Cost of living comparison

Kampala, Uganda

compared to

Vientiane, Laos

Vientiane vs. Kampala Cost of Living Summary

Vientiane is 83.8% more expensive than Kampala.

Restaurants: pay 10.8% less in Vientiane
Groceries: pay 65.1% more in Vientiane
Transportation: pay 2.3 times more in Vientiane
Housing: pay 86.3% more in Vientiane
Childcare: pay 2.4 times more in Vientiane
Entertainment and Sports: pay 32.2% less in Vientiane
Clothing: pay 3.1 times more in Vientiane

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

Vientiane vs. Kampala Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 10.8% less for restaurants

	Kampala	Vientiane
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.72 UGX9,796	$1.98 LAK42,771	-27.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.48 UGX34,194	$2.97 LAK64,156	-68.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.45 UGX1,633	$0.53 LAK11,406	+16.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.31 UGX1,127	$0.42 LAK9,126	+35.4%
Average			-10.8%

Kampala vs. Vientiane - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 65.1% more for groceries

	Kampala	Vientiane
Bread 1 loaf	$1.23 UGX4,428	$0.91 LAK19,674	-25.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$1.81 UGX6,511	$13.72 LAK295,931	+659.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$2.58 UGX9,288	$6.42 LAK138,492	+149.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.87 UGX6,726	$1.75 LAK37,765	-6.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.16 UGX7,804	$2.95 LAK63,655	+36.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.24 UGX4,457	$0.88 LAK19,025	-28.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.68 UGX2,455	$0.49 LAK10,620	-27.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.83 UGX3,002	$0.92 LAK19,920	+10.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.70 UGX2,522	$0.60 LAK12,853	-14.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.67 UGX2,420	$0.73 LAK15,660	+8.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.84 UGX3,037	$0.46 LAK9,882	-45.6%
Average			+65.1%

Kampala vs. Vientiane - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.3 times more for transportation

	Kampala	Vientiane
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.75 UGX20,733	$5.00 LAK107,949	-13.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$45.35 UGX163,547	$49.23 LAK1,062,092	+8.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$8,827.16 UGX31,836,341	$28,330.27 LAK611,154,737	+220.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.72 UGX9,796	$11.18 LAK241,228	+311.7%
Average			+132.1%

Kampala vs. Vientiane - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 86.3% more for housing

	Kampala	Vientiane
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$70.62 UGX254,691	$11.17 LAK241,024	-84.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$364.73 UGX1,315,436	$859.15 LAK18,534,058	+135.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$241.73 UGX871,826	$775.98 LAK16,739,770	+221.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$31.44 UGX113,404	$54.31 LAK1,171,564	+72.7%
Average			+86.3%

Kampala vs. Vientiane - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.4 times more for childcare

	Kampala	Vientiane
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$126.15 UGX454,960	$332.66 LAK7,176,302	+163.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$4,345.68 UGX15,673,275	$9,252.41 LAK199,597,550	+112.9%
Average			+138.3%

Kampala vs. Vientiane - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 32.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Kampala	Vientiane
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.36 UGX4,898	$0.95 LAK20,464	-30.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.73 UGX9,840	$1.50 LAK32,263	-45.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.78 UGX10,041	$1.59 LAK34,217	-43.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$47.08 UGX169,794	$49.74 LAK1,072,982	+5.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.79 UGX24,489	$3.50 LAK75,588	-48.4%
Average			-32.2%

Kampala vs. Vientiane - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 3.1 times more for clothing

	Kampala	Vientiane
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$17.11 UGX61,714	$85.86 LAK1,852,151	+401.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$13.24 UGX47,755	$62.88 LAK1,356,449	+374.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$33.20 UGX119,726	$57.29 LAK1,235,836	+72.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$50.10 UGX180,678	$41.48 LAK894,770	-17.2%
Average			+208.0%

Kampala vs. Vientiane - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

More cost comparisons

Kampala vs.

Algiers

Kampala vs.

Ottawa

Kampala vs.

Reykjavik

Kampala vs.

Rome

Kampala vs.

Delhi

Kampala vs.

Manila

Kampala vs.

London

Kampala vs.

Vienna

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Uganda vs. Laos. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Uganda and Laos.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Kampala

Add prices for Vientiane

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Vientiane or Kampala. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.