Cost of living comparison

Nepal

compared to

Laos

Vientiane vs. Kathmandu Cost of Living Summary

Vientiane is 2.3 times more expensive than Kathmandu.

Restaurants: pay 44.2% more in Vientiane
Groceries: pay 95.1% more in Vientiane
Transportation: pay 89.9% more in Vientiane
Housing: pay 4.2 times more in Vientiane
Childcare: pay 3.6 times more in Vientiane
Entertainment and Sports: pay 13.6% more in Vientiane
Clothing: pay 49.7% more in Vientiane

The cost of housing, childcare, groceries, transportation, clothing, and restaurants in Vientiane are more expensive than in Kathmandu. Notably, housing, childcare, and groceries are significantly more expensive in Vientiane.

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Vientiane vs. Kathmandu Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 44.2% more for restaurants

	Kathmandu	Vientiane
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$1.76 NPR268.75	$2.31 LAK52,069	+31.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.34 NPR967.51	$5.54 LAK125K	-12.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.54 NPR82.69	$0.62 LAK13,983	+14.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.17 NPR25.97	$0.42 LAK9,372	+144.1%
Average			+44.2%

Kathmandu vs. Vientiane - Cost of restaurants

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pay 95.1% more for groceries

	Kathmandu	Vientiane
Bread 1 loaf	$0.55 NPR83.66	$1.17 LAK26,328	+112.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.49 NPR685.60	$13.94 LAK314K	+210.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.16 NPR481.44	$7.32 LAK165K	+131.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.77 NPR269.63	$1.81 LAK40,863	+2.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.40 NPR213.89	$2.99 LAK67,492	+113.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.97 NPR148.50	$0.90 LAK20,206	-8.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.45 NPR69.11	$0.50 LAK11,284	+10.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.54 NPR82.80	$0.94 LAK21,177	+72.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.30 NPR45.85	$0.61 LAK13,699	+102.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.22 NPR33.35	$0.74 LAK16,690	+238.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.29 NPR44.47	$0.47 LAK10,497	+59.6%
Average			+95.1%

Kathmandu vs. Vientiane - Cost of groceries

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pay 89.9% more for transportation

	Kathmandu	Vientiane
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.57 NPR697.05	$5.18 LAK117K	+13.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$10.57 NPR1,612.51	$50.18 LAK1M	+374.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$31,715.30 NPR5M	$28,736.24 LAK648M	-9.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$13.39 NPR2,042.52	$10.86 LAK245K	-18.9%
Average			+89.9%

Kathmandu vs. Vientiane - Cost of transportation

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pay 4.2 times more for housing

	Kathmandu	Vientiane
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$8.25 NPR1,258.25	$11.39 LAK257K	+38.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$179.99 NPR27,453.17	$866.78 LAK20M	+381.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$93.92 NPR14,325.67	$784.74 LAK18M	+735.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$23.92 NPR3,647.92	$55.21 LAK1M	+130.8%
Average			+321.5%

Kathmandu vs. Vientiane - Cost of housing

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pay 3.6 times more for childcare

	Kathmandu	Vientiane
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$80.28 NPR12,245.76	$338.54 LAK8M	+321.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,085.67 NPR471K	$9,334.55 LAK211M	+202.5%
Average			+262.1%

Kathmandu vs. Vientiane - Cost of childcare

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pay 13.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Kathmandu	Vientiane
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.61 NPR397.75	$1.50 LAK33,845	-42.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.78 NPR272.14	$1.73 LAK39,051	-3.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.82 NPR430.00	$1.96 LAK44,259	-30.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$21.82 NPR3,328.40	$50.52 LAK1M	+131.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.17 NPR483.75	$3.56 LAK80,270	+12.2%
Average			+13.6%

Kathmandu vs. Vientiane - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 49.7% more for clothing

	Kathmandu	Vientiane
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$22.91 NPR3,493.78	$27.70 LAK625K	+20.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$26.63 NPR4,061.15	$69.25 LAK2M	+160.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$56.89 NPR8,676.86	$58.22 LAK1M	+2.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$36.56 NPR5,576.61	$42.19 LAK952K	+15.4%
Average			+49.7%

Kathmandu vs. Vientiane - 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: August 2026

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