Cost of living comparison

Reykjavik, Iceland

compared to

Vientiane, Laos

Vientiane vs. Reykjavik Cost of Living Summary

Vientiane is 39.2% cheaper than Reykjavik.

Restaurants: pay 84.3% less in Vientiane
Groceries: pay 38.4% less in Vientiane
Transportation: pay 40.5% less in Vientiane
Housing: pay 49.2% less in Vientiane
Childcare: pay 43.1% more in Vientiane
Entertainment and Sports: pay 71.0% less in Vientiane
Clothing: pay 33.9% less in Vientiane

Expenses including restaurants, entertainment and sports, housing, transportation, groceries, and clothing are lower in Vientiane.

Vientiane vs. Reykjavik Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 84.3% less for restaurants

	Reykjavik	Vientiane
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$20.00 ISK2,569	$1.98 LAK42,864	-90.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$18.02 ISK2,314	$2.97 LAK64,296	-83.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.15 ISK405	$0.53 LAK11,431	-83.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.19 ISK281	$0.42 LAK9,146	-80.6%
Average			-84.3%

Reykjavik vs. Vientiane - Cost of restaurants

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pay 38.4% less for groceries

	Reykjavik	Vientiane
Bread 1 loaf	$3.61 ISK464	$0.91 LAK19,717	-74.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.76 ISK996	$13.72 LAK296,574	+76.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.40 ISK822	$6.42 LAK138,793	+0.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.76 ISK739	$1.75 LAK37,847	-69.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$9.45 ISK1,213	$2.95 LAK63,793	-68.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.40 ISK180	$0.88 LAK19,066	-37.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.01 ISK130	$0.49 LAK10,643	-51.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.22 ISK156	$0.92 LAK19,963	-24.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.22 ISK286	$0.60 LAK12,881	-73.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.43 ISK184	$0.73 LAK15,694	-49.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.93 ISK120	$0.46 LAK9,903	-51.0%
Average			-38.4%

Reykjavik vs. Vientiane - Cost of groceries

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pay 40.5% less for transportation

	Reykjavik	Vientiane
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.50 ISK1,092	$5.00 LAK108,184	-41.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$74.95 ISK9,626	$49.23 LAK1,064,402	-34.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$42,450.45 ISK5,451,803	$28,330.27 LAK612,483,800	-33.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$24.05 ISK3,089	$11.18 LAK241,752	-53.5%
Average			-40.5%

Reykjavik vs. Vientiane - Cost of transportation

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pay 49.2% less for housing

	Reykjavik	Vientiane
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$69.87 ISK8,973	$11.17 LAK241,548	-84.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,971.17 ISK253,152	$859.15 LAK18,574,364	-56.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,803.44 ISK231,611	$775.98 LAK16,776,173	-57.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$53.95 ISK6,929	$54.31 LAK1,174,112	+0.7%
Average			-49.2%

Reykjavik vs. Vientiane - Cost of housing

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pay 43.1% more for childcare

	Reykjavik	Vientiane
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$252.14 ISK32,382	$332.66 LAK7,191,908	+31.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,993.99 ISK769,793	$9,252.41 LAK200,031,610	+54.4%
Average			+43.1%

Reykjavik vs. Vientiane - Cost of childcare

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pay 71.0% less for entertainment and sports

	Reykjavik	Vientiane
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$10.81 ISK1,388	$0.95 LAK20,508	-91.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.31 ISK681	$1.50 LAK32,333	-71.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$12.25 ISK1,573	$1.59 LAK34,291	-87.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$69.95 ISK8,983	$49.74 LAK1,075,316	-28.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.77 ISK1,897	$3.50 LAK75,752	-76.3%
Average			-71.0%

Reykjavik vs. Vientiane - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 33.9% less for clothing

	Reykjavik	Vientiane
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$108.97 ISK13,995	$85.86 LAK1,856,178	-21.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$49.72 ISK6,386	$62.88 LAK1,359,399	+26.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$151.85 ISK19,502	$57.29 LAK1,238,524	-62.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$194.16 ISK24,935	$41.48 LAK896,716	-78.6%
Average			-33.9%

Reykjavik 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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