Cost of living comparison

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

compared to

Laos vs. Phnom Penh Cost of Living Summary

Laos is 21.1% more expensive than Phnom Penh.

Restaurants: pay 48.1% less in Laos
Groceries: pay 0.9% less in Laos
Transportation: pay 97.0% more in Laos
Housing: pay 52.9% more in Laos
Childcare: pay 24.2% less in Laos
Entertainment and Sports: pay 17.5% less in Laos
Clothing: pay 88.3% more in Laos

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

Laos vs. Phnom Penh Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Laos instead of Phnom Penh, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 48.1% less for restaurants

	Phnom Penh	Laos
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.00 KHR19,990.41	$1.90 LAK41,017	-62.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.00 KHR27,986.58	$4.20 LAK90,903	-39.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.12 KHR4,491.18	$0.69 LAK14,927	-38.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.01 KHR4,042.38	$0.49 LAK10,498	-52.0%
Average			-48.1%

Phnom Penh vs. Laos - Cost of restaurants

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pay 0.9% less for groceries

	Phnom Penh	Laos
Bread 1 loaf	$1.85 KHR7,396.45	$1.00 LAK21,671	-45.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.08 KHR24,321.67	$13.03 LAK281,741	+114.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.07 KHR32,256.44	$6.40 LAK138,380	-20.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.90 KHR7,589.09	$2.06 LAK44,642	+8.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.87 KHR7,480.70	$2.07 LAK44,756	+10.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.17 KHR8,689.70	$0.75 LAK16,109	-65.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.87 KHR3,458.61	$0.74 LAK16,038	-14.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.89 KHR7,544.17	$0.96 LAK20,697	-49.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.67 KHR2,694.35	$1.29 LAK27,873	+91.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.76 KHR3,052.73	$0.70 LAK15,027	-9.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.65 KHR2,599.35	$0.45 LAK9,774	-30.5%
Average			-0.9%

Phnom Penh vs. Laos - Cost of groceries

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pay 97.0% more for transportation

	Phnom Penh	Laos
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.40 KHR17,573.78	$4.61 LAK99,570	+4.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$10.60 KHR42,379.68	$53.85 LAK1,164,259	+408.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$49,000.00 KHR195,906,056.81	$28,167.89 LAK608,973,239	-42.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.00 KHR35,982.75	$10.57 LAK228,594	+17.5%
Average			+97.0%

Phnom Penh vs. Laos - Cost of transportation

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pay 52.9% more for housing

	Phnom Penh	Laos
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$22.30 KHR89,152.62	$8.98 LAK194,218	-59.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$502.11 KHR2,007,458.41	$993.83 LAK21,485,977	+97.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$277.36 KHR1,108,891.33	$809.30 LAK17,496,669	+191.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$72.12 KHR288,360.18	$58.85 LAK1,272,205	-18.4%
Average			+52.9%

Phnom Penh vs. Laos - Cost of housing

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pay 24.2% less for childcare

	Phnom Penh	Laos
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$340.00 KHR1,359,348.15	$291.32 LAK6,298,267	-14.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$13,900.83 KHR55,576,682.54	$9,140.14 LAK197,604,555	-34.2%
Average			-24.2%

Phnom Penh vs. Laos - Cost of childcare

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pay 17.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Phnom Penh	Laos
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.50 KHR5,997.12	$1.11 LAK23,910	-26.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.77 KHR11,089.92	$1.62 LAK35,002	-41.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.00 KHR7,996.17	$1.78 LAK38,578	-10.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$48.33 KHR193,240.67	$66.31 LAK1,433,622	+37.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.50 KHR21,989.46	$2.97 LAK64,252	-46.0%
Average			-17.5%

Phnom Penh vs. Laos - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 88.3% more for clothing

	Phnom Penh	Laos
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$24.67 KHR98,619.38	$78.60 LAK1,699,248	+218.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$20.80 KHR83,160.12	$61.45 LAK1,328,452	+195.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$93.00 KHR371,821.70	$65.22 LAK1,410,006	-29.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$67.67 KHR270,536.94	$46.67 LAK1,008,978	-31.0%
Average			+88.3%

Phnom Penh vs. Laos - 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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