Cost of living comparison

Guatemala

compared to

Panama

Panama vs. Guatemala Cost of Living Summary

Panama is 11.3% more expensive than Guatemala overall.

Restaurants: pay 19.9% more in Panama
Groceries: pay 18.0% more in Panama
Transportation: pay 6.0% more in Panama
Housing: pay 13.8% more in Panama
Childcare: pay 31.2% more in Panama
Entertainment and Sports: pay 1.6% more in Panama
Clothing: pay 17.6% less in Panama

The cost of childcare, restaurants, groceries, housing, transportation, and entertainment and sports in Panama are more expensive than in Guatemala.

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Panama vs. Guatemala Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Panama instead of Guatemala, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 19.9% more for restaurants

	Guatemala	Panama
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.81 GTQ52.10	$8.20 PAB8.20	+20.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.86 GTQ60.11	$8.90 PAB8.90	+13.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.13 GTQ8.62	$1.41 PAB1.41	+25.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.95 GTQ7.27	$1.30 PAB1.30	+37.4%
Average			+19.9%

Guatemala vs. Panama - Cost of restaurants

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pay 18.0% more for groceries

	Guatemala	Panama
Bread 1 loaf	$3.06 GTQ23.38	$2.28 PAB2.28	-25.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.94 GTQ22.53	$6.18 PAB6.18	+110.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.79 GTQ59.62	$7.09 PAB7.09	-9.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.46 GTQ18.82	$2.56 PAB2.56	+4.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.27 GTQ32.69	$3.42 PAB3.42	-19.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.77 GTQ13.56	$1.86 PAB1.86	+4.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.76 GTQ5.83	$0.59 PAB0.59	-22.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.29 GTQ9.90	$1.76 PAB1.76	+36.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.73 GTQ5.62	$1.67 PAB1.67	+127.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.69 GTQ5.25	$1.09 PAB1.09	+59.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.88 GTQ6.75	$1.14 PAB1.14	+29.5%
Average			+18.0%

Guatemala vs. Panama - Cost of groceries

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pay 6.0% more for transportation

	Guatemala	Panama
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.04 GTQ38.56	$4.34 PAB4.34	-13.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$14.23 GTQ108.90	$23.00 PAB23.00	+61.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,199.77 GTQ193K	$23,920.67 PAB23,920.67	-5.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	??	$16.62 PAB16.62
Average			+6.0%

Guatemala vs. Panama - Cost of transportation

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pay 13.8% more for housing

	Guatemala	Panama
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$46.14 GTQ353.04	$49.81 PAB49.81	+8.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$851.18 GTQ6,513.21	$789.50 PAB789.50	-7.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$533.61 GTQ4,083.17	$614.84 PAB614.84	+15.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$49.82 GTQ381.19	$96.53 PAB96.53	+93.8%
Average			+13.8%

Guatemala vs. Panama - Cost of housing

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pay 31.2% more for childcare

	Guatemala	Panama
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$340.40 GTQ2,604.78	$543.33 PAB543.33	+59.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,685.90 GTQ51,160.52	$7,213.83 PAB7,213.83	+7.9%
Average			+31.2%

Guatemala vs. Panama - Cost of childcare

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pay 1.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Guatemala	Panama
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.27 GTQ25.05	$2.21 PAB2.21	-32.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.34 GTQ25.59	$3.73 PAB3.73	+11.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.99 GTQ30.56	$5.29 PAB5.29	+32.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$40.26 GTQ308.05	$50.91 PAB50.91	+26.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.48 GTQ49.59	$6.13 PAB6.13	-5.4%
Average			+1.6%

Guatemala vs. Panama - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 17.6% less for clothing

	Guatemala	Panama
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$46.92 GTQ359.05	$45.56 PAB45.56	-2.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$47.46 GTQ363.17	$36.71 PAB36.71	-22.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$104.97 GTQ803.21	$69.81 PAB69.81	-33.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$95.86 GTQ733.50	$88.33 PAB88.33	-7.8%
Average			-17.6%

Guatemala vs. Panama - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Guatemala vs. Panama

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Panama?

Quality of Life Comparison · 25 statistics

Be 3.2 times more likely to be unemployed in Panama

Size Comparison · See true size

Guatemala is about 1.4 times bigger than Panama.

Moving from Guatemala to Panama · UN DESA 2020

1,925 people born in Guatemala live in Panama.

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