Cost of living comparison

Laos

compared to

Nicaragua

Managua vs. Vientiane Cost of Living Summary

Managua is 14.1% cheaper than Vientiane.

Restaurants: pay 2.2 times more in Managua
Groceries: pay 12.9% more in Managua
Transportation: pay 43.2% less in Managua
Housing: pay 43.7% less in Managua
Childcare: pay 54.6% less in Managua
Entertainment and Sports: pay 28.1% more in Managua
Clothing: pay 2.0 times more in Managua

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

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Managua vs. Vientiane Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.2 times more for restaurants

	Vientiane	Managua
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.67 LAK60,254	$10.00 NIO368.55	+274.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.35 LAK121K	$7.61 NIO280.46	+42.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.71 LAK16,068	$0.88 NIO32.54	+23.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 LAK8,410	$0.71 NIO26.22	+90.6%
Average			+123.2%

Vientiane vs. Managua - Cost of restaurants

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pay 12.9% more for groceries

	Vientiane	Managua
Bread 1 loaf	$1.14 LAK25,737	$2.37 NIO87.46	+107.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$13.59 LAK306K	$5.80 NIO213.64	-57.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.61 LAK171K	$4.68 NIO172.61	-38.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.87 LAK42,101	$2.37 NIO87.18	+26.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.81 LAK63,330	$2.87 NIO105.79	+2.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.09 LAK24,464	$1.82 NIO67.08	+67.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.52 LAK11,662	$0.27 NIO10.03	-47.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.19 LAK26,832	$0.82 NIO30.09	-31.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.69 LAK15,639	$1.11 NIO41.05	+60.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.66 LAK14,918	$1.79 NIO65.90	+170.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.49 LAK10,995	$1.01 NIO37.13	+106.5%
Average			+12.9%

Vientiane vs. Managua - Cost of groceries

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pay 43.2% less for transportation

	Vientiane	Managua
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.62 LAK127K	$5.06 NIO186.38	-10.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$48.44 LAK1M	$6.01 NIO221.41	-87.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$28,190.13 LAK635M	$22,973.64 NIO847K	-18.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.47 LAK191K	$14.69 NIO541.39	+73.5%
Average			-43.2%

Vientiane vs. Managua - Cost of transportation

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pay 43.7% less for housing

	Vientiane	Managua
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$12.33 LAK278K	$32.47 NIO1,196.57	+163.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$643.47 LAK15M	$256.40 NIO9,449.50	-60.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$414.50 LAK9M	$181.00 NIO6,670.67	-56.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$69.22 LAK2M	$115.83 NIO4,268.74	+67.3%
Average			-43.7%

Vientiane vs. Managua - Cost of housing

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pay 54.6% less for childcare

	Vientiane	Managua
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$625.02 LAK14M	$235.82 NIO8,690.94	-62.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$11,083.07 LAK250M	$6,060.00 NIO223K	-45.3%
Average			-54.6%

Vientiane vs. Managua - Cost of childcare

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pay 28.1% more for entertainment and sports

	Vientiane	Managua
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.36 LAK30,629	$1.50 NIO55.28	+10.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.79 LAK40,336	$2.60 NIO95.82	+45.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.78 LAK40,169	$2.73 NIO100.51	+53.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$47.54 LAK1M	$34.79 NIO1,282.16	-26.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.23 LAK95,401	$9.00 NIO331.69	+112.6%
Average			+28.1%

Vientiane vs. Managua - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.0 times more for clothing

	Vientiane	Managua
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$26.74 LAK603K	$59.88 NIO2,206.90	+124.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$66.85 LAK2M	$65.00 NIO2,395.54	-2.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$56.75 LAK1M	$122.64 NIO4,519.99	+116.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$41.00 LAK924K	$144.83 NIO5,337.49	+253.2%
Average			+101.9%

Vientiane vs. Managua - 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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