Cost of living comparison

Laos

compared to

China

Shanghai vs. Vientiane Cost of Living Summary

Shanghai is 15.0% more expensive than Vientiane.

Restaurants: pay 22.8% more in Shanghai
Groceries: pay 11.5% less in Shanghai
Transportation: pay 27.2% less in Shanghai
Housing: pay 29.1% more in Shanghai
Childcare: pay 2.4 times more in Shanghai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 55.4% more in Shanghai
Clothing: pay 40.3% more in Shanghai

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

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Shanghai vs. Vientiane Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 22.8% more for restaurants

	Vientiane	Shanghai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.67 LAK60,254	$4.47 CN¥29.94	+67.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.35 LAK121K	$5.22 CN¥34.93	-2.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.71 LAK16,068	$0.60 CN¥4.01	-15.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 LAK8,410	$0.37 CN¥2.47	-0.9%
Average			+22.8%

Vientiane vs. Shanghai - Cost of restaurants

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pay 11.5% less for groceries

	Vientiane	Shanghai
Bread 1 loaf	$1.14 LAK25,737	$1.98 CN¥13.22	+73.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$13.59 LAK306K	$8.60 CN¥57.52	-36.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.61 LAK171K	$6.88 CN¥46.02	-9.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.87 LAK42,101	$1.70 CN¥11.36	-9.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.81 LAK63,330	$1.48 CN¥9.89	-47.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.09 LAK24,464	$0.99 CN¥6.65	-8.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.52 LAK11,662	$0.77 CN¥5.16	+48.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.19 LAK26,832	$0.90 CN¥6.05	-24.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.69 LAK15,639	$0.77 CN¥5.15	+10.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.66 LAK14,918	$0.36 CN¥2.40	-45.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.49 LAK10,995	$0.43 CN¥2.90	-11.2%
Average			-11.5%

Vientiane vs. Shanghai - Cost of groceries

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pay 27.2% less for transportation

	Vientiane	Shanghai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.62 LAK127K	$4.96 CN¥33.21	-11.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$48.44 LAK1M	$29.83 CN¥199.59	-38.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$28,190.13 LAK635M	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	-31.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.47 LAK191K	$5.67 CN¥37.92	-33.1%
Average			-27.2%

Vientiane vs. Shanghai - Cost of transportation

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pay 29.1% more for housing

	Vientiane	Shanghai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$12.33 LAK278K	$10.55 CN¥70.59	-14.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$643.47 LAK15M	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	+61.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$414.50 LAK9M	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	+42.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$69.22 LAK2M	$44.06 CN¥294.77	-36.4%
Average			+29.1%

Vientiane vs. Shanghai - Cost of housing

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pay 2.4 times more for childcare

	Vientiane	Shanghai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$625.02 LAK14M	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	+126.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$11,083.07 LAK250M	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	+149.8%
Average			+137.7%

Vientiane vs. Shanghai - Cost of childcare

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pay 55.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Vientiane	Shanghai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.36 LAK30,629	$1.19 CN¥7.98	-12.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.79 LAK40,336	$3.35 CN¥22.41	+87.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.78 LAK40,169	$3.73 CN¥24.95	+109.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$47.54 LAK1M	$65.69 CN¥439.52	+38.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.23 LAK95,401	$8.95 CN¥59.88	+111.4%
Average			+55.4%

Vientiane vs. Shanghai - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 40.3% more for clothing

	Vientiane	Shanghai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$26.74 LAK603K	$54.37 CN¥363.79	+103.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$66.85 LAK2M	$37.09 CN¥248.19	-44.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$56.75 LAK1M	$75.49 CN¥505.08	+33.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$41.00 LAK924K	$105.70 CN¥707.25	+157.8%
Average			+40.3%

Vientiane vs. Shanghai - 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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