Cost of living comparison

Vientiane, Laos

compared to

Kabul, Afghanistan

Kabul vs. Vientiane Cost of Living Summary

Kabul is 2.5% more expensive than Vientiane.

Restaurants: pay 22.3% more in Kabul
Groceries: pay 58.2% less in Kabul
Transportation: pay 49.2% less in Kabul
Housing: pay 3.3 times more in Kabul
Childcare: pay 88.6% less in Kabul
Entertainment and Sports: pay 27.9% more in Kabul
Clothing: pay 66.5% less in Kabul

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

Kabul vs. Vientiane Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 22.3% more for restaurants

	Vientiane	Kabul
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$1.98 LAK42,814	$2.63 AFN184	+32.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$2.97 LAK64,221	$7.31 AFN510	+145.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.53 LAK11,418	$0.38 AFN26	-28.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.42 LAK9,135	$0.17 AFN12	-60.5%
Average			+22.3%

Vientiane vs. Kabul - Cost of restaurants

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pay 58.2% less for groceries

	Vientiane	Kabul
Bread 1 loaf	$0.91 LAK19,694	$0.25 AFN17	-72.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$13.72 LAK296,229	$1.96 AFN137	-85.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.42 LAK138,631	$3.05 AFN212	-52.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.75 LAK37,803	$1.48 AFN103	-15.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.95 LAK63,719	$1.54 AFN108	-47.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.88 LAK19,044	$0.25 AFN17	-71.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.49 LAK10,631	$0.36 AFN25	-25.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.92 LAK19,940	$0.37 AFN26	-59.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.60 LAK12,866	$0.23 AFN16	-62.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.73 LAK15,676	$0.15 AFN10	-79.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.46 LAK9,892	$0.15 AFN11	-66.9%
Average			-58.2%

Vientiane vs. Kabul - Cost of groceries

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pay 49.2% less for transportation

	Vientiane	Kabul
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.00 LAK108,058	$3.96 AFN276	-20.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$49.23 LAK1,063,162	$8.93 AFN623	-81.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$28,330.27 LAK611,770,395	$7,079.28 AFN493,709	-75.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$11.18 LAK241,471	$9.07 AFN632	-18.9%
Average			-49.2%

Vientiane vs. Kabul - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.3 times more for housing

	Vientiane	Kabul
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$11.17 LAK241,267	$130.18 AFN9,079	+1065.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$859.15 LAK18,552,729	$103.61 AFN7,225	-87.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$775.98 LAK16,756,633	$89.85 AFN6,266	-88.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$54.31 LAK1,172,744	$70.84 AFN4,940	+30.4%
Average			+229.8%

Vientiane vs. Kabul - Cost of housing

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pay 88.6% less for childcare

	Vientiane	Kabul
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$332.66 LAK7,183,531	$23.40 AFN1,632	-93.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,252.41 LAK199,798,618	$1,462.66 AFN102,006	-84.2%
Average			-88.6%

Vientiane vs. Kabul - Cost of childcare

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pay 27.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Vientiane	Kabul
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.95 LAK20,485	$2.93 AFN204	+208.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.50 LAK32,296	$1.27 AFN88	-15.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.59 LAK34,251	$2.63 AFN184	+66.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$49.74 LAK1,074,063	$8.78 AFN612	-82.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.50 LAK75,664	$2.19 AFN153	-37.4%
Average			+27.9%

Vientiane vs. Kabul - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 66.5% less for clothing

	Vientiane	Kabul
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$85.86 LAK1,854,016	$10.97 AFN765	-87.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$62.88 LAK1,357,815	$16.03 AFN1,118	-74.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$57.29 LAK1,237,081	$23.77 AFN1,658	-58.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$41.48 LAK895,672	$22.38 AFN1,561	-46.0%
Average			-66.5%

Vientiane vs. Kabul - 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: June 2025

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