Cost of living comparison

Lesotho

compared to

Laos

Vientiane vs. Maseru Cost of Living Summary

Vientiane is 98.2% more expensive than Maseru.

Restaurants: pay 56.3% less in Vientiane
Groceries: pay 10.6% more in Vientiane
Transportation: pay 32.9% more in Vientiane
Housing: pay 6.0 times more in Vientiane
Childcare: pay 10.6 times more in Vientiane
Entertainment and Sports: pay 0.4% less in Vientiane
Clothing: pay 43.2% less in Vientiane

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

Planning a move to Laos? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Vientiane vs. Maseru Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 56.3% less for restaurants

	Maseru	Vientiane
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.01 LSL148.38	$2.67 LAK60,254	-70.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.41 LSL138.49	$5.35 LAK121K	-36.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.07 LSL17.56	$0.71 LAK16,068	-33.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.84 LSL13.85	$0.37 LAK8,410	-55.6%
Average			-56.3%

Maseru vs. Vientiane - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 10.6% more for groceries

	Maseru	Vientiane
Bread 1 loaf	$0.83 LSL13.60	$1.14 LAK25,737	+38.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.30 LSL54.39	$13.59 LAK306K	+311.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.38 LSL72.07	$7.61 LAK171K	+73.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.54 LSL25.32	$1.87 LAK42,101	+21.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.79 LSL45.98	$2.81 LAK63,330	+0.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.85 LSL14.02	$1.09 LAK24,464	+27.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.02 LSL16.71	$0.52 LAK11,662	-49.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.23 LSL20.19	$1.19 LAK26,832	-2.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.09 LSL17.95	$0.69 LAK15,639	-36.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 LSL11.66	$0.66 LAK14,918	-6.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.73 LSL12.00	$0.49 LAK10,995	-33.1%
Average			+10.6%

Maseru vs. Vientiane - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 32.9% more for transportation

	Maseru	Vientiane
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.98 LSL81.93	$5.62 LAK127K	+13.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$30.04 LSL494.60	$48.44 LAK1M	+61.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,030.86 LSL346K	$28,190.13 LAK635M	+34.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$6.01 LSL98.92	$8.47 LAK191K	+40.9%
Average			+32.9%

Maseru vs. Vientiane - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 6.0 times more for housing

	Maseru	Vientiane
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$38.30 LSL630.53	$12.33 LAK278K	-67.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$93.14 LSL1,533.25	$643.47 LAK15M	+590.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$55.58 LSL915.01	$414.50 LAK9M	+645.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	??	$69.22 LAK2M
Average			+498.0%

Maseru vs. Vientiane - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 10.6 times more for childcare

	Maseru	Vientiane
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$52.06 LSL857.06	$625.02 LAK14M	+1100.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,181.73 LSL19,454.17	$11,083.07 LAK250M	+837.9%
Average			+961.1%

Maseru vs. Vientiane - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 0.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Maseru	Vientiane
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.80 LSL29.68	$1.36 LAK30,629	-24.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.00 LSL32.97	$1.79 LAK40,336	-10.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.11 LSL84.08	$1.78 LAK40,169	-65.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$23.03 LSL379.19	$47.54 LAK1M	+106.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	??	$4.23 LAK95,401
Average			-0.4%

Maseru vs. Vientiane - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 43.2% less for clothing

	Maseru	Vientiane
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$46.07 LSL758.38	$26.74 LAK603K	-42.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$55.58 LSL915.01	$66.85 LAK2M	+20.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$104.15 LSL1,714.61	$56.75 LAK1M	-45.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$150.22 LSL2,472.99	$41.00 LAK924K	-72.7%
Average			-43.2%

Maseru vs. Vientiane - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

Compare further: Maseru vs. Vientiane

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Vientiane?

More cost comparisons

Maseru vs.

Lima

Maseru vs.

Shanghai

Maseru vs.

Vienna

Maseru vs.

Reykjavik

Maseru vs.

New York City

Maseru vs.

Paris

Maseru vs.

Bangkok

Maseru vs.

Athens

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Lesotho vs. Laos. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Lesotho and Laos.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Maseru

Add prices for Vientiane

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Vientiane or Maseru. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.