Cost of living comparison

compared to

Baghdad vs. Vientiane Cost of Living Summary

Baghdad is 5.2% more expensive than Vientiane.

Restaurants: pay 9.4% more in Baghdad
Groceries: pay 37.8% less in Baghdad
Transportation: pay 26.2% less in Baghdad
Housing: pay 81.7% more in Baghdad
Childcare: pay 54.6% less in Baghdad
Entertainment and Sports: pay 68.3% more in Baghdad
Clothing: pay 4.6% less in Baghdad

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

Baghdad vs. Vientiane Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 9.4% more for restaurants

	Vientiane	Baghdad
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.31 LAK49,996	$4.38 IQD5,739	+89.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.54 LAK119,989	$7.58 IQD9,937	+36.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.62 LAK13,426	$0.38 IQD499	-38.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.42 LAK8,999	$0.21 IQD269	-50.6%
Average			+9.4%

Vientiane vs. Baghdad - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 37.8% less for groceries

	Vientiane	Baghdad
Bread 1 loaf	$1.17 LAK25,280	$0.83 IQD1,084	-29.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$13.94 LAK301,907	$2.28 IQD2,981	-83.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.32 LAK158,516	$4.75 IQD6,217	-35.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.81 LAK39,236	$1.69 IQD2,217	-6.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.99 LAK64,804	$2.06 IQD2,704	-31.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.90 LAK19,401	$0.56 IQD736	-37.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.50 LAK10,834	$0.50 IQD656	+0.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.94 LAK20,334	$0.46 IQD597	-51.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.61 LAK13,153	$0.33 IQD431	-45.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.74 LAK16,026	$0.30 IQD391	-59.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.47 LAK10,079	$0.30 IQD387	-36.5%
Average			-37.8%

Vientiane vs. Baghdad - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 26.2% less for transportation

	Vientiane	Baghdad
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.18 LAK112,171	$2.06 IQD2,697	-60.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$50.18 LAK1,086,859	$22.75 IQD29,810	-54.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$28,736.24 LAK622,411,053	$18,202.83 IQD23,847,643	-36.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$10.86 LAK235,187	$15.93 IQD20,867	+46.7%
Average			-26.2%

Vientiane vs. Baghdad - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 81.7% more for housing

	Vientiane	Baghdad
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$11.39 LAK246,645	$41.71 IQD54,651	+266.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$866.78 LAK18,773,963	$412.41 IQD540,298	-52.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$784.74 LAK16,997,001	$284.42 IQD372,619	-63.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$55.21 LAK1,195,773	$152.68 IQD200,023	+176.5%
Average			+81.7%

Vientiane vs. Baghdad - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 54.6% less for childcare

	Vientiane	Baghdad
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$338.54 LAK7,332,554	$178.78 IQD234,218	-47.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,334.55 LAK202,181,144	$3,548.47 IQD4,648,871	-62.0%
Average			-54.6%

Vientiane vs. Baghdad - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 68.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Vientiane	Baghdad
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.50 LAK32,497	$3.79 IQD4,968	+152.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.73 LAK37,496	$3.15 IQD4,121	+81.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.96 LAK42,496	$2.09 IQD2,733	+6.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$50.52 LAK1,094,305	$44.30 IQD58,041	-12.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.56 LAK77,073	$7.58 IQD9,937	+113.1%
Average			+68.3%

Vientiane vs. Baghdad - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 4.6% less for clothing

	Vientiane	Baghdad
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$27.70 LAK599,946	$29.20 IQD38,256	+5.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$69.25 LAK1,499,866	$36.03 IQD47,198	-48.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$58.22 LAK1,260,957	$68.68 IQD89,981	+18.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$42.19 LAK913,787	$44.75 IQD58,626	+6.1%
Average			-4.6%

Vientiane vs. Baghdad - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

More cost comparisons

Vientiane vs.

Paris

Vientiane vs.

Moscow

Vientiane vs.

Dublin

Vientiane vs.

Beijing

Vientiane vs.

Rome

Vientiane vs.

Washington

Vientiane vs.

Athens

Vientiane vs.

Bangkok

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Laos vs. Iraq. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Laos and Iraq.

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

Add prices for Vientiane

Add prices for Baghdad

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Baghdad or Vientiane. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.