Cost of living comparison

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

compared to

Vientiane, Laos

Vientiane vs. Ulaanbaatar Cost of Living Summary

Vientiane is 25.7% more expensive than Ulaanbaatar.

Restaurants: pay 38.9% less in Vientiane
Groceries: pay 5.3% more in Vientiane
Transportation: pay 2.6 times more in Vientiane
Housing: pay 25.9% more in Vientiane
Childcare: pay 68.9% more in Vientiane
Entertainment and Sports: pay 27.5% less in Vientiane
Clothing: pay 13.1% less in Vientiane

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

Vientiane vs. Ulaanbaatar Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 38.9% less for restaurants

	Ulaanbaatar	Vientiane
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.08 MNT17,250.00	$1.98 LAK42,952	-60.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.86 MNT16,500.00	$2.97 LAK64,428	-38.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.84 MNT2,852.94	$0.53 LAK11,455	-37.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.52 MNT1,773.33	$0.42 LAK9,164	-18.9%
Average			-38.9%

Ulaanbaatar vs. Vientiane - Cost of restaurants

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pay 5.3% more for groceries

	Ulaanbaatar	Vientiane
Bread 1 loaf	$0.92 MNT3,124.01	$0.91 LAK19,758	-0.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.82 MNT23,187.50	$13.72 LAK297,182	+101.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.44 MNT18,498.60	$6.42 LAK139,077	+17.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.21 MNT7,518.68	$1.75 LAK37,924	-20.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.04 MNT6,945.64	$2.95 LAK63,924	+44.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.69 MNT5,745.51	$0.88 LAK19,105	-47.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.30 MNT4,430.09	$0.49 LAK10,665	-62.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.91 MNT6,503.39	$0.92 LAK20,004	-51.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.47 MNT5,003.13	$0.60 LAK12,908	-59.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.31 MNT1,037.72	$0.73 LAK15,727	+137.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.46 MNT1,547.26	$0.46 LAK9,923	+0.6%
Average			+5.3%

Ulaanbaatar vs. Vientiane - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.6 times more for transportation

	Ulaanbaatar	Vientiane
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.00 MNT13,586.19	$5.00 LAK108,406	+25.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$8.09 MNT27,500.00	$49.23 LAK1,066,583	+508.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$30,311.95 MNT103,000,000.00	$28,330.27 LAK613,738,867	-6.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.30 MNT18,000.00	$11.18 LAK242,248	+111.1%
Average			+159.5%

Ulaanbaatar vs. Vientiane - Cost of transportation

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pay 25.9% more for housing

	Ulaanbaatar	Vientiane
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$14.66 MNT49,800.00	$11.17 LAK242,043	-23.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$559.15 MNT1,900,000.00	$859.15 LAK18,612,425	+53.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$428.82 MNT1,457,142.86	$775.98 LAK16,810,550	+81.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$58.64 MNT199,261.01	$54.31 LAK1,176,518	-7.4%
Average			+25.9%

Ulaanbaatar vs. Vientiane - Cost of housing

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pay 68.9% more for childcare

	Ulaanbaatar	Vientiane
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$153.03 MNT520,000.00	$332.66 LAK7,206,645	+117.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$7,690.11 MNT26,131,000.00	$9,252.41 LAK200,441,503	+20.3%
Average			+68.9%

Ulaanbaatar vs. Vientiane - Cost of childcare

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pay 27.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Ulaanbaatar	Vientiane
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.77 MNT6,000.00	$0.95 LAK20,550	-46.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.52 MNT8,557.14	$1.50 LAK32,400	-40.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.77 MNT6,000.00	$1.59 LAK34,361	-10.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$59.96 MNT203,750.00	$49.74 LAK1,077,519	-17.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.56 MNT15,500.00	$3.50 LAK75,908	-23.2%
Average			-27.5%

Ulaanbaatar vs. Vientiane - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 13.1% less for clothing

	Ulaanbaatar	Vientiane
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$66.51 MNT226,000.00	$85.86 LAK1,859,982	+29.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$50.62 MNT171,999.80	$62.88 LAK1,362,184	+24.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$88.29 MNT300,000.00	$57.29 LAK1,241,062	-35.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$142.24 MNT483,333.33	$41.48 LAK898,554	-70.8%
Average			-13.1%

Ulaanbaatar 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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