Cost of living comparison

Laos

compared to

Sri Lanka

Colombo vs. Vientiane Cost of Living Summary

Colombo is 27.5% cheaper than Vientiane.

Restaurants: pay 27.8% more in Colombo
Groceries: pay 14.2% less in Colombo
Transportation: pay 40.6% less in Colombo
Housing: pay 22.7% less in Colombo
Childcare: pay 91.9% less in Colombo
Entertainment and Sports: pay 5.3% more in Colombo
Clothing: pay 30.1% less in Colombo

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

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Colombo vs. Vientiane Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 27.8% more for restaurants

	Vientiane	Colombo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.67 LAK60,254	$3.82 LKR1,265.61	+42.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.35 LAK121K	$7.56 LKR2,502.59	+41.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.71 LAK16,068	$0.70 LKR232.56	-1.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 LAK8,410	$0.26 LKR87.00	-29.6%
Average			+27.8%

Vientiane vs. Colombo - Cost of restaurants

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pay 14.2% less for groceries

	Vientiane	Colombo
Bread 1 loaf	$1.14 LAK25,737	$0.55 LKR181.98	-51.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$13.59 LAK306K	$6.89 LKR2,281.50	-49.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.61 LAK171K	$6.03 LKR1,996.25	-20.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.87 LAK42,101	$1.64 LKR541.78	-12.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.81 LAK63,330	$2.21 LKR731.08	-21.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.09 LAK24,464	$3.06 LKR1,014.37	+182.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.52 LAK11,662	$0.37 LKR122.81	-28.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.19 LAK26,832	$2.03 LKR672.87	+70.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.69 LAK15,639	$0.57 LKR187.42	-18.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.66 LAK14,918	$0.46 LKR150.85	-31.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.49 LAK10,995	$0.35 LKR116.82	-27.7%
Average			-14.2%

Vientiane vs. Colombo - Cost of groceries

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pay 40.6% less for transportation

	Vientiane	Colombo
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.62 LAK127K	$5.14 LKR1,701.24	-8.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$48.44 LAK1M	$7.19 LKR2,381.42	-85.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$28,190.13 LAK635M	$37,024.95 LKR12M	+31.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.47 LAK191K	$3.29 LKR1,091.13	-61.1%
Average			-40.6%

Vientiane vs. Colombo - Cost of transportation

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pay 22.7% less for housing

	Vientiane	Colombo
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$12.33 LAK278K	$20.78 LKR6,883.48	+68.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$643.47 LAK15M	$589.61 LKR195K	-8.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$414.50 LAK9M	$270.44 LKR89,571.04	-34.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$69.22 LAK2M	$41.14 LKR13,624.66	-40.6%
Average			-22.7%

Vientiane vs. Colombo - Cost of housing

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pay 91.9% less for childcare

	Vientiane	Colombo
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$625.02 LAK14M	$37.78 LKR12,512.93	-94.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$11,083.07 LAK250M	$1,208.98 LKR400K	-89.1%
Average			-91.9%

Vientiane vs. Colombo - Cost of childcare

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pay 5.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Vientiane	Colombo
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.36 LAK30,629	$2.21 LKR730.76	+62.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.79 LAK40,336	$2.51 LKR832.69	+40.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.78 LAK40,169	$10.28 LKR3,403.52	+476.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$47.54 LAK1M	$13.99 LKR4,634.42	-70.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.23 LAK95,401	$4.53 LKR1,501.55	+7.1%
Average			+5.3%

Vientiane vs. Colombo - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 30.1% less for clothing

	Vientiane	Colombo
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$26.74 LAK603K	$18.13 LKR6,006.21	-32.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$66.85 LAK2M	$16.62 LKR5,505.69	-75.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$56.75 LAK1M	$79.09 LKR26,193.74	+39.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$41.00 LAK924K	$41.76 LKR13,832.48	+1.9%
Average			-30.1%

Vientiane vs. Colombo - 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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