Cost of living comparison

 Bamako, Mali
compared to
 Vientiane, Laos
Vientiane vs. Bamako Cost of Living Summary

Vientiane is 34.3% cheaper than Bamako.

Restaurants
pay 45.7% less in Vientiane
Groceries
pay 29.1% less in Vientiane
Transportation
pay 8.7% less in Vientiane
Housing
pay 72.9% less in Vientiane
Entertainment and Sports
pay 15.1% less in Vientiane

Expenses including housing, restaurants, groceries, entertainment and sports, and transportation are lower in Vientiane.

Vientiane vs. Bamako Cost Breakdown

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

pay 45.7% less for restaurants

 
Bamako
Vientiane
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $6.70
F CFA3,808
$1.98
LAK42,771
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$6.42
F CFA3,648
$2.97
LAK64,156
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.77
F CFA439
$0.53
LAK11,406

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pay 29.1% less for groceries

 
Bamako
Vientiane
Bread
1 loaf
$1.10
F CFA626
$0.91
LAK19,674
Local cheese (8 oz) ?? $13.72
LAK295,931
Milk (1 gallon) $9.46
F CFA5,375
$6.42
LAK138,492

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pay 8.7% less for transportation

 
Bamako
Vientiane
Gasoline (1 gallon) $5.48
F CFA3,114
$5.00
LAK107,949
Monthly public transit pass ?? $49.23
LAK1,062,092
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) ?? $28,330.27
LAK611,154,737

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pay 72.9% less for housing

 
Bamako
Vientiane
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$41.27
F CFA23,438
$11.17
LAK241,024
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area ?? $859.15
LAK18,534,058
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center ?? $775.98
LAK16,739,770

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

 
Bamako
Vientiane
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly ?? $332.66
LAK7,176,302
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters ?? $9,252.41
LAK199,597,550

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pay 15.1% less for entertainment and sports

 
Bamako
Vientiane
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $2.39
F CFA1,355
$0.95
LAK20,464
Cappuccino in mid-range area $1.89
F CFA1,073
$1.50
LAK32,263
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$0.93
F CFA530
$1.59
LAK34,217

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

 
Bamako
Vientiane
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
?? $85.86
LAK1,852,151
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
?? $62.88
LAK1,356,449
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
?? $57.29
LAK1,235,836

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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: June 2025
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