Cost of living comparison

Laos

compared to

Panama

Panama City vs. Vientiane Cost of Living Summary

Panama City is 61.0% more expensive than Vientiane.

Restaurants: pay 2.8 times more in Panama City
Groceries: pay 59.1% more in Panama City
Transportation: pay 25.4% less in Panama City
Housing: pay 99.8% more in Panama City
Childcare: pay 13.0% less in Panama City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 88.4% more in Panama City
Clothing: pay 69.2% more in Panama City

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

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Panama City vs. Vientiane Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Panama City instead of Vientiane, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.8 times more for restaurants

	Vientiane	Panama City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.67 LAK60,254	$11.50 PAB11.50	+330.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.35 LAK121K	$8.00 PAB8.00	+49.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.71 LAK16,068	$1.97 PAB1.97	+176.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 LAK8,410	$1.60 PAB1.60	+328.7%
Average			+184.3%

Vientiane vs. Panama City - Cost of restaurants

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pay 59.1% more for groceries

	Vientiane	Panama City
Bread 1 loaf	$1.14 LAK25,737	$2.52 PAB2.52	+120.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$13.59 LAK306K	$6.18 PAB6.18	-54.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.61 LAK171K	$7.09 PAB7.09	-6.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.87 LAK42,101	$2.75 PAB2.75	+47.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.81 LAK63,330	$3.07 PAB3.07	+9.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.09 LAK24,464	$1.87 PAB1.87	+72.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.52 LAK11,662	$0.82 PAB0.82	+59.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.19 LAK26,832	$1.92 PAB1.92	+61.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.69 LAK15,639	$1.86 PAB1.86	+167.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.66 LAK14,918	$1.55 PAB1.55	+133.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.49 LAK10,995	$1.96 PAB1.96	+301.2%
Average			+59.1%

Vientiane vs. Panama City - Cost of groceries

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pay 25.4% less for transportation

	Vientiane	Panama City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.62 LAK127K	$4.62 PAB4.62	-17.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$48.44 LAK1M	$21.00 PAB21.00	-56.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$28,190.13 LAK635M	$21,262.00 PAB21,262.00	-24.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.47 LAK191K	$16.98 PAB16.98	+100.5%
Average			-25.4%

Vientiane vs. Panama City - Cost of transportation

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pay 99.8% more for housing

	Vientiane	Panama City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$12.33 LAK278K	$48.70 PAB48.70	+295.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$643.47 LAK15M	$1,262.50 PAB1,262.50	+96.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$414.50 LAK9M	$874.18 PAB874.18	+110.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$69.22 LAK2M	$100.29 PAB100.29	+44.9%
Average			+99.8%

Vientiane vs. Panama City - Cost of housing

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pay 13.0% less for childcare

	Vientiane	Panama City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$625.02 LAK14M	$543.33 PAB543.33	-13.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$11,083.07 LAK250M	$9,641.50 PAB9,641.50	-13.0%
Average			-13.0%

Vientiane vs. Panama City - Cost of childcare

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pay 88.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Vientiane	Panama City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.36 LAK30,629	$3.30 PAB3.30	+142.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.79 LAK40,336	$4.11 PAB4.11	+129.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.78 LAK40,169	$6.00 PAB6.00	+236.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$47.54 LAK1M	$46.40 PAB46.40	-2.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.23 LAK95,401	$8.50 PAB8.50	+100.8%
Average			+88.4%

Vientiane vs. Panama City - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 69.2% more for clothing

	Vientiane	Panama City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$26.74 LAK603K	$66.67 PAB66.67	+149.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$66.85 LAK2M	$48.43 PAB48.43	-27.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$56.75 LAK1M	$94.62 PAB94.62	+66.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$41.00 LAK924K	$111.67 PAB111.67	+172.3%
Average			+69.2%

Vientiane vs. Panama City - 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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