Cost of living comparison

compared to

Managua vs. Vientiane Cost of Living Summary

Managua is 26.4% more expensive than Vientiane.

Restaurants: pay 58.3% more in Managua
Groceries: pay 38.2% more in Managua
Transportation: pay 39.0% less in Managua
Housing: pay 28.6% more in Managua
Childcare: pay 49.5% less in Managua
Entertainment and Sports: pay 31.0% more in Managua
Clothing: pay 2.2 times more in Managua

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

Managua vs. Vientiane Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 58.3% more for restaurants

	Vientiane	Managua
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.31 LAK49,966	$4.91 NIO180.13	+112.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.54 LAK119,918	$7.30 NIO268.05	+31.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.62 LAK13,418	$0.82 NIO30.05	+32.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.42 LAK8,994	$0.65 NIO23.85	+56.4%
Average			+58.3%

Vientiane vs. Managua - Cost of restaurants

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pay 38.2% more for groceries

	Vientiane	Managua
Bread 1 loaf	$1.17 LAK25,265	$2.41 NIO88.57	+106.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$13.94 LAK301,727	$5.80 NIO212.71	-58.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.32 LAK158,421	$4.68 NIO171.86	-36.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.81 LAK39,212	$2.29 NIO84.08	+26.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.99 LAK64,765	$2.87 NIO105.33	-4.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.90 LAK19,390	$1.77 NIO64.95	+97.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.50 LAK10,828	$0.39 NIO14.44	-21.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.94 LAK20,322	$0.82 NIO29.96	-13.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.61 LAK13,145	$1.01 NIO37.17	+66.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.74 LAK16,016	$1.78 NIO65.18	+140.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.47 LAK10,073	$1.00 NIO36.72	+115.0%
Average			+38.2%

Vientiane vs. Managua - Cost of groceries

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pay 39.0% less for transportation

	Vientiane	Managua
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.18 LAK112,104	$5.05 NIO185.42	-2.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$50.18 LAK1,086,211	$6.01 NIO220.45	-88.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$28,736.24 LAK622,040,039	$22,973.64 NIO843,003.80	-20.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$10.86 LAK235,047	$5.94 NIO218.09	-45.3%
Average			-39.0%

Vientiane vs. Managua - Cost of transportation

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pay 28.6% more for housing

	Vientiane	Managua
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$11.39 LAK246,498	$36.87 NIO1,353.03	+223.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$866.78 LAK18,762,772	$256.67 NIO9,418.23	-70.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$784.74 LAK16,986,870	$190.00 NIO6,971.94	-75.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$55.21 LAK1,195,061	$75.42 NIO2,767.34	+36.6%
Average			+28.6%

Vientiane vs. Managua - Cost of housing

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pay 49.5% less for childcare

	Vientiane	Managua
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$338.54 LAK7,328,183	$124.17 NIO4,556.22	-63.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,334.55 LAK202,060,626	$6,000.00 NIO220,166.41	-35.7%
Average			-49.5%

Vientiane vs. Managua - Cost of childcare

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pay 31.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Vientiane	Managua
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.50 LAK32,478	$1.36 NIO49.90	-9.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.73 LAK37,473	$2.31 NIO84.64	+33.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.96 LAK42,471	$2.66 NIO97.58	+35.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$50.52 LAK1,093,653	$35.79 NIO1,313.28	-29.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.56 LAK77,027	$8.00 NIO293.56	+124.8%
Average			+31.0%

Vientiane vs. Managua - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.2 times more for clothing

	Vientiane	Managua
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$27.70 LAK599,589	$77.43 NIO2,841.42	+179.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$69.25 LAK1,498,972	$72.50 NIO2,660.34	+4.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$58.22 LAK1,260,206	$132.64 NIO4,867.30	+127.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$42.19 LAK913,242	$108.16 NIO3,968.84	+156.4%
Average			+117.1%

Vientiane vs. Managua - 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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