Cost of living comparison

Panama City, Panama

compared to

Vientiane, Laos

Vientiane vs. Panama City Cost of Living Summary

Vientiane is 21.4% cheaper than Panama City.

Restaurants: pay 72.3% less in Vientiane
Groceries: pay 22.2% less in Vientiane
Transportation: pay 35.7% more in Vientiane
Housing: pay 33.7% less in Vientiane
Childcare: pay 16.3% less in Vientiane
Entertainment and Sports: pay 48.5% less in Vientiane
Clothing: pay 7.3% more in Vientiane

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

Vientiane vs. Panama City Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Vientiane instead of Panama City, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 72.3% less for restaurants

	Panama City	Vientiane
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$13.25 PAB13.25	$1.98 LAK42,963	-85.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.00 PAB8.00	$2.97 LAK64,444	-62.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.86 PAB1.86	$0.53 LAK11,458	-71.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.41 PAB1.41	$0.42 LAK9,167	-70.0%
Average			-72.3%

Panama City vs. Vientiane - Cost of restaurants

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pay 22.2% less for groceries

	Panama City	Vientiane
Bread 1 loaf	$2.51 PAB2.51	$0.91 LAK19,763	-63.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.39 PAB6.39	$13.72 LAK297,259	+114.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.80 PAB6.80	$6.42 LAK139,114	-5.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.68 PAB2.68	$1.75 LAK37,934	-34.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.41 PAB3.41	$2.95 LAK63,941	-13.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.48 PAB1.48	$0.88 LAK19,110	-40.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.72 PAB0.72	$0.49 LAK10,668	-31.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.24 PAB1.24	$0.92 LAK20,009	-25.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.40 PAB1.40	$0.60 LAK12,911	-57.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.98 PAB0.98	$0.73 LAK15,731	-26.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.15 PAB1.15	$0.46 LAK9,926	-60.0%
Average			-22.2%

Panama City vs. Vientiane - Cost of groceries

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pay 35.7% more for transportation

	Panama City	Vientiane
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.69 PAB3.69	$5.00 LAK108,434	+35.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$25.00 PAB25.00	$49.23 LAK1,066,861	+96.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,750.00 PAB19,750.00	$28,330.27 LAK613,898,678	+43.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$16.71 PAB16.71	$11.18 LAK242,311	-33.1%
Average			+35.7%

Panama City vs. Vientiane - Cost of transportation

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pay 33.7% less for housing

	Panama City	Vientiane
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$52.10 PAB52.10	$11.17 LAK242,106	-78.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,023.81 PAB1,023.81	$859.15 LAK18,617,272	-16.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$755.88 PAB755.88	$775.98 LAK16,814,927	+2.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$94.84 PAB94.84	$54.31 LAK1,176,824	-42.7%
Average			-33.7%

Panama City vs. Vientiane - Cost of housing

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pay 16.3% less for childcare

	Panama City	Vientiane
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$439.17 PAB439.17	$332.66 LAK7,208,522	-24.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$10,092.67 PAB10,092.67	$9,252.41 LAK200,493,696	-8.3%
Average			-16.3%

Panama City vs. Vientiane - Cost of childcare

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pay 48.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Panama City	Vientiane
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.00 PAB3.00	$0.95 LAK20,556	-68.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.59 PAB3.59	$1.50 LAK32,408	-58.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.50 PAB5.50	$1.59 LAK34,370	-71.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$47.27 PAB47.27	$49.74 LAK1,077,800	+5.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.00 PAB7.00	$3.50 LAK75,927	-49.9%
Average			-48.5%

Panama City vs. Vientiane - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 7.3% more for clothing

	Panama City	Vientiane
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$53.91 PAB53.91	$85.86 LAK1,860,466	+59.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.78 PAB37.78	$62.88 LAK1,362,539	+66.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$87.62 PAB87.62	$57.29 LAK1,241,385	-34.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$108.75 PAB108.75	$41.48 LAK898,787	-61.9%
Average			+7.3%

Panama City 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: April 2025

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