Cost of living comparison

 Vientiane, Laos
compared to
 Seoul, South Korea
Seoul vs. Vientiane Cost of Living Summary

Seoul is 90.7% more expensive than Vientiane.

Restaurants
pay 2.8 times more in Seoul
Groceries
pay 2.5 times more in Seoul
Transportation
pay 12.8% less in Seoul
Housing
pay 52.7% more in Seoul
Childcare
pay 70.2% more in Seoul
Entertainment and Sports
pay 2.5 times more in Seoul
Clothing
pay 48.9% more in Seoul

The cost of restaurants, groceries, entertainment and sports, childcare, housing, and clothing in Seoul are more expensive than in Vientiane. Notably, restaurants, groceries, and entertainment and sports are significantly more expensive in Seoul.

Seoul vs. Vientiane Cost Breakdown

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

pay 2.8 times more for restaurants

 
Vientiane
Seoul
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $1.98
LAK42,875
$7.88
₩11,332
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$2.97
LAK64,312
$6.09
₩8,756
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.53
LAK11,434
$1.59
₩2,282

Improve prices ·

pay 2.5 times more for groceries

 
Vientiane
Seoul
Bread
1 loaf
$0.91
LAK19,722
$3.10
₩4,452
Local cheese (8 oz) $13.72
LAK296,651
$6.52
₩9,384
Milk (1 gallon) $6.42
LAK138,829
$8.06
₩11,591

Improve prices ·

pay 12.8% less for transportation

 
Vientiane
Seoul
Gasoline (1 gallon) $5.00
LAK108,212
$4.59
₩6,599
Monthly public transit pass $49.23
LAK1,064,677
$44.40
₩63,870
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $28,330.27
LAK612,642,077
$27,023.07
₩38,868,985

Improve prices ·

pay 52.7% more for housing

 
Vientiane
Seoul
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$11.17
LAK241,611
$22.27
₩32,038
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $859.15
LAK18,579,164
$883.18
₩1,270,332
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $775.98
LAK16,780,509
$490.54
₩705,573

Improve prices ·

pay 70.2% more for childcare

 
Vientiane
Seoul
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $332.66
LAK7,193,766
$385.48
₩554,461
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $9,252.41
LAK200,083,301
$20,782.92
₩29,893,384

Improve prices ·

pay 2.5 times more for entertainment and sports

 
Vientiane
Seoul
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $0.95
LAK20,514
$3.58
₩5,151
Cappuccino in mid-range area $1.50
LAK32,342
$3.60
₩5,181
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$1.59
LAK34,300
$3.22
₩4,636

Improve prices ·

pay 48.9% more for clothing

 
Vientiane
Seoul
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$85.86
LAK1,856,658
$59.13
₩85,047
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$62.88
LAK1,359,750
$46.64
₩67,092
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$57.29
LAK1,238,844
$86.69
₩124,696

Improve prices ·
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
Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Laos vs. South Korea. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Laos and South Korea.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Seoul or Vientiane. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.