Cost of living comparison

Tonga

compared to

Laos

Vientiane vs. Nuku'alofa Cost of Living Summary

Vientiane is 3.8 times more expensive than Nuku'alofa.

Restaurants: pay 70.0% less in Vientiane
Groceries: pay 8.9% less in Vientiane
Transportation: pay 91.8% more in Vientiane
Housing: pay 37.7% less in Vientiane
Childcare: pay 19.8 times more in Vientiane
Entertainment and Sports: pay 41.0% less in Vientiane
Clothing: pay 2.5 times more in Vientiane

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

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Vientiane vs. Nuku'alofa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Vientiane instead of Nuku'alofa, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 70.0% less for restaurants

	Nuku'alofa	Vientiane
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.31 TOP20.00	$2.31 LAK52,025	-72.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.38 TOP25.00	$5.54 LAK125K	-46.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.84 TOP6.83	$0.62 LAK13,971	-78.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.46 TOP5.92	$0.42 LAK9,364	-83.1%
Average			-70.0%

Nuku'alofa vs. Vientiane - Cost of restaurants

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pay 8.9% less for groceries

	Nuku'alofa	Vientiane
Bread 1 loaf	$1.04 TOP2.50	$1.17 LAK26,306	+12.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.50 TOP10.83	$13.94 LAK314K	+209.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.92 TOP14.26	$7.32 LAK165K	+23.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.09 TOP12.27	$1.81 LAK40,828	-64.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.67 TOP6.43	$2.99 LAK67,434	+12.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.26 TOP3.02	$0.90 LAK20,189	-28.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.26 TOP3.02	$0.50 LAK11,274	-60.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.32 TOP3.18	$0.94 LAK21,159	-28.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.70 TOP4.08	$0.61 LAK13,687	-64.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.44 TOP3.48	$0.74 LAK16,676	-48.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.19 TOP2.87	$0.47 LAK10,488	-61.0%
Average			-8.9%

Nuku'alofa vs. Vientiane - Cost of groceries

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pay 91.8% more for transportation

	Nuku'alofa	Vientiane
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.50 TOP13.25	$5.18 LAK117K	-5.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$41.53 TOP100.00	$50.18 LAK1M	+20.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$5,814.53 TOP14,000.00	$28,736.24 LAK648M	+394.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.69 TOP45.00	$10.86 LAK245K	-41.9%
Average			+91.8%

Nuku'alofa vs. Vientiane - Cost of transportation

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pay 37.7% less for housing

	Nuku'alofa	Vientiane
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$124.60 TOP300.00	$11.39 LAK257K	-90.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$622.99 TOP1,500.00	$866.78 LAK20M	+39.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	??	$784.74 LAK18M
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$142.92 TOP344.12	$55.21 LAK1M	-61.4%
Average			-37.7%

Nuku'alofa vs. Vientiane - Cost of housing

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pay 19.8 times more for childcare

	Nuku'alofa	Vientiane
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$157.82 TOP380.00	$338.54 LAK8M	+114.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$249.19 TOP600.00	$9,334.55 LAK210M	+3645.9%
Average			+1880.2%

Nuku'alofa vs. Vientiane - Cost of childcare

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pay 41.0% less for entertainment and sports

	Nuku'alofa	Vientiane
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.32 TOP8.00	$1.50 LAK33,816	-54.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.91 TOP7.00	$1.73 LAK39,018	-40.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$10.18 TOP24.50	$1.96 LAK44,221	-80.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.15 TOP75.00	$50.52 LAK1M	+62.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$41.53 TOP100.00	$3.56 LAK80,202	-91.4%
Average			-41.0%

Nuku'alofa vs. Vientiane - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.5 times more for clothing

	Nuku'alofa	Vientiane
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$14.54 TOP35.00	$27.70 LAK624K	+90.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$17.65 TOP42.50	$69.25 LAK2M	+292.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$20.77 TOP50.00	$58.22 LAK1M	+180.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$29.07 TOP70.00	$42.19 LAK951K	+45.1%
Average			+152.1%

Nuku'alofa 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: July 2026

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