Cost of living comparison

Vientiane, Laos

compared to

Colombo, Sri Lanka

Colombo vs. Vientiane Cost of Living Summary

Colombo is 4.5% more expensive than Vientiane.

Restaurants: pay 63.8% more in Colombo
Groceries: pay 32.9% more in Colombo
Transportation: pay 34.2% less in Colombo
Housing: pay 28.7% less in Colombo
Childcare: pay 92.6% less in Colombo
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.2 times more in Colombo
Clothing: pay 29.9% less in Colombo

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

Colombo vs. Vientiane Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 63.8% more for restaurants

	Vientiane	Colombo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$1.98 LAK42,963	$3.40 LKR1,006.42	+71.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$2.97 LAK64,444	$7.48 LKR2,214.13	+151.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.53 LAK11,458	$0.74 LKR218.90	+39.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.42 LAK9,167	$0.39 LKR115.74	-7.6%
Average			+63.8%

Vientiane vs. Colombo - Cost of restaurants

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pay 32.9% more for groceries

	Vientiane	Colombo
Bread 1 loaf	$0.91 LAK19,763	$0.57 LKR168.71	-37.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$13.72 LAK297,259	$6.94 LKR2,054.24	-49.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.42 LAK139,114	$6.54 LKR1,936.86	+1.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.75 LAK37,934	$2.22 LKR656.76	+26.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.95 LAK63,941	$2.38 LKR705.15	-19.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.88 LAK19,110	$3.28 LKR970.38	+271.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.49 LAK10,668	$0.51 LKR151.12	+3.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.92 LAK20,009	$2.65 LKR783.49	+186.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.60 LAK12,911	$0.53 LKR156.84	-11.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.73 LAK15,731	$0.51 LKR150.58	-30.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.46 LAK9,926	$0.55 LKR161.61	+19.1%
Average			+32.9%

Vientiane vs. Colombo - Cost of groceries

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pay 34.2% less for transportation

	Vientiane	Colombo
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.00 LAK108,434	$4.84 LKR1,432.20	-3.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$49.23 LAK1,066,861	$6.80 LKR2,012.84	-86.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$28,330.27 LAK613,898,678	$35,303.89 LKR10,456,719.10	+24.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$11.18 LAK242,311	$3.13 LKR925.91	-72.0%
Average			-34.2%

Vientiane vs. Colombo - Cost of transportation

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pay 28.7% less for housing

	Vientiane	Colombo
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$11.17 LAK242,106	$16.40 LKR4,857.18	+46.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$859.15 LAK18,617,272	$297.60 LKR88,145.75	-65.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$775.98 LAK16,814,927	$180.09 LKR53,340.24	-76.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$54.31 LAK1,176,824	$43.85 LKR12,986.96	-19.3%
Average			-28.7%

Vientiane vs. Colombo - Cost of housing

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pay 92.6% less for childcare

	Vientiane	Colombo
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$332.66 LAK7,208,522	$28.60 LKR8,470.71	-91.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,252.41 LAK200,493,696	$586.98 LKR173,859.31	-93.7%
Average			-92.6%

Vientiane vs. Colombo - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.2 times more for entertainment and sports

	Vientiane	Colombo
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.95 LAK20,556	$2.04 LKR603.85	+114.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.50 LAK32,408	$2.59 LKR767.31	+73.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.59 LAK34,370	$9.34 LKR2,767.66	+489.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$49.74 LAK1,077,800	$13.89 LKR4,112.78	-72.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.50 LAK75,927	$3.40 LKR1,006.42	-3.0%
Average			+120.4%

Vientiane vs. Colombo - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 29.9% less for clothing

	Vientiane	Colombo
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$85.86 LAK1,860,466	$29.69 LKR8,794.11	-65.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$62.88 LAK1,362,539	$22.31 LKR6,608.83	-64.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$57.29 LAK1,241,385	$68.77 LKR20,369.10	+20.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$41.48 LAK898,787	$37.51 LKR11,109.34	-9.6%
Average			-29.9%

Vientiane vs. Colombo - 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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