Cost of living comparison

 Laos
compared to
 Japan
Japan vs. Laos Cost of Living Summary

Japan is 50.3% more expensive than Laos overall.

Restaurants
pay 87.1% more in Japan
Groceries
pay 53.8% more in Japan
Transportation
pay 29.5% more in Japan
Housing
pay 57.2% more in Japan
Childcare
pay 10.1% more in Japan
Entertainment and Sports
pay 2.3 times more in Japan
Clothing
pay 11.7% less in Japan

The cost of entertainment and sports, restaurants, housing, groceries, transportation, and childcare in Japan are more expensive than in Laos. Notably, entertainment and sports and restaurants are significantly more expensive in Japan.

Japan vs. Laos Cost Breakdown

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

pay 87.1% more for restaurants

 
Laos
Japan
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $1.90
LAK40,914
$6.44
¥958
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$4.20
LAK90,674
$4.94
¥735
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.69
LAK14,889
$0.97
¥144

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pay 53.8% more for groceries

 
Laos
Japan
Bread
1 loaf
$1.00
LAK21,616
$1.52
¥227
Local cheese (8 oz) $13.03
LAK281,032
$5.72
¥851
Milk (1 gallon) $6.40
LAK138,031
$5.46
¥812

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pay 29.5% more for transportation

 
Laos
Japan
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.61
LAK99,320
$4.22
¥629
Monthly public transit pass $53.85
LAK1,161,329
$57.82
¥8,604
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $28,167.89
LAK607,440,535
$22,042.19
¥3,280,100

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pay 57.2% more for housing

 
Laos
Japan
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$8.98
LAK193,729
$31.09
¥4,627
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $993.83
LAK21,431,900
$500.38
¥74,461
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $809.30
LAK17,452,632
$325.42
¥48,425

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pay 10.1% more for childcare

 
Laos
Japan
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $291.32
LAK6,282,415
$288.10
¥42,873
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $9,140.14
LAK197,107,211
$11,095.30
¥1,651,093

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pay 2.3 times more for entertainment and sports

 
Laos
Japan
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $1.11
LAK23,850
$2.71
¥403
Cappuccino in mid-range area $1.62
LAK34,914
$2.78
¥413
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$1.78
LAK38,480
$3.98
¥593

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pay 11.7% less for clothing

 
Laos
Japan
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$78.60
LAK1,694,971
$40.54
¥6,033
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$61.45
LAK1,325,109
$26.82
¥3,991
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$65.22
LAK1,406,457
$54.08
¥8,047

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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: July 2025
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