Cost of living comparison
compared to
Laos vs. Malaysia Cost of Living Summary
Laos is 42.8% more expensive than Malaysia overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 5.0% more in Laos
- Groceries
-
pay 12.3% more in Laos
- Transportation
-
pay 2.1 times more in Laos
- Housing
-
pay 2.1 times more in Laos
- Childcare
-
pay 61.4% more in Laos
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 20.1% less in Laos
- Clothing
-
pay 20.5% more in Laos
The cost of transportation, housing, childcare, clothing, groceries, and restaurants in Laos are more expensive than in Malaysia. Notably, transportation and housing are significantly more expensive in Laos.
Laos vs. Malaysia Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Laos instead of Malaysia, you would:
pay 5.0% more for restaurants
|
Malaysia
|
Laos
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$3.22
MYR13.31
|
$2.08
LAK44,969
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$4.41
MYR18.24
|
$5.54
LAK119,918
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.73
MYR3.01
|
$0.76
LAK16,444
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.39
MYR1.63
|
$0.50
LAK10,719
|
|
Malaysia vs. Laos - Cost of restaurants
pay 12.3% more for groceries
|
Malaysia
|
Laos
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.02
MYR4.21
|
$1.13
LAK24,565
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.79
MYR32.19
|
$13.26
LAK287,052
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.67
MYR27.55
|
$6.91
LAK149,607
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$1.99
MYR8.21
|
$2.11
LAK45,585
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$1.93
MYR7.99
|
$2.10
LAK45,372
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.28
MYR5.29
|
$0.76
LAK16,405
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.67
MYR2.75
|
$0.75
LAK16,239
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.29
MYR5.34
|
$0.97
LAK20,985
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.73
MYR3.03
|
$1.30
LAK28,222
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.53
MYR2.20
|
$0.70
LAK15,261
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.59
MYR2.42
|
$0.46
LAK9,907
|
|
Malaysia vs. Laos - Cost of groceries
pay 2.1 times more for transportation
|
Malaysia
|
Laos
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$1.86
MYR7.67
|
$4.72
LAK102,231
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$15.26
MYR63.08
|
$54.89
LAK1,188,115
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,849.31
MYR148,147.28
|
$28,639.89
LAK619,954,342
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$6.52
MYR26.93
|
$10.51
LAK227,448
|
|
Malaysia vs. Laos - Cost of transportation
pay 2.1 times more for housing
|
Malaysia
|
Laos
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$27.18
MYR112.33
|
$9.16
LAK198,197
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$349.73
MYR1,445.27
|
$1,004.64
LAK21,746,980
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$247.40
MYR1,022.40
|
$817.42
LAK17,694,410
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$34.37
MYR142.05
|
$59.90
LAK1,296,718
|
|
Malaysia vs. Laos - Cost of housing
pay 61.4% more for childcare
|
Malaysia
|
Laos
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$170.62
MYR705.09
|
$296.67
LAK6,421,775
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$6,229.51
MYR25,743.43
|
$9,267.93
LAK200,618,663
|
|
Malaysia vs. Laos - Cost of childcare
pay 20.1% less for entertainment and sports
|
Malaysia
|
Laos
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$3.72
MYR15.38
|
$1.42
LAK30,727
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.63
MYR10.85
|
$1.66
LAK35,850
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$4.18
MYR17.26
|
$1.98
LAK42,885
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$36.40
MYR150.42
|
$67.50
LAK1,461,149
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$4.62
MYR19.07
|
$3.02
LAK65,430
|
|
Malaysia vs. Laos - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 20.5% more for clothing
|
Malaysia
|
Laos
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$59.37
MYR245.35
|
$50.20
LAK1,086,754
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$29.69
MYR122.68
|
$65.21
LAK1,411,532
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$70.68
MYR292.07
|
$66.39
LAK1,437,049
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$56.86
MYR234.98
|
$47.52
LAK1,028,728
|
|
Malaysia vs. Laos - Cost of clothing
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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