Cost of living comparison

compared to

Bishkek vs. Vientiane Cost of Living Summary

Bishkek is 4.5% cheaper than Vientiane.

Restaurants: pay 49.2% more in Bishkek
Groceries: pay 26.2% less in Bishkek
Transportation: pay 39.0% less in Bishkek
Housing: pay 33.9% less in Bishkek
Childcare: pay 42.4% less in Bishkek
Entertainment and Sports: pay 7.2% more in Bishkek
Clothing: pay 53.4% more in Bishkek

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

Bishkek vs. Vientiane Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 49.2% more for restaurants

	Vientiane	Bishkek
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.31 LAK49,962	$6.86 KGS600.00	+197.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.54 LAK119,908	$5.72 KGS500.00	+3.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.62 LAK13,417	$0.69 KGS60.00	+10.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.42 LAK8,993	$0.36 KGS31.09	-14.4%
Average			+49.2%

Vientiane vs. Bishkek - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 26.2% less for groceries

	Vientiane	Bishkek
Bread 1 loaf	$1.17 LAK25,263	$0.49 KGS42.62	-58.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$13.94 LAK301,703	$4.06 KGS355.39	-70.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.32 LAK158,409	$3.57 KGS312.12	-51.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.81 LAK39,209	$1.72 KGS150.42	-5.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.99 LAK64,760	$2.18 KGS190.68	-27.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.90 LAK19,388	$0.49 KGS43.27	-44.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.50 LAK10,827	$0.85 KGS74.62	+70.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.94 LAK20,320	$0.93 KGS81.41	-0.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.61 LAK13,144	$0.71 KGS62.37	+17.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.74 LAK16,015	$0.26 KGS22.54	-65.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.47 LAK10,072	$0.22 KGS19.17	-52.9%
Average			-26.2%

Vientiane vs. Bishkek - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 39.0% less for transportation

	Vientiane	Bishkek
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.18 LAK112,095	$3.11 KGS272.26	-39.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$50.18 LAK1,086,126	$11.66 KGS1,020.00	-76.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$28,736.24 LAK621,991,096	$37,735.85 KGS3,300,000.00	+31.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$10.86 LAK235,028	$3.20 KGS280.00	-70.5%
Average			-39.0%

Vientiane vs. Bishkek - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 33.9% less for housing

	Vientiane	Bishkek
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$11.39 LAK246,478	$11.91 KGS1,041.67	+4.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$866.78 LAK18,761,296	$506.26 KGS44,272.71	-41.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$784.74 LAK16,985,533	$375.78 KGS32,861.85	-52.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$55.21 LAK1,194,967	$29.63 KGS2,591.13	-46.3%
Average			-33.9%

Vientiane vs. Bishkek - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 42.4% less for childcare

	Vientiane	Bishkek
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$338.54 LAK7,327,607	$199.59 KGS17,454.55	-41.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,334.55 LAK202,044,727	$5,249.21 KGS459,043.75	-43.8%
Average			-42.4%

Vientiane vs. Bishkek - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 7.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Vientiane	Bishkek
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.50 LAK32,475	$1.37 KGS120.00	-8.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.73 LAK37,470	$2.13 KGS186.30	+23.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.96 LAK42,468	$1.83 KGS160.00	-6.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$50.52 LAK1,093,567	$46.97 KGS4,107.14	-7.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.56 LAK77,021	$4.80 KGS420.00	+35.0%
Average			+7.2%

Vientiane vs. Bishkek - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 53.4% more for clothing

	Vientiane	Bishkek
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$27.70 LAK599,542	$38.88 KGS3,400.00	+40.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$69.25 LAK1,498,854	$39.76 KGS3,476.92	-42.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$58.22 LAK1,260,106	$96.12 KGS8,405.88	+65.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$42.19 LAK913,170	$105.77 KGS9,250.00	+150.7%
Average			+53.4%

Vientiane vs. Bishkek - 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.

Beijing

Vientiane vs.

Mexico City

Vientiane vs.

Phnom Penh

Vientiane vs.

Singapore

Vientiane vs.

Kiev

Vientiane vs.

Lima

Vientiane vs.

Hanoi

Vientiane vs.

Ankara

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

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

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 Bishkek

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

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