Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Africa vs. Guatemala Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 3.6% cheaper than Guatemala overall.

Restaurants: pay 7.7% more in South Africa
Groceries: pay 32.9% less in South Africa
Transportation: pay 78.0% more in South Africa
Housing: pay 3.3% less in South Africa
Childcare: pay 28.8% less in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 27.9% less in South Africa
Clothing: pay 18.0% less in South Africa

The cost of transportation and restaurants in South Africa are more expensive than in Guatemala. Expenses including groceries, childcare, entertainment and sports, clothing, and housing are lower in South Africa. Notably, transportation is significantly more expensive in South Africa.

South Africa vs. Guatemala Cost Breakdown

If you lived in South Africa instead of Guatemala, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 7.7% more for restaurants

	Guatemala	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.22 GTQ39.87	$9.33 ZAR159.73	+78.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.33 GTQ48.34	$5.11 ZAR87.49	-19.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.20 GTQ9.14	$1.03 ZAR17.65	-13.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.95 GTQ7.24	$0.80 ZAR13.74	-15.3%
Average			+7.7%

Guatemala vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 32.9% less for groceries

	Guatemala	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$3.11 GTQ23.76	$1.00 ZAR17.16	-67.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.85 GTQ29.44	$3.88 ZAR66.47	+0.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.68 GTQ58.70	$4.37 ZAR74.79	-43.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.53 GTQ19.34	$2.33 ZAR39.93	-7.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.82 GTQ29.19	$2.13 ZAR36.52	-44.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.76 GTQ13.48	$0.73 ZAR12.46	-58.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.76 GTQ5.80	$0.65 ZAR11.16	-14.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.41 GTQ10.75	$0.68 ZAR11.70	-51.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.80 GTQ6.08	$0.71 ZAR12.14	-10.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.78 GTQ5.98	$0.59 ZAR10.02	-25.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.00 GTQ7.62	$0.60 ZAR10.27	-39.8%
Average			-32.9%

Guatemala vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 78.0% more for transportation

	Guatemala	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.07 GTQ31.09	$4.92 ZAR84.25	+21.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$13.61 GTQ103.97	$56.18 ZAR961.29	+312.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,570.53 GTQ149,497.66	$21,394.82 ZAR366,106.47	+9.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$13.54 GTQ103.40	$9.34 ZAR159.79	-31.0%
Average			+78.0%

Guatemala vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.3% less for housing

	Guatemala	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$46.52 GTQ355.36	$39.36 ZAR673.48	-15.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$811.38 GTQ6,198.05	$404.16 ZAR6,915.94	-50.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$485.36 GTQ3,707.66	$361.59 ZAR6,187.51	-25.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$49.53 GTQ378.35	$88.13 ZAR1,508.04	+77.9%
Average			-3.3%

Guatemala vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 28.8% less for childcare

	Guatemala	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$230.93 GTQ1,764.07	$173.48 ZAR2,968.50	-24.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,889.42 GTQ44,988.83	$3,962.11 ZAR67,799.29	-32.7%
Average			-28.8%

Guatemala vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 27.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Guatemala	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.56 GTQ27.16	$2.18 ZAR37.27	-38.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.31 GTQ25.31	$2.05 ZAR35.06	-38.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.98 GTQ30.40	$2.96 ZAR50.72	-25.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$44.81 GTQ342.29	$30.26 ZAR517.83	-32.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.18 GTQ54.82	$6.85 ZAR117.19	-4.6%
Average			-27.9%

Guatemala vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 18.0% less for clothing

	Guatemala	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.09 GTQ374.98	$50.74 ZAR868.31	+3.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$53.27 GTQ406.91	$32.75 ZAR560.46	-38.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$111.74 GTQ853.57	$94.19 ZAR1,611.79	-15.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$103.64 GTQ791.68	$81.80 ZAR1,399.67	-21.1%
Average			-18.0%

Guatemala vs. South Africa - Cost of clothing

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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: December 2025

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