Cost of living comparison
compared to
Vientiane vs. Bamako Cost of Living Summary
Vientiane is 49.7% more expensive than Bamako.
Vientiane vs. Bamako Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Vientiane instead of Bamako, you would:
pay 31.8% less for restaurants
|
Bamako
|
Vientiane
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$6.70
F CFA3,845
|
$2.31
LAK52,025
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$6.42
F CFA3,684
|
$5.54
LAK125K
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.77
F CFA443
|
$0.62
LAK13,971
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.58
F CFA332
|
$0.42
LAK9,364
|
|
Bamako vs. Vientiane - Cost of restaurants
pay 23.5% less for groceries
|
Bamako
|
Vientiane
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.84
F CFA2,201
|
$1.17
LAK26,306
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.91
F CFA5,110
|
$13.94
LAK314K
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$8.86
F CFA5,081
|
$7.32
LAK165K
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.50
F CFA3,155
|
$1.81
LAK40,828
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.08
F CFA4,062
|
$2.99
LAK67,434
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.81
F CFA1,041
|
$0.90
LAK20,189
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.48
F CFA273
|
$0.50
LAK11,274
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.28
F CFA736
|
$0.94
LAK21,159
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.95
F CFA547
|
$0.61
LAK13,687
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.56
F CFA320
|
$0.74
LAK16,676
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.64
F CFA365
|
$0.47
LAK10,488
|
|
Bamako vs. Vientiane - Cost of groceries
pay 17.4% more for transportation
|
Bamako
|
Vientiane
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.41
F CFA2,531
|
$5.18
LAK117K
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass | ?? |
$50.18
LAK1M
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) | ?? |
$28,736.24
LAK648M
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | ?? |
$10.86
LAK245K
|
|
Bamako vs. Vientiane - Cost of transportation
pay 3.9 times more for housing
|
Bamako
|
Vientiane
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$57.51
F CFA32,985
|
$11.39
LAK257K
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$175.00
F CFA100K
|
$866.78
LAK20M
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$80.00
F CFA45,883
|
$784.74
LAK18M
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$114.71
F CFA65,788
|
$55.21
LAK1M
|
|
Bamako vs. Vientiane - Cost of housing
pay (unknown) more for childcare
|
Bamako
|
Vientiane
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly | ?? |
$338.54
LAK8M
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | ?? |
$9,334.55
LAK210M
|
Bamako vs. Vientiane - Cost of childcare
pay 0.5% more for entertainment and sports
|
Bamako
|
Vientiane
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.39
F CFA1,369
|
$1.50
LAK33,816
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$1.89
F CFA1,084
|
$1.73
LAK39,018
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$0.93
F CFA535
|
$1.96
LAK44,221
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$67.41
F CFA38,664
|
$50.52
LAK1M
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$5.67
F CFA3,253
|
$3.56
LAK80,202
|
|
Bamako vs. Vientiane - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay (unknown) more for clothing
|
Bamako
|
Vientiane
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
?? |
$27.70
LAK624K
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
?? |
$69.25
LAK2M
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
?? |
$58.22
LAK1M
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) | ?? |
$42.19
LAK951K
|
Bamako vs. Vientiane - Cost of clothing
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
Change currency:
Compare further: Bamako vs. Vientiane
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in Mali vs. Laos.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Mali and Laos.
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
Ask the Elsewhere Community
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Vientiane or Bamako. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.