Cost of living comparison

Maldives

compared to

Laos

Vientiane vs. Male Cost of Living Summary

Vientiane is 25.3% cheaper than Male.

Restaurants: pay 46.9% less in Vientiane
Groceries: pay 22.9% less in Vientiane
Transportation: pay 14.4% more in Vientiane
Housing: pay 39.1% less in Vientiane
Childcare: pay 3.5 times more in Vientiane
Entertainment and Sports: pay 59.8% less in Vientiane
Clothing: pay 17.5% less in Vientiane

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

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Vientiane vs. Male Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 46.9% less for restaurants

	Male	Vientiane
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.00 MVR92.74	$2.67 LAK60,126	-55.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.73 MVR150.39	$5.35 LAK120K	-45.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.63 MVR25.12	$0.71 LAK16,034	-56.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.30 MVR4.59	$0.37 LAK8,393	+25.6%
Average			-46.9%

Male vs. Vientiane - Cost of restaurants

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pay 22.9% less for groceries

	Male	Vientiane
Bread 1 loaf	$1.65 MVR25.57	$1.14 LAK25,683	-31.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.34 MVR82.43	$13.59 LAK306K	+154.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.69 MVR118.80	$7.61 LAK171K	-1.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.92 MVR29.70	$1.87 LAK42,012	-2.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.77 MVR42.73	$2.81 LAK63,196	+1.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.80 MVR27.83	$1.09 LAK24,412	-39.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.39 MVR21.40	$0.52 LAK11,638	-62.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.85 MVR28.65	$1.19 LAK26,775	-35.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.22 MVR18.84	$0.69 LAK15,606	-43.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.93 MVR14.40	$0.66 LAK14,886	-29.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.86 MVR13.30	$0.49 LAK10,972	-43.3%
Average			-22.9%

Male vs. Vientiane - Cost of groceries

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pay 14.4% more for transportation

	Male	Vientiane
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.81 MVR58.81	$5.62 LAK126K	+47.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$30.82 MVR476.23	$48.44 LAK1M	+57.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$32,446.46 MVR501K	$28,190.13 LAK634M	-13.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.52 MVR270.70	$8.47 LAK190K	-51.7%
Average			+14.4%

Male vs. Vientiane - Cost of transportation

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pay 39.1% less for housing

	Male	Vientiane
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$73.00 MVR1,127.92	$12.33 LAK277K	-83.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$951.14 MVR14,695.19	$643.47 LAK14M	-32.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$699.92 MVR10,813.71	$414.50 LAK9M	-40.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$90.98 MVR1,405.60	$69.22 LAK2M	-23.9%
Average			-39.1%

Male vs. Vientiane - Cost of housing

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pay 3.5 times more for childcare

	Male	Vientiane
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$184.98 MVR2,857.90	$625.02 LAK14M	+237.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,004.83 MVR46,424.59	$11,083.07 LAK249M	+268.8%
Average			+253.0%

Male vs. Vientiane - Cost of childcare

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pay 59.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Male	Vientiane
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.87 MVR75.19	$1.36 LAK30,564	-72.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.55 MVR54.84	$1.79 LAK40,251	-49.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$14.93 MVR230.60	$1.78 LAK40,084	-88.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$70.81 MVR1,093.98	$47.54 LAK1M	-32.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.73 MVR150.39	$4.23 LAK95,200	-56.5%
Average			-59.8%

Male vs. Vientiane - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 17.5% less for clothing

	Male	Vientiane
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$39.51 MVR610.48	$26.74 LAK601K	-32.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$49.64 MVR766.88	$66.85 LAK2M	+34.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$87.13 MVR1,346.11	$56.75 LAK1M	-34.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$52.52 MVR811.39	$41.00 LAK922K	-21.9%
Average			-17.5%

Male vs. Vientiane - 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 November 2026). How we calculate this

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