Cost of living comparison

El Salvador

compared to

Guatemala

Guatemala City vs. San Salvador Cost of Living Summary

Guatemala City is 10.2% cheaper than San Salvador.

Restaurants: pay 5.7% more in Guatemala City
Groceries: pay 14.4% less in Guatemala City
Transportation: pay 18.6% less in Guatemala City
Housing: pay 22.6% less in Guatemala City
Childcare: pay 72.2% more in Guatemala City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 23.2% more in Guatemala City
Clothing: pay 8.1% less in Guatemala City

The cost of childcare, entertainment and sports, and restaurants in Guatemala City are more expensive than in San Salvador. Expenses including housing, transportation, groceries, and clothing are lower in Guatemala City.

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Guatemala City vs. San Salvador Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Guatemala City instead of San Salvador, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 5.7% more for restaurants

	San Salvador	Guatemala City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.75 SVC59.06	$6.81 GTQ52.10	+0.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.00 SVC61.25	$7.86 GTQ60.11	+12.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.14 SVC10.01	$1.13 GTQ8.62	-1.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.83 SVC7.29	$0.95 GTQ7.27	+14.0%
Average			+5.7%

San Salvador vs. Guatemala City - Cost of restaurants

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pay 14.4% less for groceries

	San Salvador	Guatemala City
Bread 1 loaf	$2.85 SVC24.94	$3.06 GTQ23.38	+7.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.85 SVC33.72	$3.16 GTQ24.18	-18.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.95 SVC60.81	$7.79 GTQ59.62	+12.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.02 SVC26.39	$2.54 GTQ19.40	-15.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.16 SVC27.66	$4.27 GTQ32.69	+35.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.29 SVC20.07	$1.77 GTQ13.56	-22.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.63 SVC5.54	$0.76 GTQ5.83	+20.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.18 SVC10.35	$1.29 GTQ9.90	+9.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.56 SVC13.68	$0.74 GTQ5.63	-52.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.33 SVC11.65	$0.69 GTQ5.25	-48.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.49 SVC13.05	$0.97 GTQ7.43	-34.9%
Average			-14.4%

San Salvador vs. Guatemala City - Cost of groceries

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pay 18.6% less for transportation

	San Salvador	Guatemala City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.75 SVC41.60	$5.17 GTQ39.53	+8.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$37.50 SVC328.13	$14.23 GTQ108.90	-62.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,000.00 SVC219K	$27,487.68 GTQ210K	+10.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$30.00 SVC262.50	??
Average			-18.6%

San Salvador vs. Guatemala City - Cost of transportation

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pay 22.6% less for housing

	San Salvador	Guatemala City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$42.50 SVC371.88	$46.14 GTQ353.04	+8.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$898.99 SVC7,866.27	$825.96 GTQ6,320.23	-8.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$770.00 SVC6,737.58	$544.31 GTQ4,165.07	-29.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$99.35 SVC869.35	$55.58 GTQ425.28	-44.1%
Average			-22.6%

San Salvador vs. Guatemala City - Cost of housing

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pay 72.2% more for childcare

	San Salvador	Guatemala City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$162.67 SVC1,423.35	$340.40 GTQ2,604.78	+109.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$4,720.00 SVC41,300.50	$6,685.90 GTQ51,160.52	+41.7%
Average			+72.2%

San Salvador vs. Guatemala City - Cost of childcare

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pay 23.2% more for entertainment and sports

	San Salvador	Guatemala City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.00 SVC17.50	$3.27 GTQ25.05	+63.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.55 SVC31.02	$3.34 GTQ25.59	-5.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.00 SVC35.00	$4.06 GTQ31.06	+1.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.60 SVC276.50	$39.43 GTQ301.73	+24.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.00 SVC43.75	$6.48 GTQ49.59	+29.6%
Average			+23.2%

San Salvador vs. Guatemala City - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 8.1% less for clothing

	San Salvador	Guatemala City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$67.15 SVC587.57	$49.64 GTQ379.84	-26.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$47.00 SVC411.25	$47.46 GTQ363.17	+1.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$118.33 SVC1,035.43	$117.72 GTQ900.82	-0.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$117.00 SVC1,023.76	$112.60 GTQ861.58	-3.8%
Average			-8.1%

San Salvador vs. Guatemala City - 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

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