Cost of living comparison

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

compared to

Vientiane, Laos

Vientiane vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost of Living Summary

Vientiane is 16.5% more expensive than Kuala Lumpur.

Restaurants: pay 37.2% less in Vientiane
Groceries: pay 4.5% more in Vientiane
Transportation: pay 2.3 times more in Vientiane
Housing: pay 30.4% more in Vientiane
Childcare: pay 18.2% more in Vientiane
Entertainment and Sports: pay 40.4% less in Vientiane
Clothing: pay 14.9% more in Vientiane

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

Vientiane vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Vientiane instead of Kuala Lumpur, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 37.2% less for restaurants

	Kuala Lumpur	Vientiane
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.54 MYR19.32	$1.98 LAK42,799	-56.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.54 MYR19.32	$2.97 LAK64,198	-34.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.84 MYR3.59	$0.53 LAK11,414	-37.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.53 MYR2.27	$0.42 LAK9,132	-20.8%
Average			-37.2%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Vientiane - Cost of restaurants

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pay 4.5% more for groceries

	Kuala Lumpur	Vientiane
Bread 1 loaf	$0.95 MYR4.03	$0.91 LAK19,687	-3.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.58 MYR32.22	$13.72 LAK296,125	+81.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.22 MYR30.69	$6.42 LAK138,583	-11.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.36 MYR10.02	$1.75 LAK37,789	-25.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.94 MYR8.23	$2.95 LAK63,697	+52.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.24 MYR5.27	$0.88 LAK19,037	-28.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.69 MYR2.94	$0.49 LAK10,627	-28.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.25 MYR5.32	$0.92 LAK19,933	-26.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.63 MYR2.66	$0.60 LAK12,862	-4.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.47 MYR1.98	$0.73 LAK15,671	+55.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.51 MYR2.18	$0.46 LAK9,888	-10.6%
Average			+4.5%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Vientiane - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.3 times more for transportation

	Kuala Lumpur	Vientiane
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.77 MYR7.54	$5.00 LAK108,020	+182.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$11.36 MYR48.30	$49.23 LAK1,062,788	+333.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$37,478.71 MYR159,378.19	$28,330.27 LAK611,555,372	-24.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$10.22 MYR43.47	$11.18 LAK241,386	+9.4%
Average			+125.2%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Vientiane - Cost of transportation

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pay 30.4% more for housing

	Kuala Lumpur	Vientiane
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$25.27 MYR107.44	$11.17 LAK241,182	-55.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$536.30 MYR2,280.60	$859.15 LAK18,546,208	+60.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$371.69 MYR1,580.61	$775.98 LAK16,750,743	+108.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$50.02 MYR212.73	$54.31 LAK1,172,332	+8.6%
Average			+30.4%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Vientiane - Cost of housing

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pay 18.2% more for childcare

	Kuala Lumpur	Vientiane
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$250.80 MYR1,066.55	$332.66 LAK7,181,006	+32.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,920.55 MYR37,934.64	$9,252.41 LAK199,728,394	+3.7%
Average			+18.2%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Vientiane - Cost of childcare

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pay 40.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Kuala Lumpur	Vientiane
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.09 MYR17.39	$0.95 LAK20,477	-76.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.92 MYR12.41	$1.50 LAK32,284	-48.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.09 MYR17.39	$1.59 LAK34,239	-61.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$44.75 MYR190.29	$49.74 LAK1,073,686	+11.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.77 MYR20.28	$3.50 LAK75,638	-26.5%
Average			-40.4%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Vientiane - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 14.9% more for clothing

	Kuala Lumpur	Vientiane
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$57.74 MYR245.53	$85.86 LAK1,853,365	+48.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$35.00 MYR148.84	$62.88 LAK1,357,338	+79.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$76.75 MYR326.39	$57.29 LAK1,236,647	-25.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$73.25 MYR311.51	$41.48 LAK895,357	-43.4%
Average			+14.9%

Kuala Lumpur 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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