Cost of living comparison

Papua New Guinea

compared to

Laos

Vientiane vs. Port Moresby Cost of Living Summary

Vientiane is 35.3% cheaper than Port Moresby.

Restaurants: pay 42.7% less in Vientiane
Groceries: pay 39.6% less in Vientiane
Transportation: pay 6.3% more in Vientiane
Housing: pay 46.3% less in Vientiane
Childcare: pay 15.4% more in Vientiane
Entertainment and Sports: pay 45.2% less in Vientiane
Clothing: pay 34.9% less in Vientiane

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

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Vientiane vs. Port Moresby Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Vientiane instead of Port Moresby, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 42.7% less for restaurants

	Port Moresby	Vientiane
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.78 PGK35.37	$2.67 LAK60,254	-65.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.56 PGK25.27	$5.35 LAK121K	-3.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.75 PGK3.41	$0.71 LAK16,068	-4.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.67 PGK3.03	$0.37 LAK8,410	-44.0%
Average			-42.7%

Port Moresby vs. Vientiane - Cost of restaurants

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pay 39.6% less for groceries

	Port Moresby	Vientiane
Bread 1 loaf	$1.52 PGK6.91	$1.14 LAK25,737	-24.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.32 PGK19.64	$13.59 LAK306K	+214.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.10 PGK32.28	$7.61 LAK171K	+7.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.69 PGK16.78	$1.87 LAK42,101	-49.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.58 PGK11.75	$2.81 LAK63,330	+8.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.95 PGK8.88	$1.09 LAK24,464	-44.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.44 PGK6.57	$0.52 LAK11,662	-64.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$3.29 PGK14.97	$1.19 LAK26,832	-63.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.92 PGK13.29	$0.69 LAK15,639	-76.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.51 PGK6.88	$0.66 LAK14,918	-56.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.31 PGK5.96	$0.49 LAK10,995	-62.8%
Average			-39.6%

Port Moresby vs. Vientiane - Cost of groceries

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pay 6.3% more for transportation

	Port Moresby	Vientiane
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.78 PGK17.18	$5.62 LAK127K	+48.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$22.22 PGK101.06	$48.44 LAK1M	+118.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$50,004.77 PGK227K	$28,190.13 LAK635M	-43.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$23.34 PGK106.12	$8.47 LAK191K	-63.7%
Average			+6.3%

Port Moresby vs. Vientiane - Cost of transportation

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pay 46.3% less for housing

	Port Moresby	Vientiane
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$91.68 PGK416.89	$12.33 LAK278K	-86.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,603.86 PGK7,293.44	$643.47 LAK15M	-59.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$555.61 PGK2,526.59	$414.50 LAK9M	-25.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$89.65 PGK407.67	$69.22 LAK2M	-22.8%
Average			-46.3%

Port Moresby vs. Vientiane - Cost of housing

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pay 15.4% more for childcare

	Port Moresby	Vientiane
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$842.47 PGK3,831.07	$625.02 LAK14M	-25.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,176.41 PGK28,086.83	$11,083.07 LAK250M	+79.4%
Average			+15.4%

Port Moresby vs. Vientiane - Cost of childcare

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pay 45.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Port Moresby	Vientiane
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.00 PGK13.64	$1.36 LAK30,629	-54.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.47 PGK11.24	$1.79 LAK40,336	-27.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.45 PGK29.31	$1.78 LAK40,169	-72.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$61.49 PGK279.61	$47.54 LAK1M	-22.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.89 PGK40.43	$4.23 LAK95,401	-52.4%
Average			-45.2%

Port Moresby vs. Vientiane - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 34.9% less for clothing

	Port Moresby	Vientiane
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$32.73 PGK148.82	$26.74 LAK603K	-18.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$31.67 PGK144.02	$66.85 LAK2M	+111.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$136.12 PGK619.02	$56.75 LAK1M	-58.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$163.90 PGK745.35	$41.00 LAK924K	-75.0%
Average			-34.9%

Port Moresby vs. Vientiane - 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 October 2026). How we calculate this

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