Cost of living comparison

compared to

Laos vs. Japan Cost of Living Summary

Laos is 9.0% cheaper than Japan overall.

Restaurants: pay 30.9% less in Laos
Groceries: pay 13.5% less in Laos
Transportation: pay 7.9% less in Laos
Housing: pay 23.4% more in Laos
Childcare: pay 14.9% less in Laos
Entertainment and Sports: pay 40.4% less in Laos
Clothing: pay 21.4% more in Laos

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

Laos vs. Japan Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 30.9% less for restaurants

	Japan	Laos
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.60 ¥1,029	$2.08 LAK44,966	-68.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.10 ¥794	$5.54 LAK119,908	+8.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.07 ¥166	$0.76 LAK16,442	-28.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.76 ¥118	$0.50 LAK10,718	-34.9%
Average			-30.9%

Japan vs. Laos - Cost of restaurants

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pay 13.5% less for groceries

	Japan	Laos
Bread 1 loaf	$1.50 ¥234	$1.13 LAK24,563	-24.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.07 ¥789	$13.26 LAK287,030	+161.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.67 ¥883	$6.91 LAK149,595	+22.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.08 ¥324	$2.11 LAK45,582	+1.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.93 ¥456	$2.10 LAK45,369	-28.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.14 ¥333	$0.76 LAK16,404	-64.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.12 ¥174	$0.75 LAK16,237	-32.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.69 ¥264	$0.97 LAK20,984	-42.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.13 ¥332	$1.30 LAK28,220	-38.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.22 ¥190	$0.70 LAK15,259	-42.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.15 ¥180	$0.46 LAK9,907	-60.3%
Average			-13.5%

Japan vs. Laos - Cost of groceries

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pay 7.9% less for transportation

	Japan	Laos
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.39 ¥684	$4.72 LAK102,223	+7.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$59.14 ¥9,212	$54.89 LAK1,188,021	-7.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$22,599.51 ¥3,519,986	$28,639.89 LAK619,905,563	+26.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$25.32 ¥3,944	$10.51 LAK227,430	-58.5%
Average			-7.9%

Japan vs. Laos - Cost of transportation

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pay 23.4% more for housing

	Japan	Laos
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$33.91 ¥5,282	$9.16 LAK198,182	-73.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$543.18 ¥84,603	$1,004.64 LAK21,745,269	+85.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$353.61 ¥55,077	$817.42 LAK17,693,017	+131.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$118.72 ¥18,491	$59.90 LAK1,296,616	-49.5%
Average			+23.4%

Japan vs. Laos - Cost of housing

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pay 14.9% less for childcare

	Japan	Laos
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$296.89 ¥46,241	$296.67 LAK6,421,270	-0.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$13,159.48 ¥2,049,655	$9,267.93 LAK200,602,878	-29.6%
Average			-14.9%

Japan vs. Laos - Cost of childcare

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pay 40.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Japan	Laos
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.60 ¥406	$1.42 LAK30,724	-45.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.03 ¥471	$1.66 LAK35,847	-45.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.89 ¥605	$1.98 LAK42,881	-49.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$59.54 ¥9,274	$67.50 LAK1,461,034	+13.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$12.46 ¥1,941	$3.02 LAK65,425	-75.7%
Average			-40.4%

Japan vs. Laos - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 21.4% more for clothing

	Japan	Laos
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$44.79 ¥6,977	$50.20 LAK1,086,669	+12.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.04 ¥4,990	$65.21 LAK1,411,421	+103.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$57.37 ¥8,936	$66.39 LAK1,436,936	+15.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$87.37 ¥13,609	$47.52 LAK1,028,648	-45.6%
Average			+21.4%

Japan 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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