Cost of living comparison

compared to

Vientiane vs. Nairobi Cost of Living Summary

Vientiane is 23.4% more expensive than Nairobi.

Restaurants: pay 29.2% less in Vientiane
Groceries: pay 40.5% more in Vientiane
Transportation: pay 13.6% more in Vientiane
Housing: pay 94.8% more in Vientiane
Childcare: pay 28.7% more in Vientiane
Entertainment and Sports: pay 27.8% less in Vientiane
Clothing: pay 43.2% more in Vientiane

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

Vientiane vs. Nairobi Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 29.2% less for restaurants

	Nairobi	Vientiane
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.80 KES748.84	$2.31 LAK49,627	-60.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.97 KES898.61	$5.54 LAK119K	-20.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.70 KES90.54	$0.62 LAK13,328	-11.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.55 KES70.84	$0.42 LAK8,933	-24.3%
Average			-29.2%

Nairobi vs. Vientiane - Cost of restaurants

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pay 40.5% more for groceries

	Nairobi	Vientiane
Bread 1 loaf	$0.55 KES70.49	$1.17 LAK25,094	+113.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.57 KES718.12	$13.94 LAK300K	+150.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.36 KES432.91	$7.32 LAK157K	+118.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.64 KES212.15	$1.81 LAK38,947	+10.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.92 KES376.48	$2.99 LAK64,327	+2.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.41 KES181.46	$0.90 LAK19,258	-36.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.47 KES61.24	$0.50 LAK10,755	+5.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.89 KES114.76	$0.94 LAK20,184	+5.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.46 KES58.85	$0.61 LAK13,056	+33.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.49 KES63.33	$0.74 LAK15,908	+50.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.51 KES65.34	$0.47 LAK10,004	-8.1%
Average			+40.5%

Nairobi vs. Vientiane - Cost of groceries

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pay 13.6% more for transportation

	Nairobi	Vientiane
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.40 KES696.48	$5.18 LAK111K	-4.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$30.96 KES3,993.81	$50.18 LAK1M	+62.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,671.83 KES3M	$28,736.24 LAK618M	+32.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.03 KES2,196.59	$10.86 LAK233K	-36.2%
Average			+13.6%

Nairobi vs. Vientiane - Cost of transportation

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pay 94.8% more for housing

	Nairobi	Vientiane
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.86 KES5,142.46	$11.39 LAK245K	-71.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$476.96 KES61,527.28	$866.78 LAK19M	+81.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$206.31 KES26,613.91	$784.74 LAK17M	+280.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$29.32 KES3,782.89	$55.21 LAK1M	+88.3%
Average			+94.8%

Nairobi vs. Vientiane - Cost of housing

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pay 28.7% more for childcare

	Nairobi	Vientiane
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$224.14 KES28,913.51	$338.54 LAK7M	+51.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,775.09 KES1M	$9,334.55 LAK201M	+6.4%
Average			+28.7%

Nairobi vs. Vientiane - Cost of childcare

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pay 27.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Nairobi	Vientiane
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.32 KES299.54	$1.50 LAK32,258	-35.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.37 KES305.72	$1.73 LAK37,220	-27.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.10 KES399.38	$1.96 LAK42,183	-36.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$45.30 KES5,843.44	$50.52 LAK1M	+11.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.35 KES948.53	$3.56 LAK76,506	-51.6%
Average			-27.8%

Nairobi vs. Vientiane - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 43.2% more for clothing

	Nairobi	Vientiane
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$19.62 KES2,531.37	$27.70 LAK596K	+41.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$24.88 KES3,209.31	$69.25 LAK1M	+178.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$67.92 KES8,761.42	$58.22 LAK1M	-14.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$62.28 KES8,033.54	$42.19 LAK907K	-32.3%
Average			+43.2%

Nairobi vs. Vientiane - 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: February 2026

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