Cost of living comparison

Laos

compared to

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Phnom Penh vs. Laos Cost of Living Summary

Phnom Penh is 28.2% more expensive than Laos overall.

Restaurants: pay 2.0 times more in Phnom Penh
Groceries: pay 31.9% more in Phnom Penh
Transportation: pay 6.4% less in Phnom Penh
Housing: pay 13.9% more in Phnom Penh
Childcare: pay 34.4% more in Phnom Penh
Entertainment and Sports: pay 35.4% more in Phnom Penh
Clothing: pay 11.8% less in Phnom Penh

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

Phnom Penh vs. Laos Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Phnom Penh instead of Laos, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.0 times more for restaurants

	Laos	Phnom Penh
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$1.90 LAK41,112	$5.00 KHR20,014.00	+163.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.20 LAK91,113	$7.00 KHR28,019.60	+66.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.69 LAK14,961	$1.12 KHR4,496.48	+62.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.49 LAK10,522	$1.01 KHR4,047.15	+108.2%
Average			+100.2%

Laos vs. Phnom Penh - Cost of restaurants

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pay 31.9% more for groceries

	Laos	Phnom Penh
Bread 1 loaf	$1.00 LAK21,721	$1.85 KHR7,405.18	+84.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$13.03 LAK282,392	$6.08 KHR24,350.36	-53.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.40 LAK138,699	$8.07 KHR32,294.49	+26.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.06 LAK44,745	$1.90 KHR7,598.04	-8.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.07 LAK44,859	$1.87 KHR7,489.52	-9.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.75 LAK16,146	$2.17 KHR8,699.95	+191.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.74 LAK16,075	$0.87 KHR3,462.69	+16.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.96 LAK20,745	$1.89 KHR7,553.07	+97.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.29 LAK27,937	$0.67 KHR2,697.52	-47.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.70 LAK15,062	$0.76 KHR3,056.33	+9.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.45 LAK9,796	$0.65 KHR2,602.42	+43.8%
Average			+31.9%

Laos vs. Phnom Penh - Cost of groceries

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pay 6.4% less for transportation

	Laos	Phnom Penh
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.61 LAK99,800	$4.40 KHR17,594.52	-4.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$53.85 LAK1,166,949	$10.60 KHR42,429.67	-80.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$28,167.89 LAK610,380,007	$49,000.00 KHR196,137,168.44	+74.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$10.57 LAK229,122	$9.00 KHR36,025.19	-14.9%
Average			-6.4%

Laos vs. Phnom Penh - Cost of transportation

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pay 13.9% more for housing

	Laos	Phnom Penh
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$8.98 LAK194,666	$22.30 KHR89,257.80	+148.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$993.83 LAK21,535,611	$502.11 KHR2,009,826.62	-49.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$809.30 LAK17,537,087	$277.36 KHR1,110,199.49	-65.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$58.85 LAK1,275,144	$72.12 KHR288,700.36	+22.6%
Average			+13.9%

Laos vs. Phnom Penh - Cost of housing

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pay 34.4% more for childcare

	Laos	Phnom Penh
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$291.32 LAK6,312,816	$340.00 KHR1,360,951.78	+16.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,140.14 LAK198,061,034	$13,900.83 KHR55,642,246.71	+52.1%
Average			+34.4%

Laos vs. Phnom Penh - Cost of childcare

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pay 35.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Laos	Phnom Penh
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.11 LAK23,965	$1.50 KHR6,004.20	+35.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.62 LAK35,083	$2.77 KHR11,103.00	+71.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.78 LAK38,667	$2.00 KHR8,005.60	+12.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$66.31 LAK1,436,934	$48.33 KHR193,468.64	-27.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$2.97 LAK64,401	$5.50 KHR22,015.40	+85.1%
Average			+35.4%

Laos vs. Phnom Penh - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 11.8% less for clothing

	Laos	Phnom Penh
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$78.60 LAK1,703,174	$24.67 KHR98,735.72	-68.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$61.45 LAK1,331,521	$20.80 KHR83,258.23	-66.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$65.22 LAK1,413,263	$93.00 KHR372,260.34	+42.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$46.67 LAK1,011,309	$67.67 KHR270,856.09	+45.0%
Average			-11.8%

Laos vs. Phnom Penh - 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: April 2025

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