Cost of living comparison

Zimbabwe

compared to

Laos

Vientiane vs. Harare Cost of Living Summary

Vientiane is 4.7% more expensive than Harare.

Restaurants: pay 48.9% less in Vientiane
Groceries: pay 3.3% more in Vientiane
Transportation: pay 12.8% less in Vientiane
Housing: pay 35.9% more in Vientiane
Childcare: pay 36.6% more in Vientiane
Entertainment and Sports: pay 27.0% less in Vientiane
Clothing: pay 52.6% more in Vientiane

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

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Vientiane vs. Harare Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 48.9% less for restaurants

	Harare	Vientiane
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.00 ZWL3,220.00	$2.67 LAK60,254	-73.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.75 ZWL1,851.50	$5.35 LAK121K	-7.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.96 ZWL308.58	$0.71 LAK16,068	-25.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.47 ZWL151.05	$0.37 LAK8,410	-20.4%
Average			-48.9%

Harare vs. Vientiane - Cost of restaurants

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pay 3.3% more for groceries

	Harare	Vientiane
Bread 1 loaf	$1.00 ZWL322.00	$1.14 LAK25,737	+14.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.73 ZWL1,845.30	$13.59 LAK306K	+137.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.73 ZWL1,843.59	$7.61 LAK171K	+32.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.93 ZWL622.53	$1.87 LAK42,101	-3.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.46 ZWL791.38	$2.81 LAK63,330	+14.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.37 ZWL439.66	$1.09 LAK24,464	-20.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.76 ZWL243.55	$0.52 LAK11,662	-31.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.92 ZWL296.54	$1.19 LAK26,832	+29.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.70 ZWL226.23	$0.69 LAK15,639	-1.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.78 ZWL251.62	$0.66 LAK14,918	-15.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.80 ZWL257.47	$0.49 LAK10,995	-39.0%
Average			+3.3%

Harare vs. Vientiane - Cost of groceries

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pay 12.8% less for transportation

	Harare	Vientiane
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.91 ZWL2,223.82	$5.62 LAK127K	-18.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$60.00 ZWL19,320.00	$48.44 LAK1M	-19.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$22,000.00 ZWL7M	$28,190.13 LAK635M	+28.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$20.00 ZWL6,440.00	$8.47 LAK191K	-57.7%
Average			-12.8%

Harare vs. Vientiane - Cost of transportation

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pay 35.9% more for housing

	Harare	Vientiane
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$68.99 ZWL22,213.67	$12.33 LAK278K	-82.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$390.00 ZWL126K	$643.47 LAK15M	+65.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$316.60 ZWL102K	$414.50 LAK9M	+30.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$39.27 ZWL12,644.39	$69.22 LAK2M	+76.3%
Average			+35.9%

Harare vs. Vientiane - Cost of housing

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pay 36.6% more for childcare

	Harare	Vientiane
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$433.79 ZWL140K	$625.02 LAK14M	+44.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,555.56 ZWL3M	$11,083.07 LAK250M	+29.5%
Average			+36.6%

Harare vs. Vientiane - Cost of childcare

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pay 27.0% less for entertainment and sports

	Harare	Vientiane
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.25 ZWL402.50	$1.36 LAK30,629	+8.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.00 ZWL966.00	$1.79 LAK40,336	-40.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.00 ZWL644.00	$1.78 LAK40,169	-10.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$47.92 ZWL15,429.17	$47.54 LAK1M	-0.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.00 ZWL3,220.00	$4.23 LAK95,401	-57.7%
Average			-27.0%

Harare vs. Vientiane - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 52.6% more for clothing

	Harare	Vientiane
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$23.22 ZWL7,477.56	$26.74 LAK603K	+15.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$21.15 ZWL6,809.04	$66.85 LAK2M	+216.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$38.68 ZWL12,453.92	$56.75 LAK1M	+46.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$40.37 ZWL12,998.47	$41.00 LAK924K	+1.6%
Average			+52.6%

Harare 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 October 2026). How we calculate this

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