Cost of living comparison

Moldova

compared to

Laos

Vientiane vs. Chisinau Cost of Living Summary

Vientiane is 9.1% cheaper than Chisinau.

Restaurants: pay 61.5% less in Vientiane
Groceries: pay 36.7% more in Vientiane
Transportation: pay 36.6% more in Vientiane
Housing: pay 16.7% less in Vientiane
Childcare: pay 65.3% more in Vientiane
Entertainment and Sports: pay 29.0% less in Vientiane
Clothing: pay 46.2% less in Vientiane

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

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Vientiane vs. Chisinau Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 61.5% less for restaurants

	Chisinau	Vientiane
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$11.22 MDL200.58	$2.67 LAK60,126	-76.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.70 MDL155.45	$5.35 LAK120K	-38.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.21 MDL21.60	$0.71 LAK16,034	-41.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.89 MDL15.92	$0.37 LAK8,393	-58.1%
Average			-61.5%

Chisinau vs. Vientiane - Cost of restaurants

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pay 36.7% more for groceries

	Chisinau	Vientiane
Bread 1 loaf	$0.71 MDL12.71	$1.14 LAK25,683	+60.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.89 MDL87.39	$13.59 LAK306K	+178.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.73 MDL84.61	$7.61 LAK171K	+60.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.79 MDL49.81	$1.87 LAK42,012	-32.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.36 MDL42.13	$2.81 LAK63,196	+19.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.44 MDL7.83	$1.09 LAK24,412	+147.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.87 MDL15.60	$0.52 LAK11,638	-40.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.94 MDL16.79	$1.19 LAK26,775	+26.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.01 MDL17.97	$0.69 LAK15,606	-31.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.31 MDL5.58	$0.66 LAK14,886	+112.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.25 MDL4.40	$0.49 LAK10,972	+98.4%
Average			+36.7%

Chisinau vs. Vientiane - Cost of groceries

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pay 36.6% more for transportation

	Chisinau	Vientiane
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.44 MDL115.06	$5.62 LAK126K	-12.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$13.52 MDL241.70	$48.44 LAK1M	+258.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,507.41 MDL528K	$28,190.13 LAK634M	-4.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.94 MDL88.26	$8.47 LAK190K	+71.5%
Average			+36.6%

Chisinau vs. Vientiane - Cost of transportation

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pay 16.7% less for housing

	Chisinau	Vientiane
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.59 MDL189.39	$12.33 LAK277K	+16.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$679.74 MDL12,152.24	$643.47 LAK14M	-5.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$435.34 MDL7,782.96	$414.50 LAK9M	-4.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$185.85 MDL3,322.64	$69.22 LAK2M	-62.8%
Average			-16.7%

Chisinau vs. Vientiane - Cost of housing

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pay 65.3% more for childcare

	Chisinau	Vientiane
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$434.06 MDL7,759.94	$625.02 LAK14M	+44.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,841.67 MDL104K	$11,083.07 LAK249M	+89.7%
Average			+65.3%

Chisinau vs. Vientiane - Cost of childcare

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pay 29.0% less for entertainment and sports

	Chisinau	Vientiane
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.24 MDL40.12	$1.36 LAK30,564	-39.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.16 MDL38.67	$1.79 LAK40,251	-17.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.42 MDL61.18	$1.78 LAK40,084	-47.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.67 MDL745.01	$47.54 LAK1M	+14.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.41 MDL150.43	$4.23 LAK95,200	-49.7%
Average			-29.0%

Chisinau vs. Vientiane - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 46.2% less for clothing

	Chisinau	Vientiane
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$79.80 MDL1,426.62	$26.74 LAK601K	-66.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$47.07 MDL841.43	$66.85 LAK2M	+42.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$114.14 MDL2,040.51	$56.75 LAK1M	-50.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$115.56 MDL2,065.97	$41.00 LAK922K	-64.5%
Average			-46.2%

Chisinau vs. Vientiane - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

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