Cost of living comparison
Laos is 61.0% more expensive than Malaysia.
If you lived in Laos instead of Malaysia, you would:
pay 33.3% more for restaurants
|
Malaysia
|
Laos
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$2.36
RM11.23
|
$2.73
₭57,852
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$3.63
RM17.31
|
$5.00
₭106,037
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.63
RM3.02
|
$0.82
₭17,432
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.34
RM1.63
|
$0.51
₭10,871
|
|
pay 87.9% more for groceries
|
Malaysia
|
Laos
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$0.85
RM4.03
|
$1.52
₭32,153
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.41
RM30.55
|
$5.94
₭126,074
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.71
RM27.22
|
$9.92
₭210,301
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$1.40
RM6.69
|
$1.96
₭41,626
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$1.88
RM8.96
|
$1.94
₭41,111
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$0.99
RM4.70
|
$2.15
₭45,494
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.52
RM2.47
|
$0.85
₭18,012
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.04
RM4.94
|
$1.38
₭29,196
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.55
RM2.61
|
$1.85
₭39,241
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.35
RM1.66
|
$1.10
₭23,358
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.48
RM2.31
|
$1.01
₭21,470
|
|
pay 82.5% more for transportation
|
Malaysia
|
Laos
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$1.79
RM8.53
|
$4.46
₭94,516
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$18.01
RM85.88
|
$5.94
₭126,074
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$34,228.03
RM163,216.36
|
$59,448.31
₭1,260,743,079
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$5.07
RM24.17
|
$13.89
₭294,563
|
|
pay 3.0 times more for housing
|
Malaysia
|
Laos
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$26.77
RM127.63
|
$168.24
₭3,567,893
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$326.71
RM1,557.94
|
$553.97
₭11,748,280
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$217.05
RM1,035.00
|
$228.82
₭4,852,744
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$34.40
RM164.05
|
$97.98
₭2,077,856
|
|
pay 26.5% less for childcare
|
Malaysia
|
Laos
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$144.81
RM690.52
|
?? | |
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$6,108.87
RM29,130.13
|
$4,490.81
₭95,238,225
|
|
pay 18.8% less for entertainment and sports
|
Malaysia
|
Laos
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$3.43
RM16.33
|
$1.23
₭26,026
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.46
RM11.75
|
$2.02
₭42,744
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$4.06
RM19.35
|
$1.84
₭39,112
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$32.59
RM155.41
|
$34.22
₭725,658
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$3.62
RM17.27
|
$5.00
₭106,037
|
|
pay 71.3% more for clothing
|
Malaysia
|
Laos
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$47.09
RM224.54
|
$93.14
₭1,975,161
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$24.30
RM115.87
|
$50.63
₭1,073,731
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$62.25
RM296.82
|
$124.25
₭2,634,951
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$56.25
RM268.21
|
$44.78
₭949,759
|
|
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