Cost of living comparison

Asmara, Eritrea

compared to

Vientiane, Laos

Vientiane vs. Asmara Cost of Living Summary

Vientiane is 2.5 times more expensive than Asmara.

Restaurants: pay 69.8% less in Vientiane
Groceries: pay 60.6% more in Vientiane
Transportation: pay 2.3 times more in Vientiane
Housing: pay 59.7% more in Vientiane
Childcare: pay 9.4 times more in Vientiane
Entertainment and Sports: pay 74.1% more in Vientiane
Clothing: pay 35.0% less in Vientiane

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

Vientiane vs. Asmara Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 69.8% less for restaurants

	Asmara	Vientiane
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$18.14 ERN272.04	$1.98 LAK42,864	-89.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.99 ERN89.85	$2.97 LAK64,296	-50.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.83 ERN27.50	$0.53 LAK11,431	-71.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.33 ERN20.00	$0.42 LAK9,146	-68.3%
Average			-69.8%

Asmara vs. Vientiane - Cost of restaurants

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pay 60.6% more for groceries

	Asmara	Vientiane
Bread 1 loaf	$0.50 ERN7.50	$0.91 LAK19,717	+82.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$1.50 ERN22.50	$13.72 LAK296,574	+814.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.14 ERN92.11	$6.42 LAK138,793	+4.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.52 ERN67.80	$1.75 LAK37,847	-61.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$12.17 ERN182.57	$2.95 LAK63,793	-75.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$5.54 ERN83.16	$0.88 LAK19,066	-84.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.58 ERN8.69	$0.49 LAK10,643	-15.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.86 ERN12.85	$0.92 LAK19,963	+7.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.55 ERN8.32	$0.60 LAK12,881	+7.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.80 ERN11.94	$0.73 LAK15,694	-8.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.48 ERN7.26	$0.46 LAK9,903	-5.3%
Average			+60.6%

Asmara vs. Vientiane - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.3 times more for transportation

	Asmara	Vientiane
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.83 ERN132.49	$5.00 LAK108,184	-43.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$8.00 ERN120.00	$49.23 LAK1,064,402	+515.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$66,666.00 ERN999,990.00	$28,330.27 LAK612,483,800	-57.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.73 ERN85.99	$11.18 LAK241,752	+95.1%
Average			+127.4%

Asmara vs. Vientiane - Cost of transportation

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pay 59.7% more for housing

	Asmara	Vientiane
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$200.00 ERN3,000.00	$11.17 LAK241,548	-94.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$475.00 ERN7,125.00	$859.15 LAK18,574,364	+80.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$400.00 ERN6,000.00	$775.98 LAK16,776,173	+94.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$21.03 ERN315.44	$54.31 LAK1,174,112	+158.2%
Average			+59.7%

Asmara vs. Vientiane - Cost of housing

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pay 9.4 times more for childcare

	Asmara	Vientiane
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$25.00 ERN375.00	$332.66 LAK7,191,908	+1230.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,675.00 ERN25,125.00	$9,252.41 LAK200,031,610	+452.4%
Average			+841.5%

Asmara vs. Vientiane - Cost of childcare

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pay 74.1% more for entertainment and sports

	Asmara	Vientiane
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.00 ERN15.00	$0.95 LAK20,508	-5.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$0.77 ERN11.58	$1.50 LAK32,333	+93.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.00 ERN30.00	$1.59 LAK34,291	-20.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$27.00 ERN405.00	$49.74 LAK1,075,316	+84.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$1.10 ERN16.50	$3.50 LAK75,752	+218.5%
Average			+74.1%

Asmara vs. Vientiane - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 35.0% less for clothing

	Asmara	Vientiane
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$82.50 ERN1,237.50	$85.86 LAK1,856,178	+4.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$75.00 ERN1,125.00	$62.88 LAK1,359,399	-16.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$200.00 ERN3,000.00	$57.29 LAK1,238,524	-71.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$95.00 ERN1,425.00	$41.48 LAK896,716	-56.3%
Average			-35.0%

Asmara vs. Vientiane - Cost of clothing

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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: April 2025

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