Cost of living comparison

compared to

Dakar vs. Vientiane Cost of Living Summary

Dakar is 60.0% more expensive than Vientiane.

Restaurants: pay 2.0 times more in Dakar
Groceries: pay 23.2% more in Dakar
Transportation: pay 51.1% more in Dakar
Housing: pay 99.5% more in Dakar
Childcare: pay 21.3% less in Dakar
Entertainment and Sports: pay 75.8% more in Dakar
Clothing: pay 89.5% more in Dakar

The cost of restaurants, housing, clothing, entertainment and sports, transportation, and groceries in Dakar are more expensive than in Vientiane. Notably, restaurants, housing, and clothing are significantly more expensive in Dakar.

Dakar vs. Vientiane Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.0 times more for restaurants

	Vientiane	Dakar
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.31 LAK49,996	$4.92 F CFA2,755	+113.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.54 LAK119,989	$10.46 F CFA5,861	+88.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.62 LAK13,426	$0.89 F CFA501	+44.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.42 LAK8,999	$1.09 F CFA608	+161.5%
Average			+102.0%

Vientiane vs. Dakar - Cost of restaurants

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pay 23.2% more for groceries

	Vientiane	Dakar
Bread 1 loaf	$1.17 LAK25,280	$0.64 F CFA358	-45.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$13.94 LAK301,907	$6.44 F CFA3,607	-53.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.32 LAK158,516	$9.55 F CFA5,347	+30.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.81 LAK39,236	$2.81 F CFA1,573	+55.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.99 LAK64,804	$4.40 F CFA2,463	+47.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.90 LAK19,401	$1.27 F CFA712	+41.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.50 LAK10,834	$0.85 F CFA477	+70.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.94 LAK20,334	$1.21 F CFA679	+29.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.61 LAK13,153	$0.98 F CFA549	+61.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.74 LAK16,026	$0.69 F CFA389	-6.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.47 LAK10,079	$0.59 F CFA328	+25.8%
Average			+23.2%

Vientiane vs. Dakar - Cost of groceries

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pay 51.1% more for transportation

	Vientiane	Dakar
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.18 LAK112,171	$6.70 F CFA3,755	+29.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$50.18 LAK1,086,859	$80.49 F CFA45,084	+60.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$28,736.24 LAK622,411,053	$37,116.17 F CFA20,788,638	+29.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$10.86 LAK235,187	$20.12 F CFA11,271	+85.3%
Average			+51.1%

Vientiane vs. Dakar - Cost of transportation

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pay 99.5% more for housing

	Vientiane	Dakar
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$11.39 LAK246,645	$48.58 F CFA27,211	+326.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$866.78 LAK18,773,963	$940.87 F CFA526,979	+8.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$784.74 LAK16,997,001	$364.90 F CFA204,380	-53.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$55.21 LAK1,195,773	$119.46 F CFA66,909	+116.4%
Average			+99.5%

Vientiane vs. Dakar - Cost of housing

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pay 21.3% less for childcare

	Vientiane	Dakar
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$338.54 LAK7,332,554	$268.31 F CFA150,279	-20.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,334.55 LAK202,181,144	$7,289.08 F CFA4,082,588	-21.9%
Average			-21.3%

Vientiane vs. Dakar - Cost of childcare

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pay 75.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Vientiane	Dakar
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.50 LAK32,497	$2.68 F CFA1,503	+78.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.73 LAK37,496	$4.47 F CFA2,505	+158.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.96 LAK42,496	$1.79 F CFA1,002	-8.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$50.52 LAK1,094,305	$50.08 F CFA28,052	-0.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.56 LAK77,073	$8.94 F CFA5,009	+151.3%
Average			+75.8%

Vientiane vs. Dakar - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 89.5% more for clothing

	Vientiane	Dakar
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$27.70 LAK599,946	$52.32 F CFA29,304	+88.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$69.25 LAK1,499,866	$47.70 F CFA26,716	-31.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$58.22 LAK1,260,957	$110.31 F CFA61,782	+89.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$42.19 LAK913,787	$131.17 F CFA73,470	+210.9%
Average			+89.5%

Vientiane vs. Dakar - Cost of clothing

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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

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