Cost of living comparison

compared to

Laos vs. South Korea Cost of Living Summary

Laos is 15.0% cheaper than South Korea overall.

Restaurants: pay 39.1% less in Laos
Groceries: pay 32.1% less in Laos
Transportation: pay 14.5% more in Laos
Housing: pay 32.1% more in Laos
Childcare: pay 30.0% less in Laos
Entertainment and Sports: pay 36.1% less in Laos
Clothing: pay 14.6% less in Laos

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

Laos vs. South Korea Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Laos instead of South Korea, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 39.1% less for restaurants

	South Korea	Laos
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.72 ₩9,912	$2.08 LAK44,966	-69.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.50 ₩8,106	$5.54 LAK119,908	+0.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.47 ₩2,162	$0.76 LAK16,442	-48.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.82 ₩1,216	$0.50 LAK10,718	-40.0%
Average			-39.1%

South Korea vs. Laos - Cost of restaurants

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pay 32.1% less for groceries

	South Korea	Laos
Bread 1 loaf	$2.87 ₩4,237	$1.13 LAK24,563	-60.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.63 ₩8,294	$13.26 LAK287,030	+135.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.67 ₩11,317	$6.91 LAK149,595	-9.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.84 ₩4,182	$2.11 LAK45,582	-25.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.34 ₩4,919	$2.10 LAK45,369	-37.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.24 ₩4,771	$0.76 LAK16,404	-76.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.39 ₩2,046	$0.75 LAK16,237	-45.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.80 ₩4,123	$0.97 LAK20,984	-65.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.40 ₩3,545	$1.30 LAK28,220	-45.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.78 ₩2,628	$0.70 LAK15,259	-60.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.20 ₩1,775	$0.46 LAK9,907	-62.0%
Average			-32.1%

South Korea vs. Laos - Cost of groceries

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pay 14.5% more for transportation

	South Korea	Laos
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.40 ₩6,489	$4.72 LAK102,223	+7.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$47.17 ₩69,558	$54.89 LAK1,188,021	+16.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,440.41 ₩38,987,177	$28,639.89 LAK619,905,563	+8.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.33 ₩12,286	$10.51 LAK227,430	+26.1%
Average			+14.5%

South Korea vs. Laos - Cost of transportation

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pay 32.1% more for housing

	South Korea	Laos
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$21.68 ₩31,974	$9.16 LAK198,182	-57.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$473.91 ₩698,787	$1,004.64 LAK21,745,269	+112.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$357.19 ₩526,681	$817.42 LAK17,693,017	+128.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$132.53 ₩195,423	$59.90 LAK1,296,616	-54.8%
Average			+32.1%

South Korea vs. Laos - Cost of housing

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pay 30.0% less for childcare

	South Korea	Laos
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$378.52 ₩558,145	$296.67 LAK6,421,270	-21.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$15,055.40 ₩22,199,645	$9,267.93 LAK200,602,878	-38.4%
Average			-30.0%

South Korea vs. Laos - Cost of childcare

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pay 36.1% less for entertainment and sports

	South Korea	Laos
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.12 ₩4,598	$1.42 LAK30,724	-54.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.57 ₩5,261	$1.66 LAK35,847	-53.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.18 ₩4,695	$1.98 LAK42,881	-37.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$49.86 ₩73,520	$67.50 LAK1,461,034	+35.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.12 ₩14,919	$3.02 LAK65,425	-70.1%
Average			-36.1%

South Korea vs. Laos - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 14.6% less for clothing

	South Korea	Laos
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$66.46 ₩97,997	$50.20 LAK1,086,669	-24.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$50.68 ₩74,734	$65.21 LAK1,411,421	+28.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$72.74 ₩107,257	$66.39 LAK1,436,936	-8.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$103.23 ₩152,222	$47.52 LAK1,028,648	-54.0%
Average			-14.6%

South Korea 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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