Cost of living comparison
compared to
Laos vs. Thailand Cost of Living Summary
Laos is 12.8% more expensive than Thailand overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 0.5% less in Laos
- Groceries
-
pay 12.1% more in Laos
- Transportation
-
pay 21.7% more in Laos
- Housing
-
pay 74.3% more in Laos
- Childcare
-
pay 16.9% less in Laos
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 26.0% less in Laos
- Clothing
-
pay 24.6% more in Laos
The cost of housing, clothing, transportation, and groceries in Laos are more expensive than in Thailand. Expenses including entertainment and sports, childcare, and restaurants are lower in Laos.
Laos vs. Thailand Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Laos instead of Thailand, you would:
pay 0.5% less for restaurants
|
Thailand
|
Laos
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$2.67
THB85.01
|
$2.08
LAK45,048
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$6.99
THB222.54
|
$5.54
LAK120,129
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.73
THB23.38
|
$0.76
LAK16,473
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.36
THB11.45
|
$0.50
LAK10,738
|
|
Thailand vs. Laos - Cost of restaurants
pay 12.1% more for groceries
|
Thailand
|
Laos
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.41
THB44.81
|
$1.13
LAK24,608
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.88
THB250.81
|
$13.26
LAK287,558
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$7.17
THB227.99
|
$6.91
LAK149,871
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.07
THB65.86
|
$2.11
LAK45,666
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$1.41
THB44.93
|
$2.10
LAK45,452
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.33
THB42.26
|
$0.76
LAK16,434
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.59
THB18.86
|
$0.75
LAK16,267
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.90
THB28.58
|
$0.97
LAK21,022
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.75
THB23.96
|
$1.30
LAK28,272
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.71
THB22.66
|
$0.70
LAK15,287
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.62
THB19.63
|
$0.46
LAK9,925
|
|
Thailand vs. Laos - Cost of groceries
pay 21.7% more for transportation
|
Thailand
|
Laos
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.83
THB153.74
|
$4.72
LAK102,411
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$28.12
THB894.68
|
$54.89
LAK1,190,208
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$30,471.21
THB969,484.84
|
$28,639.89
LAK621,046,679
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$10.53
THB335.01
|
$10.51
LAK227,849
|
|
Thailand vs. Laos - Cost of transportation
pay 74.3% more for housing
|
Thailand
|
Laos
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$18.52
THB589.30
|
$9.16
LAK198,547
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$414.60
THB13,191.17
|
$1,004.64
LAK21,785,297
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$266.86
THB8,490.51
|
$817.42
LAK17,725,587
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$60.46
THB1,923.63
|
$59.90
LAK1,299,003
|
|
Thailand vs. Laos - Cost of housing
pay 16.9% less for childcare
|
Thailand
|
Laos
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$359.13
THB11,426.21
|
$296.67
LAK6,433,090
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$11,104.31
THB353,299.43
|
$9,267.93
LAK200,972,145
|
|
Thailand vs. Laos - Cost of childcare
pay 26.0% less for entertainment and sports
|
Thailand
|
Laos
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.15
THB68.55
|
$1.42
LAK30,781
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$1.97
THB62.70
|
$1.66
LAK35,913
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$4.31
THB137.26
|
$1.98
LAK42,960
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$53.45
THB1,700.70
|
$67.50
LAK1,463,724
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$6.32
THB200.99
|
$3.02
LAK65,546
|
|
Thailand vs. Laos - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 24.6% more for clothing
|
Thailand
|
Laos
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$37.08
THB1,179.77
|
$50.20
LAK1,088,669
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$29.48
THB937.94
|
$65.21
LAK1,414,019
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$91.15
THB2,900.06
|
$66.39
LAK1,439,581
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$69.13
THB2,199.33
|
$47.52
LAK1,030,541
|
|
Thailand vs. Laos - Cost of clothing
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
Change currency:
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Laos or Thailand. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.