Cost of living comparison

Vientiane, Laos

compared to

Beijing, China

Beijing vs. Vientiane Cost of Living Summary

Beijing is 37.0% more expensive than Vientiane.

Restaurants: pay 41.1% more in Beijing
Groceries: pay 2.8% less in Beijing
Transportation: pay 32.6% less in Beijing
Housing: pay 8.0% less in Beijing
Childcare: pay 2.4 times more in Beijing
Entertainment and Sports: pay 89.5% more in Beijing
Clothing: pay 33.4% more in Beijing

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

Beijing vs. Vientiane Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 41.1% more for restaurants

	Vientiane	Beijing
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$1.98 LAK42,963	$4.17 CN¥30.32	+110.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$2.97 LAK64,444	$5.57 CN¥40.43	+87.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.53 LAK11,458	$0.50 CN¥3.60	-6.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.42 LAK9,167	$0.31 CN¥2.25	-26.9%
Average			+41.1%

Vientiane vs. Beijing - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.8% less for groceries

	Vientiane	Beijing
Bread 1 loaf	$0.91 LAK19,763	$1.43 CN¥10.42	+57.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$13.72 LAK297,259	$7.31 CN¥53.08	-46.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.42 LAK139,114	$7.17 CN¥52.08	+11.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.75 LAK37,934	$1.74 CN¥12.63	-0.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.95 LAK63,941	$1.53 CN¥11.12	-48.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.88 LAK19,110	$0.92 CN¥6.66	+4.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.49 LAK10,668	$0.71 CN¥5.17	+44.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.92 LAK20,009	$0.89 CN¥6.44	-3.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.60 LAK12,911	$0.58 CN¥4.23	-2.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.73 LAK15,731	$0.37 CN¥2.68	-49.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.46 LAK9,926	$0.47 CN¥3.42	+2.8%
Average			-2.8%

Vientiane vs. Beijing - Cost of groceries

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pay 32.6% less for transportation

	Vientiane	Beijing
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.00 LAK108,434	$4.36 CN¥31.67	-12.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$49.23 LAK1,066,861	$33.40 CN¥242.57	-32.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$28,330.27 LAK613,898,678	$20,872.18 CN¥151,607.16	-26.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$11.18 LAK242,311	$4.59 CN¥33.35	-58.9%
Average			-32.6%

Vientiane vs. Beijing - Cost of transportation

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pay 8.0% less for housing

	Vientiane	Beijing
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$11.17 LAK242,106	$13.28 CN¥96.49	+18.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$859.15 LAK18,617,272	$929.88 CN¥6,754.26	+8.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$775.98 LAK16,814,927	$492.44 CN¥3,576.90	-36.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$54.31 LAK1,176,824	$42.04 CN¥305.36	-22.6%
Average			-8.0%

Vientiane vs. Beijing - Cost of housing

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pay 2.4 times more for childcare

	Vientiane	Beijing
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$332.66 LAK7,208,522	$763.49 CN¥5,545.72	+129.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,252.41 LAK200,493,696	$22,913.01 CN¥166,430.97	+147.6%
Average			+138.6%

Vientiane vs. Beijing - Cost of childcare

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pay 89.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Vientiane	Beijing
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.95 LAK20,556	$1.11 CN¥8.09	+17.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.50 LAK32,408	$3.60 CN¥26.17	+140.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.59 LAK34,370	$3.48 CN¥25.27	+119.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$49.74 LAK1,077,800	$65.46 CN¥475.45	+31.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.50 LAK75,927	$8.35 CN¥60.64	+138.3%
Average			+89.5%

Vientiane vs. Beijing - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 33.4% more for clothing

	Vientiane	Beijing
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$85.86 LAK1,860,466	$62.65 CN¥455.10	-27.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$62.88 LAK1,362,539	$34.69 CN¥251.95	-44.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$57.29 LAK1,241,385	$83.45 CN¥606.17	+45.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$41.48 LAK898,787	$107.64 CN¥781.83	+159.5%
Average			+33.4%

Vientiane vs. Beijing - 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: March 2025

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