Cost of living comparison

Bhutan

compared to

Laos

Vientiane vs. Thimphu Cost of Living Summary

Vientiane is 2.5 times more expensive than Thimphu.

Restaurants: pay 16.5% more in Vientiane
Groceries: pay 67.5% more in Vientiane
Transportation: pay 2.5 times more in Vientiane
Housing: pay 4.0 times more in Vientiane
Childcare: pay 16.5 times more in Vientiane
Entertainment and Sports: pay 5.4% less in Vientiane
Clothing: pay 37.3% more in Vientiane

The cost of childcare, housing, transportation, groceries, clothing, and restaurants in Vientiane are more expensive than in Thimphu. Notably, childcare, housing, and transportation are significantly more expensive in Vientiane.

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Vientiane vs. Thimphu Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 16.5% more for restaurants

	Thimphu	Vientiane
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.58 BTN245.70	$2.67 LAK60,254	+3.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.91 BTN466.83	$5.35 LAK121K	+8.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 BTN47.50	$0.71 LAK16,068	+42.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.18 BTN17.20	$0.37 LAK8,410	+106.3%
Average			+16.5%

Thimphu vs. Vientiane - Cost of restaurants

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pay 67.5% more for groceries

	Thimphu	Vientiane
Bread 1 loaf	$1.07 BTN101.96	$1.14 LAK25,737	+6.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$1.88 BTN178.54	$13.59 LAK306K	+623.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.03 BTN288.32	$7.61 LAK171K	+150.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.88 BTN178.87	$1.87 LAK42,101	-0.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.79 BTN170.51	$2.81 LAK63,330	+56.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.15 BTN109.22	$1.09 LAK24,464	-5.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.69 BTN65.75	$0.52 LAK11,662	-25.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.73 BTN69.10	$1.19 LAK26,832	+63.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.33 BTN31.76	$0.69 LAK15,639	+107.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.26 BTN24.52	$0.66 LAK14,918	+156.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.31 BTN29.53	$0.49 LAK10,995	+57.0%
Average			+67.5%

Thimphu vs. Vientiane - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.5 times more for transportation

	Thimphu	Vientiane
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.79 BTN264.82	$5.62 LAK127K	+101.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$5.17 BTN491.40	$48.44 LAK1M	+837.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$16,591.53 BTN2M	$28,190.13 LAK635M	+69.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$13.18 BTN1,253.06	$8.47 LAK191K	-35.8%
Average			+150.9%

Thimphu vs. Vientiane - Cost of transportation

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pay 4.0 times more for housing

	Thimphu	Vientiane
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$24.17 BTN2,297.69	$12.33 LAK278K	-49.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$127.00 BTN12,071.65	$643.47 LAK15M	+406.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$86.02 BTN8,176.19	$414.50 LAK9M	+381.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$25.81 BTN2,452.87	$69.22 LAK2M	+168.2%
Average			+302.5%

Thimphu vs. Vientiane - Cost of housing

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pay 16.5 times more for childcare

	Thimphu	Vientiane
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$44.98 BTN4,275.09	$625.02 LAK14M	+1289.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$568.68 BTN54,053.67	$11,083.07 LAK250M	+1848.9%
Average			+1545.7%

Thimphu vs. Vientiane - Cost of childcare

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pay 5.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Thimphu	Vientiane
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.58 BTN245.70	$1.36 LAK30,629	-47.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.28 BTN121.21	$1.79 LAK40,336	+40.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.88 BTN368.55	$1.78 LAK40,169	-54.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$46.53 BTN4,422.57	$47.54 LAK1M	+2.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.10 BTN294.84	$4.23 LAK95,401	+36.5%
Average			-5.4%

Thimphu vs. Vientiane - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 37.3% more for clothing

	Thimphu	Vientiane
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.97 BTN4,750.10	$26.74 LAK603K	-46.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$24.99 BTN2,375.05	$66.85 LAK2M	+167.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$67.21 BTN6,388.16	$56.75 LAK1M	-15.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$13.96 BTN1,326.77	$41.00 LAK924K	+193.8%
Average			+37.3%

Thimphu 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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