Cost of living comparison

Sao Tome and Principe

compared to

Laos

Vientiane vs. Sao Tome Cost of Living Summary

Vientiane is 13.7% more expensive than Sao Tome.

Restaurants: pay 69.2% less in Vientiane
Groceries: pay 29.8% less in Vientiane
Transportation: pay 19.0% less in Vientiane
Housing: pay 99.7% more in Vientiane
Entertainment and Sports: pay 20.0% less in Vientiane
Clothing: pay 2.2 times more in Vientiane

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

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Vientiane vs. Sao Tome Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Vientiane instead of Sao Tome, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 69.2% less for restaurants

	Sao Tome	Vientiane
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$29.20 STD651K	$2.31 LAK52,025	-92.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.68 STD260K	$5.54 LAK125K	-52.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.92 STD42,768	$0.62 LAK13,971	-67.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.17 STD26,025	$0.42 LAK9,364	-64.4%
Average			-69.2%

Sao Tome vs. Vientiane - Cost of restaurants

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pay 29.8% less for groceries

	Sao Tome	Vientiane
Bread 1 loaf	$1.08 STD24,088	$1.17 LAK26,306	+8.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$10.22 STD228K	$13.94 LAK314K	+36.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.97 STD133K	$7.32 LAK165K	+22.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.09 STD114K	$1.81 LAK40,828	-64.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$9.27 STD207K	$2.99 LAK67,434	-67.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.12 STD47,219	$0.90 LAK20,189	-57.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.53 STD11,805	$0.50 LAK11,274	-5.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.85 STD41,316	$0.94 LAK21,159	-49.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.59 STD35,414	$0.61 LAK13,687	-61.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.19 STD26,561	$0.74 LAK16,676	-37.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.93 STD20,658	$0.47 LAK10,488	-49.8%
Average			-29.8%

Sao Tome vs. Vientiane - Cost of groceries

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pay 19.0% less for transportation

	Sao Tome	Vientiane
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.40 STD143K	$5.18 LAK117K	-19.0%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$50.18 LAK1M
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	??	$28,736.24 LAK648M
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	??	$10.86 LAK245K
Average			-19.0%

Sao Tome vs. Vientiane - Cost of transportation

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pay 99.7% more for housing

	Sao Tome	Vientiane
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$72.42 STD2M	$11.39 LAK257K	-84.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$350.40 STD8M	$866.78 LAK20M	+147.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$233.60 STD5M	$784.74 LAK18M	+235.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	??	$55.21 LAK1M
Average			+99.7%

Sao Tome vs. Vientiane - Cost of housing

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

	Sao Tome	Vientiane
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	??	$338.54 LAK8M
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	??	$9,334.55 LAK210M

Sao Tome vs. Vientiane - Cost of childcare

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pay 20.0% less for entertainment and sports

	Sao Tome	Vientiane
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.67 STD37,216	$1.50 LAK33,816	-10.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.34 STD52,050	$1.73 LAK39,018	-25.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.34 STD52,050	$1.96 LAK44,221	-16.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$37.38 STD833K	$50.52 LAK1M	+35.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$21.02 STD468K	$3.56 LAK80,202	-83.1%
Average			-20.0%

Sao Tome vs. Vientiane - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.2 times more for clothing

	Sao Tome	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
Men's business shoes (leather)	$19.16 STD427K	$42.19 LAK951K	+120.2%
Average			+120.2%

Sao Tome 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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