	$0.47 LAK10,488	-42.6%
Average			-54.8%

Ashgabat vs. Vientiane - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.7 times more for transportation

	Ashgabat	Vientiane
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.62 TMT5.69	$5.18 LAK117K	+219.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$8.57 TMT30.09	$50.18 LAK1M	+485.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$43,928.57 TMT154K	$28,736.24 LAK648M	-34.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.71 TMT34.10	$10.86 LAK245K	+11.8%
Average			+170.4%

Ashgabat vs. Vientiane - Cost of transportation

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pay 48.7% less for housing

	Ashgabat	Vientiane
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$102.86 TMT361.03	$11.39 LAK257K	-88.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,128.57 TMT3,961.29	$866.78 LAK20M	-23.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$750.00 TMT2,632.50	$784.74 LAK18M	+4.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$436.97 TMT1,533.78	$55.21 LAK1M	-87.4%
Average			-48.7%

Ashgabat vs. Vientiane - Cost of housing

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pay 7.6 times more for childcare

	Ashgabat	Vientiane
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$22.86 TMT80.23	$338.54 LAK8M	+1381.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$25,714.29 TMT90,257.14	$9,334.55 LAK210M	-63.7%
Average			+658.7%

Ashgabat vs. Vientiane - Cost of childcare

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pay 77.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Ashgabat	Vientiane
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.14 TMT18.05	$1.50 LAK33,816	-70.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$7.05 TMT24.75	$1.73 LAK39,018	-75.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$25.71 TMT90.26	$1.96 LAK44,221	-92.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$195.24 TMT685.29	$50.52 LAK1M	-74.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.29 TMT50.14	$3.56 LAK80,202	-75.1%
Average			-77.6%

Ashgabat vs. Vientiane - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 64.7% less for clothing

	Ashgabat	Vientiane
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$65.71 TMT230.66	$27.70 LAK624K	-57.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$121.43 TMT426.21	$69.25 LAK2M	-43.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$300.00 TMT1,053.00	$58.22 LAK1M	-80.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$185.71 TMT651.86	$42.19 LAK951K	-77.3%
Average			-64.7%

Ashgabat 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: July 2026

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