Cost of living comparison
compared to
Guatemala City vs. San Juan Cost of Living Summary
Guatemala City is 29.6% cheaper than San Juan.
- Restaurants
-
pay 46.7% less in Guatemala City
- Groceries
-
pay 25.9% less in Guatemala City
- Transportation
-
pay 29.7% less in Guatemala City
- Housing
-
pay 52.2% less in Guatemala City
- Childcare
-
pay 47.1% less in Guatemala City
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 19.0% less in Guatemala City
- Clothing
-
pay 13.2% more in Guatemala City
Expenses including housing, childcare, restaurants, transportation, groceries, and entertainment and sports are lower in Guatemala City.
Guatemala City vs. San Juan Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Guatemala City instead of San Juan, you would:
pay 46.7% less for restaurants
|
San Juan
|
Guatemala City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.00
|
$5.22
GTQ39.86
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.58
|
$6.33
GTQ48.32
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.84
|
$1.20
GTQ9.13
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.40
|
$0.95
GTQ7.24
|
|
San Juan vs. Guatemala City - Cost of restaurants
pay 25.9% less for groceries
|
San Juan
|
Guatemala City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.40
|
$3.11
GTQ23.75
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.74
|
$3.93
GTQ30.01
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$8.97
|
$7.96
GTQ60.79
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$6.42
|
$2.55
GTQ19.50
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.85
|
$3.82
GTQ29.18
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.56
|
$1.76
GTQ13.48
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.09
|
$0.76
GTQ5.80
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.77
|
$1.41
GTQ10.75
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.84
|
$0.86
GTQ6.57
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.91
|
$0.78
GTQ5.98
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.12
|
$1.20
GTQ9.20
|
|
San Juan vs. Guatemala City - Cost of groceries
pay 29.7% less for transportation
|
San Juan
|
Guatemala City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.65
|
$4.07
GTQ31.08
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$30.00
|
$13.61
GTQ103.97
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,000.00
|
$19,565.40
GTQ149,458.53
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | ?? |
$13.83
GTQ105.62
|
|
San Juan vs. Guatemala City - Cost of transportation
pay 52.2% less for housing
|
San Juan
|
Guatemala City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$77.14
|
$46.51
GTQ355.27
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,258.33
|
$745.66
GTQ5,696.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$765.00
|
$422.61
GTQ3,228.30
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$370.88
|
$61.38
GTQ468.89
|
|
San Juan vs. Guatemala City - Cost of housing
pay 47.1% less for childcare
|
San Juan
|
Guatemala City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$470.00
|
$230.87
GTQ1,763.61
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$10,400.00
|
$5,887.88
GTQ44,977.05
|
|
San Juan vs. Guatemala City - Cost of childcare
pay 19.0% less for entertainment and sports
|
San Juan
|
Guatemala City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$3.00
|
$3.26
GTQ24.91
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.73
|
$3.31
GTQ25.31
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$12.00
|
$4.04
GTQ30.89
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$41.66
|
$48.62
GTQ371.43
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.50
|
$7.17
GTQ54.80
|
|
San Juan vs. Guatemala City - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 13.2% more for clothing
|
San Juan
|
Guatemala City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$47.33
|
$51.42
GTQ392.83
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$56.25
|
$53.26
GTQ406.86
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$88.33
|
$122.72
GTQ937.44
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$110.00
|
$121.74
GTQ929.96
|
|
San Juan vs. Guatemala City - 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
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