Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Laos

Vientiane vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Vientiane is 13.1% cheaper than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 18.5% less in Vientiane
Groceries: pay 13.0% more in Vientiane
Transportation: pay 37.4% more in Vientiane
Housing: pay 22.6% less in Vientiane
Childcare: pay 57.9% less in Vientiane
Entertainment and Sports: pay 35.7% less in Vientiane
Clothing: pay 28.7% less in Vientiane

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

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Vientiane vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Vientiane instead of Shanghai, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 18.5% less for restaurants

	Shanghai	Vientiane
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$2.67 LAK60,254	-40.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$5.35 LAK121K	+2.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.01	$0.71 LAK16,068	+18.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$0.37 LAK8,410	+0.9%
Average			-18.5%

Shanghai vs. Vientiane - Cost of restaurants

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pay 13.0% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Vientiane
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.22	$1.14 LAK25,737	-42.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.52	$13.59 LAK306K	+58.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥46.02	$7.61 LAK171K	+10.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.36	$1.87 LAK42,101	+10.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.89	$2.81 LAK63,330	+90.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.65	$1.09 LAK24,464	+9.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.16	$0.52 LAK11,662	-32.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.05	$1.19 LAK26,832	+31.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.15	$0.69 LAK15,639	-9.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.40	$0.66 LAK14,918	+84.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.90	$0.49 LAK10,995	+12.6%
Average			+13.0%

Shanghai vs. Vientiane - Cost of groceries

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pay 37.4% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Vientiane
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.21	$5.62 LAK127K	+13.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.59	$48.44 LAK1M	+62.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$28,190.13 LAK635M	+45.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.92	$8.47 LAK191K	+49.4%
Average			+37.4%

Shanghai vs. Vientiane - Cost of transportation

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pay 22.6% less for housing

	Shanghai	Vientiane
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.59	$12.33 LAK278K	+16.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	$643.47 LAK15M	-37.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	$414.50 LAK9M	-29.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.77	$69.22 LAK2M	+57.1%
Average			-22.6%

Shanghai vs. Vientiane - Cost of housing

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pay 57.9% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Vientiane
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	$625.02 LAK14M	-55.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$11,083.07 LAK250M	-60.0%
Average			-57.9%

Shanghai vs. Vientiane - Cost of childcare

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pay 35.7% less for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Vientiane
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$1.36 LAK30,629	+13.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.41	$1.79 LAK40,336	-46.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.95	$1.78 LAK40,169	-52.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥439.52	$47.54 LAK1M	-27.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.88	$4.23 LAK95,401	-52.7%
Average			-35.7%

Shanghai vs. Vientiane - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 28.7% less for clothing

	Shanghai	Vientiane
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥363.79	$26.74 LAK603K	-50.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥248.19	$66.85 LAK2M	+80.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥505.08	$56.75 LAK1M	-24.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥707.25	$41.00 LAK924K	-61.2%
Average			-28.7%

Shanghai 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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