Cost of living comparison

Vientiane, Laos

compared to

Kigali, Rwanda

Kigali vs. Vientiane Cost of Living Summary

Kigali is 6.7% cheaper than Vientiane.

Restaurants: pay 63.1% more in Kigali
Groceries: pay 20.3% less in Kigali
Transportation: pay 19.3% less in Kigali
Housing: pay 4.6% less in Kigali
Childcare: pay 25.6% less in Kigali
Entertainment and Sports: pay 15.8% more in Kigali
Clothing: pay 56.0% less in Kigali

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

Kigali vs. Vientiane Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 63.1% more for restaurants

	Vientiane	Kigali
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$1.98 LAK42,771	$3.26 RWF4,650	+64.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$2.97 LAK64,156	$6.16 RWF8,784	+107.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.53 LAK11,406	$0.89 RWF1,275	+69.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.42 LAK9,126	$0.47 RWF672	+11.4%
Average			+63.1%

Vientiane vs. Kigali - Cost of restaurants

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pay 20.3% less for groceries

	Vientiane	Kigali
Bread 1 loaf	$0.91 LAK19,674	$1.01 RWF1,437	+10.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$13.72 LAK295,931	$2.26 RWF3,218	-83.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.42 LAK138,492	$2.66 RWF3,785	-58.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.75 LAK37,765	$1.67 RWF2,377	-4.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.95 LAK63,655	$2.19 RWF3,125	-25.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.88 LAK19,025	$1.38 RWF1,963	+56.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.49 LAK10,620	$0.52 RWF743	+6.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.92 LAK19,920	$0.86 RWF1,224	-7.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.60 LAK12,853	$0.48 RWF689	-18.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.73 LAK15,660	$0.22 RWF320	-69.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.46 LAK9,882	$0.33 RWF463	-29.0%
Average			-20.3%

Vientiane vs. Kigali - Cost of groceries

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pay 19.3% less for transportation

	Vientiane	Kigali
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.00 LAK107,949	$4.48 RWF6,383	-10.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$49.23 LAK1,062,092	$24.66 RWF35,136	-49.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$28,330.27 LAK611,154,737	$20,668.41 RWF29,452,490	-27.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$11.18 LAK241,228	$12.33 RWF17,568	+10.3%
Average			-19.3%

Vientiane vs. Kigali - Cost of transportation

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pay 4.6% less for housing

	Vientiane	Kigali
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$11.17 LAK241,024	$26.20 RWF37,332	+134.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$859.15 LAK18,534,058	$489.52 RWF697,559	-43.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$775.98 LAK16,739,770	$271.95 RWF387,533	-65.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$54.31 LAK1,171,564	$30.04 RWF42,806	-44.7%
Average			-4.6%

Vientiane vs. Kigali - Cost of housing

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pay 25.6% less for childcare

	Vientiane	Kigali
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$332.66 LAK7,176,302	$149.39 RWF212,885	-55.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,252.41 LAK199,597,550	$9,609.00 RWF13,692,824	+3.9%
Average			-25.6%

Vientiane vs. Kigali - Cost of childcare

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pay 15.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Vientiane	Kigali
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.95 LAK20,464	$1.09 RWF1,550	+14.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.50 LAK32,263	$2.22 RWF3,158	+48.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.59 LAK34,217	$2.36 RWF3,359	+48.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$49.74 LAK1,072,982	$31.83 RWF45,356	-36.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.50 LAK75,588	$3.63 RWF5,167	+3.5%
Average			+15.8%

Vientiane vs. Kigali - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 56.0% less for clothing

	Vientiane	Kigali
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$85.86 LAK1,852,151	$16.68 RWF23,769	-80.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$62.88 LAK1,356,449	$21.76 RWF31,003	-65.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$57.29 LAK1,235,836	$26.59 RWF37,892	-53.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$41.48 LAK894,770	$31.43 RWF44,782	-24.2%
Average			-56.0%

Vientiane vs. Kigali - 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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