Cost of living comparison

Nicaragua

compared to

Laos

Vientiane vs. Managua Cost of Living Summary

Vientiane is 16.4% more expensive than Managua.

Restaurants: pay 55.2% less in Vientiane
Groceries: pay 11.5% less in Vientiane
Transportation: pay 76.0% more in Vientiane
Housing: pay 77.5% more in Vientiane
Childcare: pay 2.2 times more in Vientiane
Entertainment and Sports: pay 21.9% less in Vientiane
Clothing: pay 50.5% less in Vientiane

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

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Vientiane vs. Managua Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 55.2% less for restaurants

	Managua	Vientiane
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.00 NIO368.55	$2.67 LAK60,254	-73.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.61 NIO280.46	$5.35 LAK121K	-29.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.88 NIO32.54	$0.71 LAK16,068	-19.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.71 NIO26.22	$0.37 LAK8,410	-47.5%
Average			-55.2%

Managua vs. Vientiane - Cost of restaurants

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pay 11.5% less for groceries

	Managua	Vientiane
Bread 1 loaf	$2.37 NIO87.46	$1.14 LAK25,737	-51.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.80 NIO213.64	$13.59 LAK306K	+134.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.68 NIO172.61	$7.61 LAK171K	+62.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.37 NIO87.18	$1.87 LAK42,101	-21.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.87 NIO105.79	$2.81 LAK63,330	-2.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.82 NIO67.08	$1.09 LAK24,464	-40.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.27 NIO10.03	$0.52 LAK11,662	+90.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.82 NIO30.09	$1.19 LAK26,832	+45.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.11 NIO41.05	$0.69 LAK15,639	-37.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.79 NIO65.90	$0.66 LAK14,918	-63.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.01 NIO37.13	$0.49 LAK10,995	-51.6%
Average			-11.5%

Managua vs. Vientiane - Cost of groceries

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pay 76.0% more for transportation

	Managua	Vientiane
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.06 NIO186.38	$5.62 LAK127K	+11.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$6.01 NIO221.41	$48.44 LAK1M	+706.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$22,973.64 NIO847K	$28,190.13 LAK635M	+22.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.69 NIO541.39	$8.47 LAK191K	-42.4%
Average			+76.0%

Managua vs. Vientiane - Cost of transportation

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pay 77.5% more for housing

	Managua	Vientiane
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$32.47 NIO1,196.57	$12.33 LAK278K	-62.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$256.40 NIO9,449.50	$643.47 LAK15M	+151.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$181.00 NIO6,670.67	$414.50 LAK9M	+129.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$115.83 NIO4,268.74	$69.22 LAK2M	-40.2%
Average			+77.5%

Managua vs. Vientiane - Cost of housing

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pay 2.2 times more for childcare

	Managua	Vientiane
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$235.82 NIO8,690.94	$625.02 LAK14M	+165.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,060.00 NIO223K	$11,083.07 LAK250M	+82.9%
Average			+120.2%

Managua vs. Vientiane - Cost of childcare

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pay 21.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Managua	Vientiane
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.50 NIO55.28	$1.36 LAK30,629	-9.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.60 NIO95.82	$1.79 LAK40,336	-31.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.73 NIO100.51	$1.78 LAK40,169	-34.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$34.79 NIO1,282.16	$47.54 LAK1M	+36.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.00 NIO331.69	$4.23 LAK95,401	-53.0%
Average			-21.9%

Managua vs. Vientiane - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 50.5% less for clothing

	Managua	Vientiane
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$59.88 NIO2,206.90	$26.74 LAK603K	-55.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$65.00 NIO2,395.54	$66.85 LAK2M	+2.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$122.64 NIO4,519.99	$56.75 LAK1M	-53.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$144.83 NIO5,337.49	$41.00 LAK924K	-71.7%
Average			-50.5%

Managua 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 October 2026). How we calculate this

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