Cost of living comparison

Kigali, Rwanda

compared to

Vientiane, Laos

Vientiane vs. Kigali Cost of Living Summary

Vientiane is 56.8% more expensive than Kigali.

Restaurants: pay 35.5% less in Vientiane
Groceries: pay 84.8% more in Vientiane
Transportation: pay 34.8% more in Vientiane
Housing: pay 71.0% more in Vientiane
Childcare: pay 59.5% more in Vientiane
Entertainment and Sports: pay 5.0% less in Vientiane
Clothing: pay 2.9 times more in Vientiane

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

Vientiane vs. Kigali Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 35.5% less for restaurants

	Kigali	Vientiane
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.26 RWF4,613	$1.98 LAK42,814	-39.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.16 RWF8,713	$2.97 LAK64,221	-51.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.89 RWF1,264	$0.53 LAK11,418	-40.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.47 RWF666	$0.42 LAK9,135	-10.3%
Average			-35.5%

Kigali vs. Vientiane - Cost of restaurants

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pay 84.8% more for groceries

	Kigali	Vientiane
Bread 1 loaf	$1.01 RWF1,426	$0.91 LAK19,694	-9.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.26 RWF3,192	$13.72 LAK296,229	+507.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$2.66 RWF3,755	$6.42 LAK138,631	+141.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.67 RWF2,358	$1.75 LAK37,803	+5.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.19 RWF3,100	$2.95 LAK63,719	+34.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.38 RWF1,947	$0.88 LAK19,044	-36.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.52 RWF737	$0.49 LAK10,631	-5.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.86 RWF1,214	$0.92 LAK19,940	+7.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.48 RWF683	$0.60 LAK12,866	+23.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.22 RWF318	$0.73 LAK15,676	+223.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.33 RWF460	$0.46 LAK9,892	+40.9%
Average			+84.8%

Kigali vs. Vientiane - Cost of groceries

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pay 34.8% more for transportation

	Kigali	Vientiane
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.48 RWF6,332	$5.00 LAK108,058	+11.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$24.66 RWF34,853	$49.23 LAK1,063,162	+99.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$20,668.41 RWF29,215,189	$28,330.27 LAK611,770,395	+37.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$12.33 RWF17,427	$11.18 LAK241,471	-9.3%
Average			+34.8%

Kigali vs. Vientiane - Cost of transportation

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pay 71.0% more for housing

	Kigali	Vientiane
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$26.20 RWF37,032	$11.17 LAK241,267	-57.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$489.52 RWF691,939	$859.15 LAK18,552,729	+75.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$271.95 RWF384,410	$775.98 LAK16,756,633	+185.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$30.04 RWF42,461	$54.31 LAK1,172,744	+80.8%
Average			+71.0%

Kigali vs. Vientiane - Cost of housing

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pay 59.5% more for childcare

	Kigali	Vientiane
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$149.39 RWF211,169	$332.66 LAK7,183,531	+122.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,609.00 RWF13,582,500	$9,252.41 LAK199,798,618	-3.7%
Average			+59.5%

Kigali vs. Vientiane - Cost of childcare

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pay 5.0% less for entertainment and sports

	Kigali	Vientiane
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.09 RWF1,538	$0.95 LAK20,485	-12.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.22 RWF3,132	$1.50 LAK32,296	-32.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.36 RWF3,332	$1.59 LAK34,251	-32.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.83 RWF44,990	$49.74 LAK1,074,063	+56.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.63 RWF5,125	$3.50 LAK75,664	-3.4%
Average			-5.0%

Kigali vs. Vientiane - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.9 times more for clothing

	Kigali	Vientiane
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$16.68 RWF23,577	$85.86 LAK1,854,016	+414.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$21.76 RWF30,753	$62.88 LAK1,357,815	+189.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$26.59 RWF37,587	$57.29 LAK1,237,081	+115.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$31.43 RWF44,421	$41.48 LAK895,672	+32.0%
Average			+187.8%

Kigali 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: June 2025

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