Cost of living comparison

compared to

Laos vs. Hanoi Cost of Living Summary

Laos is 67.5% more expensive than Hanoi.

Restaurants: pay 50.0% more in Laos
Groceries: pay 52.2% more in Laos
Transportation: pay 2.8 times more in Laos
Housing: pay 2.0 times more in Laos
Childcare: pay 3.4% more in Laos
Entertainment and Sports: pay 42.6% more in Laos
Clothing: pay 36.7% more in Laos

The cost of transportation, housing, groceries, restaurants, entertainment and sports, and clothing in Laos are more expensive than in Hanoi. Notably, transportation and housing are significantly more expensive in Laos.

Laos vs. Hanoi Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 50.0% more for restaurants

	Hanoi	Laos
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$1.89 ₫49,888	$2.08 LAK45,129	+9.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.32 ₫114K	$5.54 LAK120K	+28.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.47 ₫12,472	$0.76 LAK16,502	+60.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.25 ₫6,477	$0.50 LAK10,757	+101.4%
Average			+50.0%

Hanoi vs. Laos - Cost of restaurants

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pay 52.2% more for groceries

	Hanoi	Laos
Bread 1 loaf	$0.91 ₫23,850	$1.13 LAK24,652	+25.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.95 ₫131K	$13.26 LAK288K	+167.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.27 ₫139K	$6.91 LAK150K	+31.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.51 ₫39,703	$2.11 LAK45,747	+39.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.59 ₫41,846	$2.10 LAK45,533	+31.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.44 ₫37,805	$0.76 LAK16,464	-47.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.47 ₫12,384	$0.75 LAK16,296	+59.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.66 ₫17,407	$0.97 LAK21,060	+46.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.50 ₫13,166	$1.30 LAK28,322	+160.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.44 ₫11,638	$0.70 LAK15,315	+59.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.46 ₫12,144	$0.46 LAK9,943	-0.7%
Average			+52.2%

Hanoi vs. Laos - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.8 times more for transportation

	Hanoi	Laos
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.20 ₫84,407	$4.72 LAK103K	+47.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$7.58 ₫200K	$54.89 LAK1M	+624.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$37,880.00 ₫998M	$28,639.89 LAK622M	-24.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.61 ₫148K	$10.51 LAK228K	+87.4%
Average			+183.7%

Hanoi vs. Laos - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.0 times more for housing

	Hanoi	Laos
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$8.67 ₫228K	$9.16 LAK199K	+5.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$348.52 ₫9M	$1,004.64 LAK22M	+188.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$258.44 ₫7M	$817.42 LAK18M	+216.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$56.25 ₫1M	$59.90 LAK1M	+6.5%
Average			+104.2%

Hanoi vs. Laos - Cost of housing

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pay 3.4% more for childcare

	Hanoi	Laos
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$231.49 ₫6M	$296.67 LAK6M	+28.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$11,784.89 ₫310M	$9,267.93 LAK201M	-21.4%
Average			+3.4%

Hanoi vs. Laos - Cost of childcare

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pay 42.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Hanoi	Laos
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.95 ₫24,944	$1.42 LAK30,836	+49.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.79 ₫47,207	$1.66 LAK35,977	-7.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.33 ₫34,922	$1.98 LAK43,037	+49.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$27.93 ₫736K	$67.50 LAK1M	+141.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.79 ₫99,776	$3.02 LAK65,663	-20.2%
Average			+42.6%

Hanoi vs. Laos - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 36.7% more for clothing

	Hanoi	Laos
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$41.82 ₫1M	$50.20 LAK1M	+20.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$22.94 ₫604K	$65.21 LAK1M	+184.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$86.52 ₫2M	$66.39 LAK1M	-23.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$72.39 ₫2M	$47.52 LAK1M	-34.4%
Average			+36.7%

Hanoi 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: April 2026

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