Cost of living comparison

 Laos
compared to
 South Korea
South Korea vs. Laos Cost of Living Summary

South Korea is 64.0% more expensive than Laos overall.

Restaurants
pay 2.1 times more in South Korea
Groceries
pay 2.2 times more in South Korea
Transportation
pay 11.8% less in South Korea
Housing
pay 17.4% more in South Korea
Childcare
pay 89.4% more in South Korea
Entertainment and Sports
pay 2.2 times more in South Korea
Clothing
pay 15.6% more in South Korea

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

South Korea vs. Laos Cost Breakdown

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

pay 2.1 times more for restaurants

 
Laos
South Korea
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $1.90
LAK40,914
$6.16
₩8,569
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$4.20
LAK90,674
$5.24
₩7,289
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.69
LAK14,889
$1.47
₩2,048

Improve prices ·

pay 2.2 times more for groceries

 
Laos
South Korea
Bread
1 loaf
$1.00
LAK21,616
$3.08
₩4,280
Local cheese (8 oz) $13.03
LAK281,032
$5.40
₩7,519
Milk (1 gallon) $6.40
LAK138,031
$7.46
₩10,376

Improve prices ·

pay 11.8% less for transportation

 
Laos
South Korea
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.61
LAK99,320
$4.39
₩6,111
Monthly public transit pass $53.85
LAK1,161,329
$45.32
₩63,044
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $28,167.89
LAK607,440,535
$27,023.07
₩37,594,489

Improve prices ·

pay 17.4% more for housing

 
Laos
South Korea
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$8.98
LAK193,729
$17.65
₩24,560
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $993.83
LAK21,431,900
$426.93
₩593,947
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $809.30
LAK17,452,632
$328.41
₩456,888

Improve prices ·

pay 89.4% more for childcare

 
Laos
South Korea
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $291.32
LAK6,282,415
$373.40
₩519,475
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $9,140.14
LAK197,107,211
$22,907.58
₩31,869,019

Improve prices ·

pay 2.2 times more for entertainment and sports

 
Laos
South Korea
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $1.11
LAK23,850
$3.09
₩4,304
Cappuccino in mid-range area $1.62
LAK34,914
$3.39
₩4,715
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$1.78
LAK38,480
$3.21
₩4,471

Improve prices ·

pay 15.6% more for clothing

 
Laos
South Korea
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$78.60
LAK1,694,971
$60.70
₩84,452
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$61.45
LAK1,325,109
$44.52
₩61,940
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$65.22
LAK1,406,457
$72.99
₩101,547

Improve prices ·
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
Share this

Compare by city

Select a city in Laos
Select a city..
compared to
Select a city in South Korea
Select a city..
For example, try comparing the cost of living in Vientiane vs. Seoul

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

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

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