Cost of living comparison

Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

compared to

Vientiane, Laos

Vientiane vs. Port Moresby Cost of Living Summary

Vientiane is 4.4% cheaper than Port Moresby.

Restaurants: pay 57.5% less in Vientiane
Groceries: pay 6.8% more in Vientiane
Transportation: pay 43.0% more in Vientiane
Housing: pay 40.7% less in Vientiane
Childcare: pay 36.5% more in Vientiane
Entertainment and Sports: pay 41.7% less in Vientiane
Clothing: pay 22.7% more in Vientiane

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

Vientiane vs. Port Moresby Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Vientiane instead of Port Moresby, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 57.5% less for restaurants

	Port Moresby	Vientiane
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.38 PGK51.79	$1.98 LAK42,799	-84.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.43 PGK31.08	$2.97 LAK64,198	-60.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.80 PGK3.33	$0.53 LAK11,414	-33.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.89 PGK3.73	$0.42 LAK9,132	-52.5%
Average			-57.5%

Port Moresby vs. Vientiane - Cost of restaurants

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pay 6.8% more for groceries

	Port Moresby	Vientiane
Bread 1 loaf	$1.49 PGK6.22	$0.91 LAK19,687	-38.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.20 PGK9.19	$13.72 LAK296,125	+524.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.01 PGK29.34	$6.42 LAK138,583	-8.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.68 PGK15.41	$1.75 LAK37,789	-52.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.28 PGK13.70	$2.95 LAK63,697	-9.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.56 PGK6.51	$0.88 LAK19,037	-43.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.19 PGK5.00	$0.49 LAK10,627	-58.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.74 PGK7.29	$0.92 LAK19,933	-47.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.02 PGK8.46	$0.60 LAK12,862	-70.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.57 PGK6.58	$0.73 LAK15,671	-53.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.37 PGK5.72	$0.46 LAK9,888	-66.5%
Average			+6.8%

Port Moresby vs. Vientiane - Cost of groceries

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pay 43.0% more for transportation

	Port Moresby	Vientiane
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.29 PGK17.94	$5.00 LAK108,020	+16.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$16.69 PGK69.81	$49.23 LAK1,062,788	+195.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,877.21 PGK108,250.93	$28,330.27 LAK611,555,372	+9.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$22.04 PGK92.19	$11.18 LAK241,386	-49.3%
Average			+43.0%

Port Moresby vs. Vientiane - Cost of transportation

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pay 40.7% less for housing

	Port Moresby	Vientiane
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$309.54 PGK1,294.87	$11.17 LAK241,182	-96.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,346.03 PGK9,814.06	$859.15 LAK18,546,208	-63.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$609.17 PGK2,548.30	$775.98 LAK16,750,743	+27.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$78.11 PGK326.76	$54.31 LAK1,172,332	-30.5%
Average			-40.7%

Port Moresby vs. Vientiane - Cost of housing

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pay 36.5% more for childcare

	Port Moresby	Vientiane
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$494.23 PGK2,067.47	$332.66 LAK7,181,006	-32.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$4,498.59 PGK18,818.74	$9,252.41 LAK199,728,394	+105.7%
Average			+36.5%

Port Moresby vs. Vientiane - Cost of childcare

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pay 41.7% less for entertainment and sports

	Port Moresby	Vientiane
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.48 PGK10.36	$0.95 LAK20,477	-61.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.83 PGK7.67	$1.50 LAK32,284	-18.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$7.48 PGK31.28	$1.59 LAK34,239	-78.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$45.19 PGK189.05	$49.74 LAK1,073,686	+10.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.67 PGK36.26	$3.50 LAK75,638	-59.6%
Average			-41.7%

Port Moresby vs. Vientiane - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 22.7% more for clothing

	Port Moresby	Vientiane
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$39.25 PGK164.19	$85.86 LAK1,853,365	+118.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$44.57 PGK186.46	$62.88 LAK1,357,338	+41.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$64.38 PGK269.33	$57.29 LAK1,236,647	-11.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$98.43 PGK411.77	$41.48 LAK895,357	-57.9%
Average			+22.7%

Port Moresby 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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