Cost of living comparison

Laos

compared to

Tonga

Nuku'alofa vs. Vientiane Cost of Living Summary

Nuku'alofa is 11.5% more expensive than Vientiane.

Restaurants: pay 2.9 times more in Nuku'alofa
Groceries: pay 33.8% more in Nuku'alofa
Transportation: pay 35.6% less in Nuku'alofa
Housing: pay 42.3% more in Nuku'alofa
Childcare: pay 92.5% less in Nuku'alofa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.5 times more in Nuku'alofa
Clothing: pay 56.1% less in Nuku'alofa

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

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Nuku'alofa vs. Vientiane Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Nuku'alofa instead of Vientiane, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.9 times more for restaurants

	Vientiane	Nuku'alofa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.67 LAK60,254	$8.31 TOP20.00	+210.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.35 LAK121K	$10.38 TOP25.00	+94.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.71 LAK16,068	$2.84 TOP6.83	+298.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 LAK8,410	$2.46 TOP5.92	+558.5%
Average			+191.2%

Vientiane vs. Nuku'alofa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 33.8% more for groceries

	Vientiane	Nuku'alofa
Bread 1 loaf	$1.14 LAK25,737	$1.04 TOP2.50	-9.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$13.59 LAK306K	$4.50 TOP10.83	-66.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.61 LAK171K	$5.92 TOP14.26	-22.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.87 LAK42,101	$5.09 TOP12.27	+172.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.81 LAK63,330	$2.67 TOP6.43	-5.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.09 LAK24,464	$1.26 TOP3.02	+15.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.52 LAK11,662	$1.26 TOP3.02	+142.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.19 LAK26,832	$1.32 TOP3.18	+10.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.69 LAK15,639	$1.70 TOP4.08	+144.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.66 LAK14,918	$1.44 TOP3.48	+118.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.49 LAK10,995	$1.19 TOP2.87	+144.5%
Average			+33.8%

Vientiane vs. Nuku'alofa - Cost of groceries

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pay 35.6% less for transportation

	Vientiane	Nuku'alofa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.62 LAK127K	$5.50 TOP13.25	-2.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$48.44 LAK1M	$41.53 TOP100.00	-14.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$28,190.13 LAK635M	$5,814.53 TOP14,000.00	-79.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.47 LAK191K	$18.69 TOP45.00	+120.7%
Average			-35.6%

Vientiane vs. Nuku'alofa - Cost of transportation

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pay 42.3% more for housing

	Vientiane	Nuku'alofa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$12.33 LAK278K	$124.60 TOP300.00	+910.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$643.47 LAK15M	$622.99 TOP1,500.00	-3.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$414.50 LAK9M	??
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$69.22 LAK2M	$142.92 TOP344.12	+106.5%
Average			+42.3%

Vientiane vs. Nuku'alofa - Cost of housing

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pay 92.5% less for childcare

	Vientiane	Nuku'alofa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$625.02 LAK14M	$157.82 TOP380.00	-74.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$11,083.07 LAK250M	$249.19 TOP600.00	-97.8%
Average			-92.5%

Vientiane vs. Nuku'alofa - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.5 times more for entertainment and sports

	Vientiane	Nuku'alofa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.36 LAK30,629	$3.32 TOP8.00	+144.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.79 LAK40,336	$2.91 TOP7.00	+62.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.78 LAK40,169	$10.18 TOP24.50	+470.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$47.54 LAK1M	$31.15 TOP75.00	-34.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.23 LAK95,401	$41.53 TOP100.00	+881.0%
Average			+149.7%

Vientiane vs. Nuku'alofa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 56.1% less for clothing

	Vientiane	Nuku'alofa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$26.74 LAK603K	$14.54 TOP35.00	-45.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$66.85 LAK2M	$17.65 TOP42.50	-73.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$56.75 LAK1M	$20.77 TOP50.00	-63.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$41.00 LAK924K	$29.07 TOP70.00	-29.1%
Average			-56.1%

Vientiane vs. Nuku'alofa - 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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