Cost of living comparison

Laos

compared to

Panama

Panama vs. Laos Cost of Living Summary

Panama is 21.6% more expensive than Laos overall.

Restaurants: pay 2.5 times more in Panama
Groceries: pay 44.3% more in Panama
Transportation: pay 21.7% less in Panama
Housing: pay 8.7% more in Panama
Childcare: pay 5.0% less in Panama
Entertainment and Sports: pay 59.7% more in Panama
Clothing: pay 3.4% more in Panama

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

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Panama vs. Laos Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.5 times more for restaurants

	Laos	Panama
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.23 LAK50,211	$8.20 PAB8.20	+268.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.35 LAK121K	$8.90 PAB8.90	+66.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.79 LAK17,779	$1.41 PAB1.41	+78.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.46 LAK10,439	$1.30 PAB1.30	+181.7%
Average			+152.5%

Laos vs. Panama - Cost of restaurants

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pay 44.3% more for groceries

	Laos	Panama
Bread 1 loaf	$1.14 LAK25,737	$2.28 PAB2.28	+100.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$12.87 LAK290K	$6.18 PAB6.18	-52.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.94 LAK156K	$7.09 PAB7.09	+2.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.87 LAK42,101	$2.56 PAB2.56	+36.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.81 LAK63,330	$3.42 PAB3.42	+21.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.84 LAK18,975	$1.86 PAB1.86	+120.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.52 LAK11,662	$0.59 PAB0.59	+14.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.19 LAK26,832	$1.76 PAB1.76	+47.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.69 LAK15,639	$1.67 PAB1.67	+140.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.66 LAK14,918	$1.09 PAB1.09	+65.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.49 LAK10,995	$1.14 PAB1.14	+134.1%
Average			+44.3%

Laos vs. Panama - Cost of groceries

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pay 21.7% less for transportation

	Laos	Panama
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.01 LAK113K	$4.34 PAB4.34	-13.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$52.98 LAK1M	$23.00 PAB23.00	-56.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$27,872.00 LAK628M	$23,920.67 PAB23,920.67	-14.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.14 LAK206K	$16.62 PAB16.62	+81.9%
Average			-21.7%

Laos vs. Panama - Cost of transportation

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pay 8.7% more for housing

	Laos	Panama
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$9.51 LAK214K	$49.81 PAB49.81	+424.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$885.68 LAK20M	$789.50 PAB789.50	-10.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$631.74 LAK14M	$614.84 PAB614.84	-2.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$65.79 LAK1M	$96.53 PAB96.53	+46.7%
Average			+8.7%

Laos vs. Panama - Cost of housing

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pay 5.0% less for childcare

	Laos	Panama
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$435.49 LAK10M	$543.33 PAB543.33	+24.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,982.68 LAK225M	$7,213.83 PAB7,213.83	-27.7%
Average			-5.0%

Laos vs. Panama - Cost of childcare

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pay 59.7% more for entertainment and sports

	Laos	Panama
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.32 LAK29,812	$2.21 PAB2.21	+67.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.66 LAK37,366	$3.73 PAB3.73	+124.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.78 LAK40,169	$5.29 PAB5.29	+196.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$64.54 LAK1M	$50.91 PAB50.91	-21.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.32 LAK74,750	$6.13 PAB6.13	+84.9%
Average			+59.7%

Laos vs. Panama - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 3.4% more for clothing

	Laos	Panama
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$48.46 LAK1M	$45.56 PAB45.56	-6.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$62.95 LAK1M	$36.71 PAB36.71	-41.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$64.36 LAK1M	$69.81 PAB69.81	+8.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$46.02 LAK1M	$88.33 PAB88.33	+92.0%
Average			+3.4%

Laos vs. Panama - 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

Compare further: Laos vs. Panama

Salary Calculator · Free tool

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Quality of Life Comparison · 23 statistics

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Size Comparison · See true size

Laos is about 3.1 times bigger than Panama.

Moving from Laos to Panama · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

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