Cost of living comparison

Laos

compared to

South Africa

South Africa vs. Laos Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 23.8% more expensive than Laos overall.

Restaurants: pay 2.2 times more in South Africa
Groceries: pay 17.4% less in South Africa
Transportation: pay 10.1% less in South Africa
Housing: pay 69.0% more in South Africa
Childcare: pay 48.0% less in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 47.4% more in South Africa
Clothing: pay 6.5% more in South Africa

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

South Africa vs. Laos Cost Breakdown

If you lived in South Africa instead of Laos, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.2 times more for restaurants

	Laos	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$1.90 LAK41,063	$8.97 ZAR168.87	+372.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.20 LAK91,004	$4.77 ZAR89.79	+13.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.69 LAK14,943	$0.95 ZAR17.96	+38.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.49 LAK10,510	$0.74 ZAR13.95	+52.6%
Average			+119.3%

Laos vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 17.4% less for groceries

	Laos	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$1.00 LAK21,695	$0.99 ZAR18.64	-1.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$13.03 LAK282,056	$3.67 ZAR69.17	-71.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.40 LAK138,534	$4.20 ZAR79.02	-34.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.06 LAK44,692	$2.23 ZAR41.91	+7.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.07 LAK44,806	$2.03 ZAR38.17	-2.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.75 LAK16,127	$0.68 ZAR12.74	-9.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.74 LAK16,056	$0.62 ZAR11.62	-16.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.96 LAK20,720	$0.64 ZAR12.08	-32.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.29 LAK27,904	$0.70 ZAR13.15	-45.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.70 LAK15,044	$0.55 ZAR10.42	-20.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.45 LAK9,785	$0.61 ZAR11.46	+34.7%
Average			-17.4%

Laos vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 10.1% less for transportation

	Laos	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.61 LAK99,681	$4.99 ZAR93.89	+8.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$53.85 LAK1,165,558	$52.31 ZAR984.55	-2.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$28,167.89 LAK609,652,742	$20,607.77 ZAR387,861.11	-26.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$10.57 LAK228,849	$8.55 ZAR160.90	-19.1%
Average			-10.1%

Laos vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 69.0% more for housing

	Laos	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$8.98 LAK194,435	$41.37 ZAR778.62	+360.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$993.83 LAK21,509,951	$382.55 ZAR7,200.09	-61.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$809.30 LAK17,516,192	$326.35 ZAR6,142.22	-59.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$58.85 LAK1,273,625	$80.40 ZAR1,513.18	+36.6%
Average			+69.0%

Laos vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 48.0% less for childcare

	Laos	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$291.32 LAK6,305,294	$174.12 ZAR3,277.06	-40.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,140.14 LAK197,825,045	$4,033.53 ZAR75,915.47	-55.9%
Average			-48.0%

Laos vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 47.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Laos	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.11 LAK23,937	$2.11 ZAR39.67	+90.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.62 LAK35,041	$1.88 ZAR35.44	+16.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.78 LAK38,621	$2.90 ZAR54.66	+62.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$66.31 LAK1,435,222	$29.50 ZAR555.23	-55.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$2.97 LAK64,324	$6.62 ZAR124.62	+122.8%
Average			+47.4%

Laos vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 6.5% more for clothing

	Laos	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$78.60 LAK1,701,144	$47.72 ZAR898.05	-39.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$61.45 LAK1,329,934	$32.06 ZAR603.39	-47.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$65.22 LAK1,411,579	$90.39 ZAR1,701.22	+38.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$46.67 LAK1,010,104	$81.37 ZAR1,531.42	+74.3%
Average			+6.5%

Laos vs. South Africa - 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.

Germany

Laos vs.

Iceland

Laos vs.

France

Laos vs.

Poland

Laos vs.

Thailand

Laos vs.

Peru

Laos vs.

Greece

Laos vs.

Austria

Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Vientiane vs. Pretoria

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 South Africa

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

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

Ask a question about Laos

Ask a question about South Africa