Cost of living comparison

Zambia

compared to

Laos

Vientiane vs. Lusaka Cost of Living Summary

Vientiane is 20.5% more expensive than Lusaka.

Restaurants: pay 28.4% less in Vientiane
Groceries: pay 12.8% less in Vientiane
Transportation: pay 38.2% more in Vientiane
Housing: pay 62.2% more in Vientiane
Childcare: pay 73.5% more in Vientiane
Entertainment and Sports: pay 22.2% less in Vientiane
Clothing: pay 37.1% more in Vientiane

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

Planning a move to Laos? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Vientiane vs. Lusaka Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 28.4% less for restaurants

	Lusaka	Vientiane
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.53 ZMW110.20	$2.67 LAK60,254	-51.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.03 ZMW100.18	$5.35 LAK121K	+6.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.75 ZMW15.03	$0.71 LAK16,068	-5.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.47 ZMW9.39	$0.37 LAK8,410	-20.8%
Average			-28.4%

Lusaka vs. Vientiane - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 12.8% less for groceries

	Lusaka	Vientiane
Bread 1 loaf	$1.20 ZMW23.92	$1.14 LAK25,737	-4.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.15 ZMW102.63	$13.59 LAK306K	+164.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.52 ZMW129.88	$7.61 LAK171K	+16.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.94 ZMW38.66	$1.87 LAK42,101	-3.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.87 ZMW57.22	$2.81 LAK63,330	-2.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.53 ZMW30.42	$1.09 LAK24,464	-28.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.10 ZMW21.94	$0.52 LAK11,662	-53.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.65 ZMW32.94	$1.19 LAK26,832	-28.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.70 ZMW13.88	$0.69 LAK15,639	-0.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.16 ZMW23.20	$0.66 LAK14,918	-43.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.83 ZMW16.51	$0.49 LAK10,995	-41.1%
Average			-12.8%

Lusaka vs. Vientiane - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 38.2% more for transportation

	Lusaka	Vientiane
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.77 ZMW115.01	$5.62 LAK127K	-2.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$50.15 ZMW999.41	$48.44 LAK1M	-3.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$7,541.11 ZMW150K	$28,190.13 LAK635M	+273.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.58 ZMW290.52	$8.47 LAK191K	-41.9%
Average			+38.2%

Lusaka vs. Vientiane - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 62.2% more for housing

	Lusaka	Vientiane
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$54.99 ZMW1,095.72	$12.33 LAK278K	-77.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$384.95 ZMW7,670.79	$643.47 LAK15M	+67.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$179.40 ZMW3,574.79	$414.50 LAK9M	+131.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$61.51 ZMW1,225.74	$69.22 LAK2M	+12.5%
Average			+62.2%

Lusaka vs. Vientiane - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 73.5% more for childcare

	Lusaka	Vientiane
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$138.25 ZMW2,754.96	$625.02 LAK14M	+352.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$16,638.36 ZMW332K	$11,083.07 LAK250M	-33.4%
Average			+73.5%

Lusaka vs. Vientiane - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 22.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Lusaka	Vientiane
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.26 ZMW25.05	$1.36 LAK30,629	+8.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.82 ZMW56.21	$1.79 LAK40,336	-36.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.02 ZMW60.11	$1.78 LAK40,169	-40.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$54.67 ZMW1,089.46	$47.54 LAK1M	-13.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.03 ZMW120.22	$4.23 LAK95,401	-29.8%
Average			-22.2%

Lusaka vs. Vientiane - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 37.1% more for clothing

	Lusaka	Vientiane
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$23.28 ZMW463.85	$26.74 LAK603K	+14.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$15.45 ZMW307.88	$66.85 LAK2M	+332.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$45.19 ZMW900.42	$56.75 LAK1M	+25.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$72.53 ZMW1,445.30	$41.00 LAK924K	-43.5%
Average			+37.1%

Lusaka vs. Vientiane - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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: Lusaka vs. Vientiane

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Vientiane?

More cost comparisons

Lusaka vs.

Lima

Lusaka vs.

Vienna

Lusaka vs.

Reykjavik

Lusaka vs.

Moscow

Lusaka vs.

Dublin

Lusaka vs.

Hanoi

Lusaka vs.

Quito

Lusaka vs.

Washington

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Zambia vs. Laos. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Zambia and Laos.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Lusaka

Add prices for Vientiane

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Vientiane or Lusaka. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.