Cost of living comparison

compared to

Laos vs. Burma Cost of Living Summary

Laos is 49.1% more expensive than Burma overall.

Restaurants: pay 12.1% less in Laos
Groceries: pay 31.6% more in Laos
Transportation: pay 97.3% more in Laos
Housing: pay 2.8 times more in Laos
Childcare: pay 2.6% more in Laos
Entertainment and Sports: pay 66.4% more in Laos
Clothing: pay 27.3% less in Laos

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

Laos vs. Burma Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 12.1% less for restaurants

	Burma	Laos
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.10 MMK4,401	$2.08 LAK44,969	-0.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.50 MMK11,548	$5.54 LAK119,918	+0.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.84 MMK1,757	$0.76 LAK16,444	-9.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.81 MMK1,708	$0.50 LAK10,719	-39.1%
Average			-12.1%

Burma vs. Laos - Cost of restaurants

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pay 31.6% more for groceries

	Burma	Laos
Bread 1 loaf	$0.99 MMK2,075	$1.13 LAK24,565	+14.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.15 MMK8,715	$13.26 LAK287,052	+219.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.40 MMK11,335	$6.91 LAK149,607	+28.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.29 MMK2,712	$2.11 LAK45,585	+63.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.64 MMK5,540	$2.10 LAK45,372	-20.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.99 MMK4,177	$0.76 LAK16,405	-61.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.47 MMK991	$0.75 LAK16,239	+58.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.23 MMK2,587	$0.97 LAK20,985	-21.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 MMK1,619	$1.30 LAK28,222	+69.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.63 MMK1,317	$0.70 LAK15,261	+12.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 MMK1,114	$0.46 LAK9,907	-13.8%
Average			+31.6%

Burma vs. Laos - Cost of groceries

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pay 97.3% more for transportation

	Burma	Laos
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$34.06 MMK71,520	$4.72 LAK102,231	-86.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$10.00 MMK20,997	$54.89 LAK1,188,115	+448.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$30,000.00 MMK62,991,000	$28,639.89 LAK619,954,342	-4.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.03 MMK16,870	$10.51 LAK227,448	+30.8%
Average			+97.3%

Burma vs. Laos - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.8 times more for housing

	Burma	Laos
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$22.48 MMK47,204	$9.16 LAK198,197	-59.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$287.80 MMK604,294	$1,004.64 LAK21,746,980	+249.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$143.79 MMK301,921	$817.42 LAK17,694,410	+468.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$33.01 MMK69,312	$59.90 LAK1,296,718	+81.5%
Average			+184.9%

Burma vs. Laos - Cost of housing

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pay 2.6% more for childcare

	Burma	Laos
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$251.69 MMK528,477	$296.67 LAK6,421,775	+17.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$10,607.14 MMK22,271,812	$9,267.93 LAK200,618,663	-12.6%
Average			+2.6%

Burma vs. Laos - Cost of childcare

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pay 66.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Burma	Laos
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.90 MMK1,890	$1.42 LAK30,727	+57.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.52 MMK3,190	$1.66 LAK35,850	+9.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.32 MMK2,770	$1.98 LAK42,885	+50.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$22.59 MMK47,434	$67.50 LAK1,461,149	+198.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$2.60 MMK5,459	$3.02 LAK65,430	+16.3%
Average			+66.4%

Burma vs. Laos - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 27.3% less for clothing

	Burma	Laos
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$62.11 MMK130,421	$50.20 LAK1,086,754	-19.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$64.37 MMK135,149	$65.21 LAK1,411,532	+1.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$92.26 MMK193,726	$66.39 LAK1,437,049	-28.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$129.71 MMK272,353	$47.52 LAK1,028,728	-63.4%
Average			-27.3%

Burma 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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