Cost of living comparison

Thailand

compared to

Laos

Vientiane vs. Bangkok Cost of Living Summary

Vientiane is 9.6% cheaper than Bangkok.

Restaurants: pay 8.3% less in Vientiane
Groceries: pay 0.3% less in Vientiane
Transportation: pay 4.0% more in Vientiane
Housing: pay 30.0% more in Vientiane
Childcare: pay 37.2% less in Vientiane
Entertainment and Sports: pay 38.1% less in Vientiane
Clothing: pay 17.2% less in Vientiane

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

Planning a move to Laos? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Vientiane vs. Bangkok Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 8.3% less for restaurants

	Bangkok	Vientiane
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.10 THB104.17	$2.31 LAK52,025	-25.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.20 THB208.33	$5.54 LAK125K	-10.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.79 THB26.60	$0.62 LAK13,971	-21.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.33 THB11.20	$0.42 LAK9,364	+24.6%
Average			-8.3%

Bangkok vs. Vientiane - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 0.3% less for groceries

	Bangkok	Vientiane
Bread 1 loaf	$1.44 THB48.38	$1.17 LAK26,306	-18.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.50 THB285.73	$13.94 LAK314K	+63.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.23 THB242.87	$7.32 LAK165K	+1.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.28 THB76.74	$1.81 LAK40,828	-20.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.38 THB46.36	$2.99 LAK67,434	+116.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.59 THB53.44	$0.90 LAK20,189	-43.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 THB27.44	$0.50 LAK11,274	-38.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.02 THB34.38	$0.94 LAK21,159	-8.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.85 THB28.65	$0.61 LAK13,687	-28.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.72 THB24.20	$0.74 LAK16,676	+2.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.65 THB21.81	$0.47 LAK10,488	-28.3%
Average			-0.3%

Bangkok vs. Vientiane - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 4.0% more for transportation

	Bangkok	Vientiane
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.69 THB157.65	$5.18 LAK117K	+10.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$37.21 THB1,250.00	$50.18 LAK1M	+34.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$37,206.42 THB1M	$28,736.24 LAK648M	-22.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$11.63 THB390.63	$10.86 LAK245K	-6.6%
Average			+4.0%

Bangkok vs. Vientiane - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 30.0% more for housing

	Bangkok	Vientiane
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$16.91 THB567.99	$11.39 LAK257K	-32.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$675.06 THB22,679.51	$866.78 LAK20M	+28.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$321.97 THB10,816.91	$784.74 LAK18M	+143.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$68.69 THB2,307.64	$55.21 LAK1M	-19.6%
Average			+30.0%

Bangkok vs. Vientiane - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 37.2% less for childcare

	Bangkok	Vientiane
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$609.37 THB20,472.80	$338.54 LAK8M	-44.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$13,346.39 THB448K	$9,334.55 LAK210M	-30.1%
Average			-37.2%

Bangkok vs. Vientiane - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 38.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Bangkok	Vientiane
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.79 THB93.75	$1.50 LAK33,816	-46.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.54 THB85.35	$1.73 LAK39,018	-31.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.40 THB147.66	$1.96 LAK44,221	-55.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$51.03 THB1,714.57	$50.52 LAK1M	-1.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.06 THB270.83	$3.56 LAK80,202	-55.9%
Average			-38.1%

Bangkok vs. Vientiane - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 17.2% less for clothing

	Bangkok	Vientiane
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$58.81 THB1,975.64	$27.70 LAK624K	-52.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$38.03 THB1,277.77	$69.25 LAK2M	+82.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$104.24 THB3,501.99	$58.22 LAK1M	-44.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$91.47 THB3,072.92	$42.19 LAK951K	-53.9%
Average			-17.2%

Bangkok vs. Vientiane - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

Compare further: Bangkok vs. Vientiane

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Vientiane?

More cost comparisons

Bangkok vs.

Warsaw

Bangkok vs.

Vienna

Bangkok vs.

Athens

Bangkok vs.

Algiers

Bangkok vs.

Manila

Bangkok vs.

London

Bangkok vs.

Hong Kong

Bangkok vs.

Mexico City

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Thailand vs. Laos. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Thailand 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

Add prices for Bangkok

Add prices for Vientiane

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Vientiane or Bangkok. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.