Cost of living comparison

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

compared to

Vientiane, Laos

Vientiane vs. Riyadh Cost of Living Summary

Vientiane is 16.2% cheaper than Riyadh.

Restaurants: pay 31.9% less in Vientiane
Groceries: pay 8.9% more in Vientiane
Transportation: pay 25.2% more in Vientiane
Housing: pay 35.6% less in Vientiane
Childcare: pay 9.2% less in Vientiane
Entertainment and Sports: pay 65.6% less in Vientiane
Clothing: pay 5.1% less in Vientiane

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

Vientiane vs. Riyadh Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 31.9% less for restaurants

	Riyadh	Vientiane
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.39 SAR31.45	$1.98 LAK42,687	-76.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.99 SAR29.96	$2.97 LAK64,030	-62.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.76 SAR2.86	$0.53 LAK11,384	-30.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.30 SAR1.12	$0.42 LAK9,108	+42.2%
Average			-31.9%

Riyadh vs. Vientiane - Cost of restaurants

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pay 8.9% more for groceries

	Riyadh	Vientiane
Bread 1 loaf	$1.24 SAR4.64	$0.91 LAK19,636	-26.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.91 SAR14.66	$13.72 LAK295,348	+250.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.64 SAR24.91	$6.42 LAK138,219	-3.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.63 SAR9.88	$1.75 LAK37,690	-33.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.80 SAR14.25	$2.95 LAK63,530	-22.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.03 SAR3.88	$0.88 LAK18,987	-14.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.78 SAR2.94	$0.49 LAK10,599	-37.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.82 SAR3.07	$0.92 LAK19,880	+12.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.76 SAR2.83	$0.60 LAK12,828	-21.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.60 SAR2.25	$0.73 LAK15,629	+21.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.64 SAR2.41	$0.46 LAK9,862	-28.8%
Average			+8.9%

Riyadh vs. Vientiane - Cost of groceries

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pay 25.2% more for transportation

	Riyadh	Vientiane
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.31 SAR8.67	$5.00 LAK107,737	+116.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$37.27 SAR139.80	$49.23 LAK1,060,000	+32.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$33,280.09 SAR124,817.03	$28,330.27 LAK609,950,701	-14.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$16.70 SAR62.62	$11.18 LAK240,753	-33.0%
Average			+25.2%

Riyadh vs. Vientiane - Cost of transportation

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pay 35.6% less for housing

	Riyadh	Vientiane
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$74.70 SAR280.15	$11.17 LAK240,549	-85.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,116.87 SAR4,188.82	$859.15 LAK18,497,544	-23.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$782.38 SAR2,934.33	$775.98 LAK16,706,791	-0.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$81.80 SAR306.80	$54.31 LAK1,169,256	-33.6%
Average			-35.6%

Riyadh vs. Vientiane - Cost of housing

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pay 9.2% less for childcare

	Riyadh	Vientiane
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$360.22 SAR1,351.00	$332.66 LAK7,162,164	-7.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$10,375.93 SAR38,914.95	$9,252.41 LAK199,204,323	-10.8%
Average			-9.2%

Riyadh vs. Vientiane - Cost of childcare

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pay 65.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Riyadh	Vientiane
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.13 SAR7.99	$0.95 LAK20,424	-55.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.25 SAR15.94	$1.50 LAK32,200	-64.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$7.45 SAR27.96	$1.59 LAK34,149	-78.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$101.01 SAR378.85	$49.74 LAK1,070,868	-50.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$15.97 SAR59.91	$3.50 LAK75,439	-78.1%
Average			-65.6%

Riyadh vs. Vientiane - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 5.1% less for clothing

	Riyadh	Vientiane
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$52.20 SAR195.79	$85.86 LAK1,848,502	+64.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$54.44 SAR204.18	$62.88 LAK1,353,776	+15.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$107.53 SAR403.29	$57.29 LAK1,233,402	-46.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$89.80 SAR336.78	$41.48 LAK893,007	-53.8%
Average			-5.1%

Riyadh 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: July 2025

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