Cost of living comparison
compared to
Vientiane vs. P'yongyang Cost of Living Summary
Vientiane is 2.1 times more expensive than P'yongyang.
- Restaurants
-
pay 69.0% less in Vientiane
- Groceries
-
pay 11.1% more in Vientiane
- Housing
-
pay 6.1 times more in Vientiane
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 20.5% less in Vientiane
The cost of housing and groceries in Vientiane are more expensive than in P'yongyang. Expenses including restaurants and entertainment and sports are lower in Vientiane. Notably, housing is significantly more expensive in Vientiane.
Vientiane vs. P'yongyang Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Vientiane instead of P'yongyang, you would:
pay 69.0% less for restaurants
|
P'yongyang
|
Vientiane
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant | ?? |
$2.31
LAK49,966
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
?? |
$5.54
LAK119,918
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.34
KPW2,102
|
$0.62
LAK13,418
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.17
KPW1,051
|
$0.42
LAK8,994
|
|
P'yongyang vs. Vientiane - Cost of restaurants
pay 11.1% more for groceries
|
P'yongyang
|
Vientiane
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.40
KPW2,161
|
$1.17
LAK25,265
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) | ?? |
$13.94
LAK301,727
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.70
KPW3,332
|
$7.32
LAK158,421
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.08
KPW1,876
|
$1.81
LAK39,212
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) | ?? |
$2.99
LAK64,765
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) | ?? |
$0.90
LAK19,390
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) | ?? |
$0.50
LAK10,828
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) | ?? |
$0.94
LAK20,322
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) | ?? |
$0.61
LAK13,145
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) | ?? |
$0.74
LAK16,016
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) | ?? |
$0.47
LAK10,073
|
|
P'yongyang vs. Vientiane - Cost of groceries
pay (unknown) more for transportation
|
P'yongyang
|
Vientiane
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) | ?? |
$5.18
LAK112,104
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass | ?? |
$50.18
LAK1,086,211
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) | ?? |
$28,736.24
LAK622,040,039
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | ?? |
$10.86
LAK235,047
|
P'yongyang vs. Vientiane - Cost of transportation
pay 6.1 times more for housing
|
P'yongyang
|
Vientiane
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
?? |
$11.39
LAK246,498
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$93.44
KPW84,095
|
$866.78
LAK18,762,772
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$262.80
KPW236,518
|
$784.74
LAK16,986,870
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
?? |
$55.21
LAK1,195,061
|
|
P'yongyang vs. Vientiane - Cost of housing
pay (unknown) more for childcare
|
P'yongyang
|
Vientiane
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly | ?? |
$338.54
LAK7,328,183
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | ?? |
$9,334.55
LAK202,060,626
|
P'yongyang vs. Vientiane - Cost of childcare
pay 20.5% less for entertainment and sports
|
P'yongyang
|
Vientiane
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$14.02
KPW12,614
|
$1.50
LAK32,478
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$1.17
KPW1,051
|
$1.73
LAK37,473
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
?? |
$1.96
LAK42,471
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym | ?? |
$50.52
LAK1,093,653
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema | ?? |
$3.56
LAK77,027
|
|
P'yongyang vs. Vientiane - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay (unknown) more for clothing
|
P'yongyang
|
Vientiane
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
?? |
$27.70
LAK599,589
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
?? |
$69.25
LAK1,498,972
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
?? |
$58.22
LAK1,260,206
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) | ?? |
$42.19
LAK913,242
|
P'yongyang vs. Vientiane - Cost of clothing
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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