Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Vientiane and Dhaka

For one person, living is cheaper in Dhaka: $426 a month against $1,068 in Vientiane, rent and utilities included – about $7,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

52

Cost of Living Index in Vientiane
Learn more

Vientiane Living Index
21

Cost of Living Index in Dhaka
Learn more

Dhaka Living Index

Jump to prices

Vientiane

🇱🇦 Laos

$1,068

/mo nomad

Dhaka

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$426

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Vientiane and in Dhaka

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Vientiane and in Dhaka actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,068 in Vientiane versus $426 in Dhaka.

Vientiane $1,068
Dhaka $426

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,615 in Vientiane versus $735 in Dhaka.

Vientiane $1,615
Dhaka $735

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,161 in Vientiane versus $1,043 in Dhaka.

Vientiane $2,161
Dhaka $1,043

Living in Vientiane is roughly 151% more expensive than in Dhaka, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Vientiane 20% lower, Dhaka 68% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.63 LAK 58.6K

$2.49 ৳306

5.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.00 LAK 401.4K

$13.06 ৳1,605

37.83%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.45 LAK 121.6K

$4.83 ৳594

12.84%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.93 ৳606

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.10 ৳504

Cappuccino

$1.75 LAK 39.0K

$2.34 ৳287

-25.21%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.68 LAK 15.2K

$0.30 ৳37.39

126.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.36 LAK 7,932

$0.16 ৳19.96

125.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.33 LAK 29.6K

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.79 LAK 40.0K

Milk (1 liter)

$2.06 LAK 46.0K

$0.80 ৳98.1

157.50%

White Bread (500g)

$1.13 LAK 25.1K

$0.65 ৳79.3

73.85%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.04 LAK 23.2K

$0.71 ৳87.3

46.48%

Eggs

$1.85 LAK 41.3K

$1.21 ৳149

52.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$27.03 LAK 602.7K

$8.67 ৳1,065

211.76%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.22 LAK 138.7K

$3.21 ৳395

93.77%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.77 LAK 150.9K

$6.70 ৳823

1.04%

Apples (1kg)

$2.41 LAK 53.7K

$2.73 ৳335

-11.72%

Banana (1kg)

$1.12 LAK 24.9K

$0.88 ৳109

27.27%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.60 LAK 58.1K

$2.37 ৳291

9.70%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.56 LAK 34.7K

$0.65 ৳79.6

140.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.43 LAK 31.9K

$0.24 ৳29.20

495.83%

Onion (1kg)

$1.06 LAK 23.6K

$0.49 ৳60.7

116.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.53 LAK 11.7K

$0.32 ৳38.88

65.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.36 LAK 8,089

$0.30 ৳37.31

20.00%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$12.07 ৳1,483

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.51 ৳677

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.66 ৳819

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.81 LAK 40.5K

$3.23 ৳396

-43.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.27 LAK 229.1K

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.06 LAK 23.6K

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.04 LAK 45.4K

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.46 LAK 10.3K

$0.42 ৳52.1

9.52%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$48.94 LAK 1.1M

$22.54 ৳2,770

117.13%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.30 LAK 29.1K

$1.19 ৳147

9.24%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 LAK 20.1K

$0.40 ৳48.60

125.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.48 LAK 99.8K

$3.35 ৳411

33.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 LAK 33.3K

$1.15 ৳141

29.57%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$28.6K LAK 638.5M

$30.3K ৳3.7M

-5.48%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$29.5K LAK 658.9M

$33.0K ৳4.1M

-10.56%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$90.6 LAK 2.0M

$46.32 ৳5,692

95.66%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$32.08 LAK 715.3K

$4.33 ৳532

640.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$12.43 LAK 277.2K

$10.63 ৳1,306

16.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$47.24 LAK 1.1M

$16.37 ৳2,012

188.58%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.76 LAK 173.0K

$16.14 ৳1,983

-51.92%

Cinema Ticket

$4.20 LAK 93.6K

$4.13 ৳508

1.69%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$614 LAK 13.7M

$90.7 ৳11.1K

576.58%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.1K LAK 247.3M

$2,649 ৳325.5K

318.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$26.82 LAK 598.2K

$16.48 ৳2,025

62.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$66.9 LAK 1.5M

$21.00 ৳2,580

218.76%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$56.8 LAK 1.3M

$50.3 ৳6,175

13.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$40.91 LAK 912.2K

$36.46 ৳4,480

12.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$638 LAK 14.2M

$152 ৳18.6K

320.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$415 LAK 9.2M

$73.6 ৳9,044

463.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,226 LAK 27.3M

$436 ৳53.6K

181.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$750 LAK 16.7M

$214 ৳26.3K

250.85%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,303 LAK 51.3M

$1,622 ৳199.3K

42.00%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,132 LAK 25.2M

$761 ৳93.5K

48.68%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$271 LAK 6.0M

$249 ৳30.6K

8.66%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.48

-4.58%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Vientiane: October 4, 2026

Last update for Dhaka: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Vientiane

$415 38.5%

Dhaka

$74 17.1% 82.3% $341

Groceries & Markets

Vientiane

$256 23.8%

Dhaka

$123 28.5% 52.1% $133

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Vientiane

$135 12.6%

Dhaka

$61 14.3% 54.7% $74

Clothing & Footwear

Vientiane

$86 8%

Dhaka

$56 13% 35.2% $30

Eating Out

Vientiane

$73 6.8%

Dhaka

$64 15% 11.6% $8.5

Getting Around

Vientiane

$57 5.3%

Dhaka

$27 6.4% 51.6% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Vientiane

$56 5.2%

Dhaka

$25 5.7% 55.7% $31

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $638 in Vientiane and $152 in Dhaka. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Vientiane pays 9% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $18.00 in Vientiane vs $13.00 in Dhaka for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $256 vs $123 per month, with Dhaka cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇱🇦 Vientiane

🇧🇩 Dhaka

🕒 Local time

08:54 8:54 AM

07:54 7:54 AM

1 h behind Vientiane

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

783,000 Capital

21,741,000 Capital

💱 Currency

Lao Kip LAK ₭

Bangladeshi Taka BDT ৳

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 LAK = 4.48 USD

100,000 LAK = 4 EUR

1,000 BDT = 8.14 USD

1,000 BDT = 7.26 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BDT, USD, EUR to LAK – Lao Kip Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇱🇦 Lao Kip (₭)

Lao Kip exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 22,300 LAK (100,000 LAK = 4.48 USD). 1 EUR = 25,011 LAK (100,000 LAK = 4 EUR).

Bangladeshi Taka exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 123 BDT (1,000 BDT = 8.14 USD). 1 EUR = 138 BDT (1,000 BDT = 7.26 EUR).

USD to LAK in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Vientiane Dhaka 1,420 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Vientiane
Dhaka

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Vientiane vs Dhaka: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dhaka is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 151% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 9% higher in Vientiane, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $638 in Vientiane versus $152 in Dhaka. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,068 per month in Vientiane versus $426 in Dhaka – a 151% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Dhaka runs roughly 117% less than in Vientiane. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $426 in Dhaka versus $1,068 in Vientiane, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Dhaka but tight or insufficient in Vientiane. The gap between the two cities makes Dhaka the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Vientiane and Dhaka are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Dhaka gentler on the wallet – expenses run 151% less than in Vientiane. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.