Cost of living comparison

Laos

compared to

Cambodia

Phnom Penh vs. Vientiane Cost of Living Summary

Phnom Penh is 1.9% more expensive than Vientiane.

Restaurants: pay 52.7% more in Phnom Penh
Groceries: pay 12.6% more in Phnom Penh
Transportation: pay 30.8% less in Phnom Penh
Housing: pay 1.6% more in Phnom Penh
Childcare: pay 2.5% more in Phnom Penh
Entertainment and Sports: pay 4.8% more in Phnom Penh
Clothing: pay 3.5% less in Phnom Penh

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

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Phnom Penh vs. Vientiane Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Phnom Penh instead of Vientiane, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 52.7% more for restaurants

	Vientiane	Phnom Penh
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.67 LAK60,254	$4.00 KHR16,282.49	+49.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.35 LAK121K	$7.00 KHR28,494.35	+30.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.71 LAK16,068	$1.82 KHR7,428.89	+155.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 LAK8,410	$0.64 KHR2,600.68	+71.2%
Average			+52.7%

Vientiane vs. Phnom Penh - Cost of restaurants

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pay 12.6% more for groceries

	Vientiane	Phnom Penh
Bread 1 loaf	$1.14 LAK25,737	$1.62 KHR6,582.93	+41.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$13.59 LAK306K	$7.46 KHR30,360.06	-45.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.61 LAK171K	$8.16 KHR33,214.92	+7.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.87 LAK42,101	$1.72 KHR6,996.95	-8.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.81 LAK63,330	$1.89 KHR7,703.61	-32.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.09 LAK24,464	$1.79 KHR7,277.91	+64.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.52 LAK11,662	$0.79 KHR3,215.82	+52.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.19 LAK26,832	$1.91 KHR7,785.68	+60.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.69 LAK15,639	$0.98 KHR3,969.77	+40.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.66 LAK14,918	$0.72 KHR2,935.78	+8.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.49 LAK10,995	$0.56 KHR2,292.62	+15.4%
Average			+12.6%

Vientiane vs. Phnom Penh - Cost of groceries

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pay 30.8% less for transportation

	Vientiane	Phnom Penh
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.62 LAK127K	$5.09 KHR20,702.80	-9.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$48.44 LAK1M	$9.60 KHR39,077.97	-80.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$28,190.13 LAK635M	$35,000.00 KHR142M	+24.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.47 LAK191K	$9.11 KHR37,065.53	+7.5%
Average			-30.8%

Vientiane vs. Phnom Penh - Cost of transportation

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pay 1.6% more for housing

	Vientiane	Phnom Penh
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$12.33 LAK278K	$24.89 KHR101K	+101.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$643.47 LAK15M	$646.36 KHR3M	+0.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$414.50 LAK9M	$370.33 KHR2M	-10.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$69.22 LAK2M	$81.19 KHR331K	+17.3%
Average			+1.6%

Vientiane vs. Phnom Penh - Cost of housing

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pay 2.5% more for childcare

	Vientiane	Phnom Penh
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$625.02 LAK14M	$661.77 KHR3M	+5.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$11,083.07 LAK250M	$10,987.71 KHR45M	-0.9%
Average			+2.5%

Vientiane vs. Phnom Penh - Cost of childcare

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pay 4.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Vientiane	Phnom Penh
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.36 LAK30,629	$1.00 KHR4,070.62	-26.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.79 LAK40,336	$2.95 KHR11,992.68	+64.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.78 LAK40,169	$1.89 KHR7,693.48	+6.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$47.54 LAK1M	$40.62 KHR165K	-14.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.23 LAK95,401	$5.00 KHR20,353.11	+18.1%
Average			+4.8%

Vientiane vs. Phnom Penh - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 3.5% less for clothing

	Vientiane	Phnom Penh
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$26.74 LAK603K	$28.00 KHR114K	+4.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$66.85 LAK2M	$24.00 KHR97,694.93	-64.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$56.75 LAK1M	$90.83 KHR370K	+60.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$41.00 LAK924K	$59.17 KHR241K	+44.3%
Average			-3.5%

Vientiane vs. Phnom Penh - 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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