Cost of living comparison

Lusaka, Zambia

compared to

Vientiane, Laos

Vientiane vs. Lusaka Cost of Living Summary

Vientiane is 63.3% more expensive than Lusaka.

Restaurants: pay 23.2% less in Vientiane
Groceries: pay 24.2% more in Vientiane
Transportation: pay 71.0% more in Vientiane
Housing: pay 2.9 times more in Vientiane
Childcare: pay 64.5% more in Vientiane
Entertainment and Sports: pay 9.1% less in Vientiane
Clothing: pay 2.3 times more in Vientiane

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

Vientiane vs. Lusaka Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Vientiane instead of Lusaka, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 23.2% less for restaurants

	Lusaka	Vientiane
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.21 ZMW177.72	$1.98 LAK42,771	-72.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$3.82 ZMW94.18	$2.97 LAK64,156	-22.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.71 ZMW17.59	$0.53 LAK11,406	-25.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.33 ZMW8.15	$0.42 LAK9,126	+27.9%
Average			-23.2%

Lusaka vs. Vientiane - Cost of restaurants

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pay 24.2% more for groceries

	Lusaka	Vientiane
Bread 1 loaf	$0.74 ZMW18.23	$0.91 LAK19,674	+23.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.64 ZMW89.61	$13.72 LAK295,931	+277.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.85 ZMW119.59	$6.42 LAK138,492	+32.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.92 ZMW47.43	$1.75 LAK37,765	-9.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.80 ZMW44.28	$2.95 LAK63,655	+64.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.20 ZMW29.60	$0.88 LAK19,025	-26.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.60 ZMW14.88	$0.49 LAK10,620	-18.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.27 ZMW31.18	$0.92 LAK19,920	-27.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.56 ZMW13.88	$0.60 LAK12,853	+5.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.96 ZMW23.56	$0.73 LAK15,660	-24.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.67 ZMW16.61	$0.46 LAK9,882	-32.0%
Average			+24.2%

Lusaka vs. Vientiane - Cost of groceries

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pay 71.0% more for transportation

	Lusaka	Vientiane
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.77 ZMW117.45	$5.00 LAK107,949	+5.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$37.04 ZMW912.79	$49.23 LAK1,062,092	+32.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$8,004.53 ZMW197,281.92	$28,330.27 LAK611,154,737	+253.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$12.13 ZMW298.95	$11.18 LAK241,228	-7.8%
Average			+71.0%

Lusaka vs. Vientiane - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.9 times more for housing

	Lusaka	Vientiane
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$125.92 ZMW3,103.44	$11.17 LAK241,024	-91.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$214.42 ZMW5,284.72	$859.15 LAK18,534,058	+300.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$114.96 ZMW2,833.31	$775.98 LAK16,739,770	+575.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$83.50 ZMW2,058.01	$54.31 LAK1,171,564	-35.0%
Average			+187.4%

Lusaka vs. Vientiane - Cost of housing

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pay 64.5% more for childcare

	Lusaka	Vientiane
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$176.79 ZMW4,357.20	$332.66 LAK7,176,302	+88.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,570.42 ZMW161,936.58	$9,252.41 LAK199,597,550	+40.8%
Average			+64.5%

Lusaka vs. Vientiane - Cost of childcare

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pay 9.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Lusaka	Vientiane
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.97 ZMW23.83	$0.95 LAK20,464	-1.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.07 ZMW51.10	$1.50 LAK32,263	-27.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.49 ZMW61.35	$1.59 LAK34,217	-36.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.21 ZMW1,015.73	$49.74 LAK1,072,982	+20.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.50 ZMW86.25	$3.50 LAK75,588	+0.1%
Average			-9.1%

Lusaka vs. Vientiane - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.3 times more for clothing

	Lusaka	Vientiane
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$18.43 ZMW454.35	$85.86 LAK1,852,151	+365.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$18.78 ZMW462.96	$62.88 LAK1,356,449	+234.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$90.18 ZMW2,222.51	$57.29 LAK1,235,836	-36.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$82.76 ZMW2,039.76	$41.48 LAK894,770	-49.9%
Average			+128.5%

Lusaka vs. Vientiane - 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: June 2025

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