Cost of living comparison
compared to
Laos vs. Vietnam Cost of Living Summary
Laos is 81.7% more expensive than Vietnam overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 40.4% more in Laos
- Groceries
-
pay 54.7% more in Laos
- Transportation
-
pay 3.1 times more in Laos
- Housing
-
pay 2.3 times more in Laos
- Childcare
-
pay 12.2% more in Laos
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 67.4% more in Laos
- Clothing
-
pay 54.4% more in Laos
The cost of transportation, housing, entertainment and sports, groceries, clothing, and restaurants in Laos are more expensive than in Vietnam. Notably, transportation and housing are significantly more expensive in Laos.
Laos vs. Vietnam Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Laos instead of Vietnam, you would:
pay 40.4% more for restaurants
|
Vietnam
|
Laos
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$1.88
₫49,552
|
$2.08
LAK44,965
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$4.13
₫108,558
|
$5.54
LAK119,908
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.53
₫13,921
|
$0.76
LAK16,442
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.29
₫7,496
|
$0.50
LAK10,718
|
|
Vietnam vs. Laos - Cost of restaurants
pay 54.7% more for groceries
|
Vietnam
|
Laos
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$0.86
₫22,600
|
$1.13
LAK24,563
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.32
₫139,791
|
$13.26
LAK287,028
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.20
₫136,803
|
$6.91
LAK149,594
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$1.45
₫38,057
|
$2.11
LAK45,581
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$1.56
₫40,929
|
$2.10
LAK45,368
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.18
₫31,133
|
$0.76
LAK16,404
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.47
₫12,384
|
$0.75
LAK16,237
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.58
₫15,126
|
$0.97
LAK20,984
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.49
₫12,905
|
$1.30
LAK28,220
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.46
₫12,211
|
$0.70
LAK15,259
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.47
₫12,265
|
$0.46
LAK9,907
|
|
Vietnam vs. Laos - Cost of groceries
pay 3.1 times more for transportation
|
Vietnam
|
Laos
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.19
₫83,913
|
$4.72
LAK102,223
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$6.64
₫174,695
|
$54.89
LAK1,188,014
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$33,225.24
₫873,543,970
|
$28,639.89
LAK619,901,786
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$5.90
₫155,198
|
$10.51
LAK227,429
|
|
Vietnam vs. Laos - Cost of transportation
pay 2.3 times more for housing
|
Vietnam
|
Laos
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$8.68
₫228,136
|
$9.16
LAK198,181
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$310.38
₫8,160,248
|
$1,004.64
LAK21,745,136
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$223.57
₫5,878,051
|
$817.42
LAK17,692,910
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$43.27
₫1,137,723
|
$59.90
LAK1,296,608
|
|
Vietnam vs. Laos - Cost of housing
pay 12.2% more for childcare
|
Vietnam
|
Laos
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$199.23
₫5,238,011
|
$296.67
LAK6,421,230
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$12,262.04
₫322,388,342
|
$9,267.93
LAK200,601,655
|
|
Vietnam vs. Laos - Cost of childcare
pay 67.4% more for entertainment and sports
|
Vietnam
|
Laos
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$0.93
₫24,477
|
$1.42
LAK30,724
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$1.60
₫42,019
|
$1.66
LAK35,847
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$1.28
₫33,609
|
$1.98
LAK42,881
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$20.38
₫535,792
|
$67.50
LAK1,461,025
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$3.19
₫83,975
|
$3.02
LAK65,425
|
|
Vietnam vs. Laos - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 54.4% more for clothing
|
Vietnam
|
Laos
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$31.66
₫832,409
|
$50.20
LAK1,086,662
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$21.29
₫559,848
|
$65.21
LAK1,411,412
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$72.72
₫1,911,865
|
$66.39
LAK1,436,927
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$77.26
₫2,031,418
|
$47.52
LAK1,028,641
|
|
Vietnam vs. Laos - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
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