Cost of living comparison

Laos

compared to

Chile

Santiago vs. Vientiane Cost of Living Summary

Santiago is 11.4% more expensive than Vientiane.

Restaurants: pay 2.7 times more in Santiago
Groceries: pay 1.6% less in Santiago
Transportation: pay 17.0% less in Santiago
Housing: pay 0.2% less in Santiago
Childcare: pay 17.3% less in Santiago
Entertainment and Sports: pay 65.9% more in Santiago
Clothing: pay 16.8% more in Santiago

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

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Santiago vs. Vientiane Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.7 times more for restaurants

	Vientiane	Santiago
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.67 LAK60,254	$10.23 CLF0.2600	+282.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.35 LAK121K	$8.70 CLF0.2200	+62.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.71 LAK16,068	$1.71 CLF0.0400	+139.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 LAK8,410	$1.25 CLF0.0300	+234.3%
Average			+167.0%

Vientiane vs. Santiago - Cost of restaurants

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pay 1.6% less for groceries

	Vientiane	Santiago
Bread 1 loaf	$1.14 LAK25,737	$1.81 CLF0.0500	+58.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$13.59 LAK306K	$5.64 CLF0.1400	-58.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.61 LAK171K	$4.81 CLF0.1200	-36.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.87 LAK42,101	$4.18 CLF0.1000	+123.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.81 LAK63,330	$3.11 CLF0.0800	+10.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.09 LAK24,464	$0.90 CLF0.0200	-16.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.52 LAK11,662	$0.70 CLF0.0200	+34.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.19 LAK26,832	$0.74 CLF0.0200	-38.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.69 LAK15,639	$0.78 CLF0.0200	+12.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.66 LAK14,918	$0.49 CLF0.0100	-25.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.49 LAK10,995	$0.68 CLF0.0200	+38.7%
Average			-1.6%

Vientiane vs. Santiago - Cost of groceries

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pay 17.0% less for transportation

	Vientiane	Santiago
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.62 LAK127K	$5.77 CLF0.1400	+2.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$48.44 LAK1M	$40.93 CLF1.0200	-15.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$28,190.13 LAK635M	$17,743.12 CLF443.5100	-37.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.47 LAK191K	$7.37 CLF0.1800	-13.0%
Average			-17.0%

Vientiane vs. Santiago - Cost of transportation

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pay 0.2% less for housing

	Vientiane	Santiago
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$12.33 LAK278K	$19.07 CLF0.4800	+54.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$643.47 LAK15M	$552.81 CLF13.8200	-14.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$414.50 LAK9M	$376.90 CLF9.4200	-9.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$69.22 LAK2M	$113.86 CLF2.8500	+64.5%
Average			-0.2%

Vientiane vs. Santiago - Cost of housing

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pay 17.3% less for childcare

	Vientiane	Santiago
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$625.02 LAK14M	$432.52 CLF10.8100	-30.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$11,083.07 LAK250M	$10,959.69 CLF273.9500	-1.1%
Average			-17.3%

Vientiane vs. Santiago - Cost of childcare

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pay 65.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Vientiane	Santiago
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.36 LAK30,629	$4.09 CLF0.1000	+201.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.79 LAK40,336	$3.25 CLF0.0800	+81.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.78 LAK40,169	$5.22 CLF0.1300	+192.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$47.54 LAK1M	$33.92 CLF0.8500	-28.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.23 LAK95,401	$7.52 CLF0.1900	+77.6%
Average			+65.9%

Vientiane vs. Santiago - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 16.8% more for clothing

	Vientiane	Santiago
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$26.74 LAK603K	$50.25 CLF1.2600	+87.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$66.85 LAK2M	$28.71 CLF0.7200	-57.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$56.75 LAK1M	$66.29 CLF1.6600	+16.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$41.00 LAK924K	$80.84 CLF2.0200	+97.2%
Average			+16.8%

Vientiane vs. Santiago - 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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