Cost of living comparison

Laos

compared to

Beijing, China

Beijing vs. Laos Cost of Living Summary

Beijing is 33.3% more expensive than Laos overall.

Restaurants: pay 22.0% more in Beijing
Groceries: pay 10.6% less in Beijing
Transportation: pay 31.4% less in Beijing
Housing: pay 6.6% less in Beijing
Childcare: pay 2.6 times more in Beijing
Entertainment and Sports: pay 79.6% more in Beijing
Clothing: pay 23.7% more in Beijing

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

Beijing vs. Laos Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Beijing instead of Laos, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 22.0% more for restaurants

	Laos	Beijing
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$1.90 LAK41,017	$4.17 CN¥30.44	+120.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.20 LAK90,903	$5.57 CN¥40.59	+32.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.69 LAK14,927	$0.50 CN¥3.62	-28.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.49 LAK10,498	$0.31 CN¥2.25	-36.3%
Average			+22.0%

Laos vs. Beijing - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 10.6% less for groceries

	Laos	Beijing
Bread 1 loaf	$1.00 LAK21,671	$1.43 CN¥10.46	+43.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$13.03 LAK281,741	$7.31 CN¥53.28	-43.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.40 LAK138,380	$7.17 CN¥52.28	+12.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.06 LAK44,642	$1.74 CN¥12.67	-15.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.07 LAK44,756	$1.53 CN¥11.16	-26.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.75 LAK16,109	$0.92 CN¥6.69	+23.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.74 LAK16,038	$0.71 CN¥5.19	-4.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.96 LAK20,697	$0.89 CN¥6.47	-7.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.29 LAK27,873	$0.58 CN¥4.25	-54.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.70 LAK15,027	$0.37 CN¥2.69	-47.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.45 LAK9,774	$0.47 CN¥3.43	+4.2%
Average			-10.6%

Laos vs. Beijing - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 31.4% less for transportation

	Laos	Beijing
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.61 LAK99,570	$4.36 CN¥31.79	-5.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$53.85 LAK1,164,259	$33.40 CN¥243.53	-38.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$28,167.89 LAK608,973,239	$20,872.18 CN¥152,204.10	-25.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$10.57 LAK228,594	$4.59 CN¥33.48	-56.6%
Average			-31.4%

Laos vs. Beijing - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 6.6% less for housing

	Laos	Beijing
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$8.98 LAK194,218	$13.28 CN¥96.87	+47.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$993.83 LAK21,485,977	$929.88 CN¥6,780.86	-6.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$809.30 LAK17,496,669	$492.44 CN¥3,590.99	-39.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$58.85 LAK1,272,205	$42.04 CN¥306.57	-28.6%
Average			-6.6%

Laos vs. Beijing - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.6 times more for childcare

	Laos	Beijing
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$291.32 LAK6,298,267	$763.49 CN¥5,567.55	+162.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,140.14 LAK197,604,555	$22,913.01 CN¥167,086.28	+150.7%
Average			+156.4%

Laos vs. Beijing - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 79.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Laos	Beijing
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.11 LAK23,910	$1.11 CN¥8.12	+0.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.62 LAK35,002	$3.60 CN¥26.27	+122.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.78 LAK38,578	$3.48 CN¥25.37	+95.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$66.31 LAK1,433,622	$65.46 CN¥477.32	-1.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$2.97 LAK64,252	$8.35 CN¥60.88	+180.9%
Average			+79.6%

Laos vs. Beijing - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 23.7% more for clothing

	Laos	Beijing
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$78.60 LAK1,699,248	$62.65 CN¥456.89	-20.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$61.45 LAK1,328,452	$34.69 CN¥252.94	-43.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$65.22 LAK1,410,006	$83.45 CN¥608.56	+28.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$46.67 LAK1,008,978	$107.64 CN¥784.91	+130.6%
Average			+23.7%

Laos vs. Beijing - 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: April 2025

More cost comparisons

Laos vs.

Dodoma

Laos vs.

Bangkok

Laos vs.

Ottawa

Laos vs.

Singapore

Laos vs.

Berlin

Laos vs.

Wellington

Laos vs.

Madrid

Laos vs.

Paris

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

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

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 Laos

Add prices for Beijing

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

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