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
LAK52,025
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
?? $5.54
LAK125K
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.34
KPW2,102
$0.62
LAK13,971

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pay 11.1% more for groceries

 
P'yongyang
Vientiane
Bread
1 loaf
$2.40
KPW2,161
$1.17
LAK26,306
Local cheese (8 oz) ?? $13.94
LAK314K
Milk (1 gallon) $3.70
KPW3,332
$7.32
LAK165K

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pay (unknown) more for transportation

 
P'yongyang
Vientiane
Gasoline (1 gallon) ?? $5.18
LAK117K
Monthly public transit pass ?? $50.18
LAK1M
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) ?? $28,736.24
LAK648M

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pay 6.1 times more for housing

 
P'yongyang
Vientiane
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
?? $11.39
LAK257K
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $93.44
KPW84,095
$866.78
LAK20M
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $262.80
KPW237K
$784.74
LAK18M

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

 
P'yongyang
Vientiane
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly ?? $338.54
LAK8M
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters ?? $9,334.55
LAK210M

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pay 20.5% less for entertainment and sports

 
P'yongyang
Vientiane
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $14.02
KPW12,614
$1.50
LAK33,816
Cappuccino in mid-range area $1.17
KPW1,051
$1.73
LAK39,018
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
?? $1.96
LAK44,221

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

 
P'yongyang
Vientiane
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
?? $27.70
LAK624K
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
?? $69.25
LAK2M
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
?? $58.22
LAK1M

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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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