Cost of living comparison

Mongolia

compared to

Laos

Laos vs. Mongolia Cost of Living Summary

Laos is 5.9% more expensive than Mongolia overall.

Restaurants: pay 36.7% less in Laos
Groceries: pay 3.1% less in Laos
Transportation: pay 51.4% more in Laos
Housing: pay 38.8% more in Laos
Childcare: pay 19.8% less in Laos
Entertainment and Sports: pay 22.5% less in Laos
Clothing: pay 40.4% less in Laos

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

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Laos vs. Mongolia Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 36.7% less for restaurants

	Mongolia	Laos
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.56 MNT20,000.00	$2.23 LAK50,229	-59.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.56 MNT20,000.00	$5.35 LAK121K	-3.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.86 MNT3,083.33	$0.79 LAK17,785	-7.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.59 MNT2,125.00	$0.46 LAK10,442	-21.5%
Average			-36.7%

Mongolia vs. Laos - Cost of restaurants

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pay 3.1% less for groceries

	Mongolia	Laos
Bread 1 loaf	$1.00 MNT3,588.33	$1.14 LAK25,746	+14.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.18 MNT22,248.75	$12.87 LAK290K	+108.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.49 MNT19,758.34	$6.94 LAK157K	+26.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.10 MNT7,573.96	$1.87 LAK42,116	-11.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.22 MNT7,975.68	$2.81 LAK63,353	+26.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.39 MNT5,003.76	$0.84 LAK18,982	-39.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.09 MNT3,926.41	$0.52 LAK11,667	-52.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.69 MNT6,091.75	$1.19 LAK26,841	-29.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.37 MNT4,944.16	$0.69 LAK15,645	-49.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.33 MNT1,188.41	$0.66 LAK14,923	+100.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.48 MNT1,730.24	$0.49 LAK10,999	+1.5%
Average			-3.1%

Mongolia vs. Laos - Cost of groceries

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pay 51.4% more for transportation

	Mongolia	Laos
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.32 MNT15,549.41	$5.01 LAK113K	+16.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$16.67 MNT60,000.00	$52.98 LAK1M	+217.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,896.36 MNT97M	$27,872.00 LAK628M	+3.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.86 MNT17,500.00	$9.14 LAK206K	+87.9%
Average			+51.4%

Mongolia vs. Laos - Cost of transportation

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pay 38.8% more for housing

	Mongolia	Laos
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$13.63 MNT49,062.50	$9.51 LAK214K	-30.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$569.30 MNT2M	$885.68 LAK20M	+55.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$444.50 MNT2M	$631.74 LAK14M	+42.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$54.38 MNT196K	$65.79 LAK1M	+21.0%
Average			+38.8%

Mongolia vs. Laos - Cost of housing

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pay 19.8% less for childcare

	Mongolia	Laos
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$817.79 MNT3M	$435.49 LAK10M	-46.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,262.71 MNT30M	$9,982.68 LAK225M	+20.8%
Average			-19.8%

Mongolia vs. Laos - Cost of childcare

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pay 22.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Mongolia	Laos
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.36 MNT8,500.00	$1.32 LAK29,823	-44.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.42 MNT8,692.31	$1.66 LAK37,379	-31.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.68 MNT6,044.89	$1.78 LAK40,183	+6.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$67.73 MNT244K	$64.54 LAK1M	-4.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.17 MNT15,000.00	$3.32 LAK74,776	-20.4%
Average			-22.5%

Mongolia vs. Laos - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 40.4% less for clothing

	Mongolia	Laos
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$81.73 MNT294K	$48.46 LAK1M	-40.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$45.38 MNT163K	$62.95 LAK1M	+38.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$102.93 MNT370K	$64.36 LAK1M	-37.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$187.55 MNT675K	$46.02 LAK1M	-75.5%
Average			-40.4%

Mongolia vs. Laos - 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

Compare further: Mongolia vs. Laos

Salary Calculator · Free tool

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Quality of Life Comparison · 23 statistics

Be 77.2% less likely to be unemployed in Laos

Size Comparison · See true size

Mongolia is about 7 times bigger than Laos.

Moving from Mongolia to Laos · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

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