Cost of living comparison

compared to

Laos vs. Solomon Islands Cost of Living Summary

Laos is 26.0% more expensive than Solomon Islands overall.

Restaurants: pay 54.5% less in Laos
Groceries: pay 10.6% more in Laos
Transportation: pay 39.4% more in Laos
Housing: pay 14.9% less in Laos
Childcare: pay 3.2 times more in Laos
Entertainment and Sports: pay 32.4% less in Laos
Clothing: pay 15.8% more in Laos

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

Laos vs. Solomon Islands Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Laos instead of Solomon Islands, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 54.5% less for restaurants

	Solomon Islands	Laos
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.08 SBD50.04	$2.08 LAK45,048	-65.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$12.16 SBD100.08	$5.54 LAK120,129	-54.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.37 SBD11.26	$0.76 LAK16,473	-44.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.06 SBD8.76	$0.50 LAK10,738	-53.5%
Average			-54.5%

Solomon Islands vs. Laos - Cost of restaurants

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pay 10.6% more for groceries

	Solomon Islands	Laos
Bread 1 loaf	$1.49 SBD12.22	$1.13 LAK24,608	-23.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$1.99 SBD16.35	$13.26 LAK287,558	+567.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$9.73 SBD80.10	$6.91 LAK149,871	-29.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.49 SBD45.19	$2.11 LAK45,666	-61.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.92 SBD32.23	$2.10 LAK45,452	-46.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.20 SBD26.33	$0.76 LAK16,434	-76.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.17 SBD9.65	$0.75 LAK16,267	-36.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$3.54 SBD29.14	$0.97 LAK21,022	-72.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.50 SBD12.35	$1.30 LAK28,272	-13.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.91 SBD7.49	$0.70 LAK15,287	-22.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.52 SBD12.48	$0.46 LAK9,925	-69.8%
Average			+10.6%

Solomon Islands vs. Laos - Cost of groceries

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pay 39.4% more for transportation

	Solomon Islands	Laos
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.90 SBD40.31	$4.72 LAK102,411	-3.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$24.32 SBD200.16	$54.89 LAK1,190,208	+125.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	??	$28,639.89 LAK621,046,679
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$10.94 SBD90.07	$10.51 LAK227,849	-4.0%
Average			+39.4%

Solomon Islands vs. Laos - Cost of transportation

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pay 14.9% less for housing

	Solomon Islands	Laos
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$88.16 SBD725.60	$9.16 LAK198,547	-89.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$547.19 SBD4,503.70	$1,004.64 LAK21,785,297	+83.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$638.39 SBD5,254.32	$817.42 LAK17,725,587	+28.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$325.45 SBD2,678.67	$59.90 LAK1,299,003	-81.6%
Average			-14.9%

Solomon Islands vs. Laos - Cost of housing

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pay 3.2 times more for childcare

	Solomon Islands	Laos
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$97.28 SBD800.66	$296.67 LAK6,433,090	+205.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$2,796.75 SBD23,018.93	$9,267.93 LAK200,972,145	+231.4%
Average			+218.2%

Solomon Islands vs. Laos - Cost of childcare

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pay 32.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Solomon Islands	Laos
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.82 SBD15.01	$1.42 LAK30,781	-22.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.13 SBD25.77	$1.66 LAK35,913	-47.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.01 SBD33.03	$1.98 LAK42,960	-50.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	??	$67.50 LAK1,463,724
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.34 SBD27.52	$3.02 LAK65,546	-9.6%
Average			-32.4%

Solomon Islands vs. Laos - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 15.8% more for clothing

	Solomon Islands	Laos
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$20.59 SBD169.47	$50.20 LAK1,088,669	+143.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$91.20 SBD750.62	$65.21 LAK1,414,019	-28.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$77.01 SBD633.85	$66.39 LAK1,439,581	-13.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$77.01 SBD633.85	$47.52 LAK1,030,541	-38.3%
Average			+15.8%

Solomon Islands vs. Laos - 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: December 2025

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