Cost of living comparison

compared to

Laos vs. Manila Cost of Living Summary

Laos is 32.5% more expensive than Manila.

Restaurants: pay 15.1% less in Laos
Groceries: pay 0.2% less in Laos
Transportation: pay 2.5 times more in Laos
Housing: pay 53.5% more in Laos
Childcare: pay 34.2% more in Laos
Entertainment and Sports: pay 15.5% less in Laos
Clothing: pay 24.8% more in Laos

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

Laos vs. Manila Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Laos instead of Manila, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 15.1% less for restaurants

	Manila	Laos
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.02 ₱355.94	$2.08 LAK44,966	-65.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.30 ₱254.24	$5.54 LAK119,908	+28.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.97 ₱57.42	$0.76 LAK16,442	-21.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 ₱29.77	$0.50 LAK10,718	-1.7%
Average			-15.1%

Manila vs. Laos - Cost of restaurants

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pay 0.2% less for groceries

	Manila	Laos
Bread 1 loaf	$1.33 ₱78.84	$1.13 LAK24,563	-14.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.28 ₱252.76	$13.26 LAK287,030	+210.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.32 ₱432.73	$6.91 LAK149,595	-5.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.21 ₱130.84	$2.11 LAK45,582	-4.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.28 ₱134.98	$2.10 LAK45,369	-8.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.52 ₱89.60	$0.76 LAK16,404	-50.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 ₱48.61	$0.75 LAK16,237	-8.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.64 ₱96.75	$0.97 LAK20,984	-40.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.02 ₱60.52	$1.30 LAK28,220	+27.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.17 ₱69.16	$0.70 LAK15,259	-39.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.37 ₱81.25	$0.46 LAK9,907	-66.7%
Average			-0.2%

Manila vs. Laos - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.5 times more for transportation

	Manila	Laos
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.18 ₱247.09	$4.72 LAK102,223	+13.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$13.76 ₱813.57	$54.89 LAK1,188,021	+298.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,288.58 ₱1,494,934.54	$28,639.89 LAK619,905,563	+13.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.92 ₱172.88	$10.51 LAK227,430	+259.3%
Average			+146.1%

Manila vs. Laos - Cost of transportation

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pay 53.5% more for housing

	Manila	Laos
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$27.10 ₱1,602.13	$9.16 LAK198,182	-66.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$512.96 ₱30,323.92	$1,004.64 LAK21,745,269	+95.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$251.74 ₱14,881.48	$817.42 LAK17,693,017	+224.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$100.49 ₱5,940.52	$59.90 LAK1,296,616	-40.4%
Average			+53.5%

Manila vs. Laos - Cost of housing

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pay 34.2% more for childcare

	Manila	Laos
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$138.58 ₱8,192.20	$296.67 LAK6,421,270	+114.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$17,035.39 ₱1,007,046.89	$9,267.93 LAK200,602,878	-45.6%
Average			+34.2%

Manila vs. Laos - Cost of childcare

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pay 15.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Manila	Laos
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.46 ₱86.44	$1.42 LAK30,724	-2.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.59 ₱152.95	$1.66 LAK35,847	-36.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.27 ₱193.22	$1.98 LAK42,881	-39.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$42.13 ₱2,490.71	$67.50 LAK1,461,034	+60.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.48 ₱442.38	$3.02 LAK65,425	-59.6%
Average			-15.5%

Manila vs. Laos - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 24.8% more for clothing

	Manila	Laos
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.23 ₱2,910.08	$50.20 LAK1,086,669	+2.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$29.70 ₱1,755.55	$65.21 LAK1,411,421	+119.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$80.85 ₱4,779.65	$66.39 LAK1,436,936	-17.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$49.70 ₱2,937.78	$47.52 LAK1,028,648	-4.4%
Average			+24.8%

Manila vs. Laos - Cost of clothing

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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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