Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Jose vs. Guatemala City Cost of Living Summary
San Jose is 51.4% more expensive than Guatemala City.
- Restaurants
-
pay 74.0% more in San Jose
- Groceries
-
pay 23.6% more in San Jose
- Transportation
-
pay 86.0% more in San Jose
- Housing
-
pay 22.8% more in San Jose
- Childcare
-
pay 2.4 times more in San Jose
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 15.8% more in San Jose
- Clothing
-
pay 0.6% more in San Jose
The cost of childcare, transportation, restaurants, groceries, housing, and entertainment and sports in San Jose are more expensive than in Guatemala City. Notably, childcare and transportation are significantly more expensive in San Jose.
San Jose vs. Guatemala City Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Jose instead of Guatemala City, you would:
pay 74.0% more for restaurants
|
Guatemala City
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$5.22
GTQ39.86
|
$9.95
CRC4,947.81
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$6.33
GTQ48.32
|
$9.91
CRC4,924.29
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.20
GTQ9.13
|
$2.06
CRC1,022.01
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.95
GTQ7.24
|
$1.67
CRC831.76
|
|
Guatemala City vs. San Jose - Cost of restaurants
pay 23.6% more for groceries
|
Guatemala City
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.11
GTQ23.75
|
$2.64
CRC1,311.09
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$3.93
GTQ30.01
|
$4.95
CRC2,462.15
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$7.96
GTQ60.79
|
$7.78
CRC3,868.62
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.55
GTQ19.50
|
$2.88
CRC1,429.67
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.82
GTQ29.18
|
$3.97
CRC1,971.17
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.76
GTQ13.48
|
$1.94
CRC963.65
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.76
GTQ5.80
|
$0.65
CRC324.89
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.41
GTQ10.75
|
$1.95
CRC967.90
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.86
GTQ6.57
|
$1.58
CRC786.24
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.78
GTQ5.98
|
$1.55
CRC768.91
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.20
GTQ9.20
|
$1.43
CRC711.41
|
|
Guatemala City vs. San Jose - Cost of groceries
pay 86.0% more for transportation
|
Guatemala City
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.07
GTQ31.08
|
$5.39
CRC2,678.58
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$13.61
GTQ103.97
|
$41.21
CRC20,485.06
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$19,565.40
GTQ149,458.53
|
$37,640.45
CRC18,712,315.88
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$13.83
GTQ105.62
|
$16.12
CRC8,011.83
|
|
Guatemala City vs. San Jose - Cost of transportation
pay 22.8% more for housing
|
Guatemala City
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$46.51
GTQ355.27
|
$58.88
CRC29,268.77
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$745.66
GTQ5,696.00
|
$891.63
CRC443,258.89
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$422.61
GTQ3,228.30
|
$560.77
CRC278,778.03
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$61.38
GTQ468.89
|
$68.88
CRC34,242.87
|
|
Guatemala City vs. San Jose - Cost of housing
pay 2.4 times more for childcare
|
Guatemala City
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$230.87
GTQ1,763.61
|
$600.27
CRC298,412.20
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$5,887.88
GTQ44,977.05
|
$12,608.22
CRC6,267,964.49
|
|
Guatemala City vs. San Jose - Cost of childcare
pay 15.8% more for entertainment and sports
|
Guatemala City
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$3.26
GTQ24.91
|
$2.67
CRC1,329.56
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.31
GTQ25.31
|
$3.85
CRC1,915.58
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$4.04
GTQ30.89
|
$5.15
CRC2,560.63
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$48.62
GTQ371.43
|
$55.98
CRC27,831.01
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$7.17
GTQ54.80
|
$9.91
CRC4,924.29
|
|
Guatemala City vs. San Jose - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 0.6% more for clothing
|
Guatemala City
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$51.42
GTQ392.83
|
$61.74
CRC30,694.76
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$53.26
GTQ406.86
|
$51.32
CRC25,512.74
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$122.72
GTQ937.44
|
$120.28
CRC59,794.99
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$121.74
GTQ929.96
|
$106.98
CRC53,182.37
|
|
Guatemala City vs. San Jose - Cost of clothing
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: December 2025
Change currency:
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in Guatemala vs. Costa Rica.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Guatemala and Costa Rica.
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 San Jose or Guatemala City. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.