Cost of living comparison

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

Laos is 35.5% more expensive than Nicaragua overall.

Restaurants
pay 32.7% less in Laos
Groceries
pay 35.6% more in Laos
Transportation
pay 54.7% more in Laos
Housing
pay 85.3% more in Laos
Childcare
pay 75.3% more in Laos
Entertainment and Sports
pay 3.3% more in Laos
Clothing
pay 26.9% more in Laos

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

Laos vs. Nicaragua Cost Breakdown

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

pay 32.7% less for restaurants

 
Nicaragua
Laos
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $4.15
NIO152.60
$1.90
LAK40,914
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$5.48
NIO201.31
$4.20
LAK90,674
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.95
NIO34.98
$0.69
LAK14,889

Improve prices ·

pay 35.6% more for groceries

 
Nicaragua
Laos
Bread
1 loaf
$1.43
NIO52.68
$1.00
LAK21,616
Local cheese (8 oz) $2.35
NIO86.47
$13.03
LAK281,032
Milk (1 gallon) $4.24
NIO155.82
$6.40
LAK138,031

Improve prices ·

pay 54.7% more for transportation

 
Nicaragua
Laos
Gasoline (1 gallon) $5.15
NIO189.19
$4.61
LAK99,320
Monthly public transit pass $30.05
NIO1,104.39
$53.85
LAK1,161,329
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $18,168.72
NIO667,700.47
$28,167.89
LAK607,440,535

Improve prices ·

pay 85.3% more for housing

 
Nicaragua
Laos
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$44.72
NIO1,643.60
$8.98
LAK193,729
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $308.00
NIO11,319.08
$993.83
LAK21,431,900
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $281.86
NIO10,358.45
$809.30
LAK17,452,632

Improve prices ·

pay 75.3% more for childcare

 
Nicaragua
Laos
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $112.78
NIO4,144.58
$291.32
LAK6,282,415
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $9,900.00
NIO363,825.00
$9,140.14
LAK197,107,211

Improve prices ·

pay 3.3% more for entertainment and sports

 
Nicaragua
Laos
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $1.22
NIO44.75
$1.11
LAK23,850
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.28
NIO83.79
$1.62
LAK34,914
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$2.97
NIO109.01
$1.78
LAK38,480

Improve prices ·

pay 26.9% more for clothing

 
Nicaragua
Laos
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$42.40
NIO1,558.28
$78.60
LAK1,694,971
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$40.36
NIO1,483.19
$61.45
LAK1,325,109
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$58.79
NIO2,160.59
$65.22
LAK1,406,457

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

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

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 Laos or Nicaragua. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.