Cost of living comparison

Macedonia

compared to

Laos

Vientiane vs. Skopje Cost of Living Summary

Vientiane is 1.2% more expensive than Skopje.

Restaurants: pay 57.8% less in Vientiane
Groceries: pay 33.7% more in Vientiane
Transportation: pay 9.4% more in Vientiane
Housing: pay 18.2% more in Vientiane
Childcare: pay 85.3% more in Vientiane
Entertainment and Sports: pay 27.2% less in Vientiane
Clothing: pay 41.5% less in Vientiane

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

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Vientiane vs. Skopje Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 57.8% less for restaurants

	Skopje	Vientiane
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.58 MKD525.47	$2.67 LAK60,254	-72.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.45 MKD353.80	$5.35 LAK121K	-17.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.83 MKD100.43	$0.71 LAK16,068	-61.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.34 MKD73.75	$0.37 LAK8,410	-72.2%
Average			-57.8%

Skopje vs. Vientiane - Cost of restaurants

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pay 33.7% more for groceries

	Skopje	Vientiane
Bread 1 loaf	$0.77 MKD42.21	$1.14 LAK25,737	+48.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.98 MKD218.01	$13.59 LAK306K	+241.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.76 MKD261.02	$7.61 LAK171K	+59.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.46 MKD134.98	$1.87 LAK42,101	-24.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.35 MKD183.84	$2.81 LAK63,330	-16.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.66 MKD36.01	$1.09 LAK24,464	+65.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.64 MKD35.19	$0.52 LAK11,662	-19.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.61 MKD33.45	$1.19 LAK26,832	+95.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.87 MKD47.64	$0.69 LAK15,639	-20.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.39 MKD21.34	$0.66 LAK14,918	+70.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.37 MKD20.09	$0.49 LAK10,995	+33.2%
Average			+33.7%

Skopje vs. Vientiane - Cost of groceries

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pay 9.4% more for transportation

	Skopje	Vientiane
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.00 MKD328.99	$5.62 LAK127K	-6.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$27.26 MKD1,494.95	$48.44 LAK1M	+77.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,440.15 MKD2M	$28,190.13 LAK635M	-20.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.82 MKD318.92	$8.47 LAK191K	+45.6%
Average			+9.4%

Skopje vs. Vientiane - Cost of transportation

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pay 18.2% more for housing

	Skopje	Vientiane
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$19.00 MKD1,041.93	$12.33 LAK278K	-35.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$418.20 MKD22,932.64	$643.47 LAK15M	+53.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$324.42 MKD17,790.03	$414.50 LAK9M	+27.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$119.51 MKD6,553.79	$69.22 LAK2M	-42.1%
Average			+18.2%

Skopje vs. Vientiane - Cost of housing

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pay 85.3% more for childcare

	Skopje	Vientiane
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$355.23 MKD19,479.61	$625.02 LAK14M	+75.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,681.18 MKD312K	$11,083.07 LAK250M	+95.1%
Average			+85.3%

Skopje vs. Vientiane - Cost of childcare

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pay 27.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Skopje	Vientiane
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.73 MKD149.49	$1.36 LAK30,629	-50.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.09 MKD114.88	$1.79 LAK40,336	-14.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.45 MKD189.36	$1.78 LAK40,169	-48.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$38.17 MKD2,092.93	$47.54 LAK1M	+24.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.27 MKD398.65	$4.23 LAK95,401	-41.8%
Average			-27.2%

Skopje vs. Vientiane - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 41.5% less for clothing

	Skopje	Vientiane
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$84.15 MKD4,614.40	$26.74 LAK603K	-68.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$36.88 MKD2,022.17	$66.85 LAK2M	+81.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$101.78 MKD5,581.14	$56.75 LAK1M	-44.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$112.67 MKD6,178.55	$41.00 LAK924K	-63.6%
Average			-41.5%

Skopje 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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