Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Korea vs. Guatemala Cost of Living Summary

South Korea is 36.3% more expensive than Guatemala overall.

Restaurants: pay 6.3% more in South Korea
Groceries: pay 59.4% more in South Korea
Transportation: pay 62.9% more in South Korea
Housing: pay 11.5% more in South Korea
Childcare: pay 2.1 times more in South Korea
Entertainment and Sports: pay 5.5% more in South Korea
Clothing: pay 1.2% less in South Korea

The cost of childcare, transportation, groceries, housing, restaurants, and entertainment and sports in South Korea are more expensive than in Guatemala. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in South Korea.

South Korea vs. Guatemala Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 6.3% more for restaurants

	Guatemala	South Korea
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.22 GTQ39.98	$6.72 ₩9,907	+28.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.33 GTQ48.47	$5.50 ₩8,102	-13.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.20 GTQ9.16	$1.47 ₩2,161	+22.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.95 GTQ7.26	$0.82 ₩1,216	-13.0%
Average			+6.3%

Guatemala vs. South Korea - Cost of restaurants

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pay 59.4% more for groceries

	Guatemala	South Korea
Bread 1 loaf	$3.11 GTQ23.83	$2.87 ₩4,235	-7.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.85 GTQ29.52	$5.63 ₩8,290	+46.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.68 GTQ58.86	$7.67 ₩11,311	-0.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.53 GTQ19.40	$2.84 ₩4,180	+12.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.82 GTQ29.26	$3.34 ₩4,917	-12.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.76 GTQ13.52	$3.24 ₩4,768	+83.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.76 GTQ5.81	$1.39 ₩2,045	+82.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.41 GTQ10.78	$2.80 ₩4,121	+98.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.80 GTQ6.10	$2.40 ₩3,543	+202.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.78 GTQ5.99	$1.78 ₩2,627	+127.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.00 GTQ7.64	$1.20 ₩1,775	+20.7%
Average			+59.4%

Guatemala vs. South Korea - Cost of groceries

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pay 62.9% more for transportation

	Guatemala	South Korea
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.07 GTQ31.17	$4.40 ₩6,485	+8.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$13.61 GTQ104.26	$47.17 ₩69,524	+246.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,570.53 GTQ149,906.55	$26,440.41 ₩38,967,875	+35.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$13.54 GTQ103.68	$8.33 ₩12,280	-38.4%
Average			+62.9%

Guatemala vs. South Korea - Cost of transportation

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pay 11.5% more for housing

	Guatemala	South Korea
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$46.52 GTQ356.33	$21.68 ₩31,958	-53.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$811.38 GTQ6,215.01	$473.91 ₩698,442	-41.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$485.36 GTQ3,717.80	$357.19 ₩526,420	-26.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$49.53 GTQ379.38	$132.53 ₩195,326	+167.6%
Average			+11.5%

Guatemala vs. South Korea - Cost of housing

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pay 2.1 times more for childcare

	Guatemala	South Korea
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$230.93 GTQ1,768.90	$378.52 ₩557,869	+63.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,889.42 GTQ45,111.88	$15,055.40 ₩22,188,655	+155.6%
Average			+109.8%

Guatemala vs. South Korea - Cost of childcare

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pay 5.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Guatemala	South Korea
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.56 GTQ27.23	$3.12 ₩4,595	-12.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.31 GTQ25.38	$3.57 ₩5,258	+7.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.98 GTQ30.48	$3.18 ₩4,693	-20.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$44.81 GTQ343.23	$49.86 ₩73,483	+11.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.18 GTQ54.97	$10.12 ₩14,912	+41.0%
Average			+5.5%

Guatemala vs. South Korea - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 1.2% less for clothing

	Guatemala	South Korea
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.09 GTQ376.00	$66.46 ₩97,948	+35.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$53.27 GTQ408.03	$50.68 ₩74,697	-4.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$111.74 GTQ855.90	$72.74 ₩107,204	-34.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$103.64 GTQ793.85	$103.23 ₩152,146	-0.4%
Average			-1.2%

Guatemala vs. South Korea - 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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