Cost of living comparison

compared to

Laos vs. Beijing Cost of Living Summary

Laos is 7.9% more expensive than Beijing.

Restaurants: pay 20.5% more in Laos
Groceries: pay 29.9% more in Laos
Transportation: pay 67.6% more in Laos
Housing: pay 23.2% more in Laos
Childcare: pay 59.2% less in Laos
Entertainment and Sports: pay 23.3% less in Laos
Clothing: pay 3.5% less in Laos

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

Laos vs. Beijing Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Laos instead of Beijing, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 20.5% more for restaurants

	Beijing	Laos
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.21 CN¥29.67	$2.08 LAK44,966	-50.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.91 CN¥34.62	$5.54 LAK119,908	+12.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.48 CN¥3.38	$0.76 LAK16,442	+58.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.31 CN¥2.17	$0.50 LAK10,718	+61.3%
Average			+20.5%

Beijing vs. Laos - Cost of restaurants

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pay 29.9% more for groceries

	Beijing	Laos
Bread 1 loaf	$1.71 CN¥12.04	$1.13 LAK24,563	-33.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.47 CN¥52.69	$13.26 LAK287,030	+77.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.64 CN¥46.85	$6.91 LAK149,595	+4.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.78 CN¥12.53	$2.11 LAK45,582	+18.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.53 CN¥10.80	$2.10 LAK45,369	+36.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.98 CN¥6.93	$0.76 LAK16,404	-22.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.43	$0.75 LAK16,237	-2.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.80 CN¥5.65	$0.97 LAK20,984	+21.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.60 CN¥4.25	$1.30 LAK28,220	+116.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.35 CN¥2.46	$0.70 LAK15,259	+102.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.41 CN¥2.91	$0.46 LAK9,907	+10.9%
Average			+29.9%

Beijing vs. Laos - Cost of groceries

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pay 67.6% more for transportation

	Beijing	Laos
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.21 CN¥29.71	$4.72 LAK102,223	+12.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$31.54 CN¥222.53	$54.89 LAK1,188,021	+74.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$18,225.66 CN¥128,572.93	$28,639.89 LAK619,905,563	+57.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.63 CN¥32.64	$10.51 LAK227,430	+127.1%
Average			+67.6%

Beijing vs. Laos - Cost of transportation

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pay 23.2% more for housing

	Beijing	Laos
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$12.93 CN¥91.22	$9.16 LAK198,182	-29.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$935.23 CN¥6,597.60	$1,004.64 LAK21,745,269	+7.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$504.41 CN¥3,558.33	$817.42 LAK17,693,017	+62.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$39.27 CN¥277.00	$59.90 LAK1,296,616	+52.6%
Average			+23.2%

Beijing vs. Laos - Cost of housing

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pay 59.2% less for childcare

	Beijing	Laos
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$710.76 CN¥5,014.09	$296.67 LAK6,421,270	-58.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$23,242.73 CN¥163,965.81	$9,267.93 LAK200,602,878	-60.1%
Average			-59.2%

Beijing vs. Laos - Cost of childcare

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pay 23.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Beijing	Laos
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.12 CN¥7.91	$1.42 LAK30,724	+26.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.90 CN¥20.47	$1.66 LAK35,847	-42.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.21 CN¥29.67	$1.98 LAK42,881	-52.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$57.84 CN¥408.00	$67.50 LAK1,461,034	+16.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.41 CN¥59.34	$3.02 LAK65,425	-64.1%
Average			-23.3%

Beijing vs. Laos - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 3.5% less for clothing

	Beijing	Laos
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$62.30 CN¥439.49	$50.20 LAK1,086,669	-19.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$36.37 CN¥256.59	$65.21 LAK1,411,421	+79.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$81.74 CN¥576.64	$66.39 LAK1,436,936	-18.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.53 CN¥744.46	$47.52 LAK1,028,648	-55.0%
Average			-3.5%

Beijing vs. Laos - 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: December 2025

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