Cost of living comparison

 Wellington, New Zealand
compared to
 Vientiane, Laos
Vientiane vs. Wellington Cost of Living Summary
Vientiane vs. Wellington Cost Breakdown

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

pay 78.3% less for restaurants

 
Wellington
Vientiane
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $14.93
NZ$24.83
$1.98
LAK42,781
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$8.96
NZ$14.90
$2.97
LAK64,171
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.57
NZ$4.28
$0.53
LAK11,409

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pay 20.7% less for groceries

 
Wellington
Vientiane
Bread
1 loaf
$1.96
NZ$3.27
$0.91
LAK19,679
Local cheese (8 oz) $4.15
NZ$6.90
$13.72
LAK295,999
Milk (1 gallon) $6.98
NZ$11.61
$6.42
LAK138,524

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pay 34.9% less for transportation

 
Wellington
Vientiane
Gasoline (1 gallon) $6.42
NZ$10.67
$5.00
LAK107,974
Monthly public transit pass $127.57
NZ$212.15
$49.23
LAK1,062,338
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $34,339.84
NZ$57,109.35
$28,330.27
LAK611,296,389

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pay 55.8% less for housing

 
Wellington
Vientiane
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$54.27
NZ$90.25
$11.17
LAK241,080
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,487.35
NZ$2,473.55
$859.15
LAK18,538,354
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,335.17
NZ$2,220.48
$775.98
LAK16,743,650

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pay 44.3% less for childcare

 
Wellington
Vientiane
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $871.44
NZ$1,449.25
$332.66
LAK7,177,965
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $12,649.75
NZ$21,037.35
$9,252.41
LAK199,643,812

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pay 56.6% less for entertainment and sports

 
Wellington
Vientiane
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $7.17
NZ$11.92
$0.95
LAK20,469
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.41
NZ$5.68
$1.50
LAK32,271
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$24.46
NZ$40.67
$1.59
LAK34,225

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pay 23.1% less for clothing

 
Wellington
Vientiane
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$75.78
NZ$126.02
$85.86
LAK1,852,580
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$55.09
NZ$91.62
$62.88
LAK1,356,763
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$119.44
NZ$198.64
$57.29
LAK1,236,123

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

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