Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Guatemala

Guatemala City vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Guatemala City is 3.5% more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 63.1% more in Guatemala City
Groceries: pay 35.8% more in Guatemala City
Transportation: pay 7.1% less in Guatemala City
Housing: pay 1.4% less in Guatemala City
Childcare: pay 75.9% less in Guatemala City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 0.2% more in Guatemala City
Clothing: pay 18.0% more in Guatemala City

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

Planning a move to Guatemala? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Guatemala City vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Guatemala City instead of Shanghai, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 63.1% more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Guatemala City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$6.81 GTQ52.10	+52.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$7.86 GTQ60.11	+50.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.01	$1.13 GTQ8.62	+88.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$0.95 GTQ7.27	+156.7%
Average			+63.1%

Shanghai vs. Guatemala City - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 35.8% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Guatemala City
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.22	$3.06 GTQ23.38	+54.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.52	$3.16 GTQ24.18	-63.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥46.02	$7.79 GTQ59.62	+13.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.36	$2.54 GTQ19.40	+49.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.89	$4.27 GTQ32.69	+189.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.65	$1.77 GTQ13.56	+78.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.16	$0.76 GTQ5.83	-1.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.05	$1.29 GTQ9.90	+43.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.15	$0.74 GTQ5.63	-4.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.40	$0.69 GTQ5.25	+91.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.90	$0.97 GTQ7.43	+124.3%
Average			+35.8%

Shanghai vs. Guatemala City - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 7.1% less for transportation

	Shanghai	Guatemala City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.21	$5.17 GTQ39.53	+4.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.59	$14.23 GTQ108.90	-52.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$27,487.68 GTQ210K	+41.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.92	??
Average			-7.1%

Shanghai vs. Guatemala City - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 1.4% less for housing

	Shanghai	Guatemala City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.59	$46.14 GTQ353.04	+337.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	$825.96 GTQ6,320.23	-20.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	$544.31 GTQ4,165.07	-7.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.77	$55.58 GTQ425.28	+26.2%
Average			-1.4%

Shanghai vs. Guatemala City - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 75.9% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Guatemala City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	$340.40 GTQ2,604.78	-75.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$6,685.90 GTQ51,160.52	-75.9%
Average			-75.9%

Shanghai vs. Guatemala City - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 0.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Guatemala City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$3.27 GTQ25.05	+174.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.41	$3.34 GTQ25.59	-0.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.95	$4.06 GTQ31.06	+8.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥439.52	$39.43 GTQ301.73	-40.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.88	$6.48 GTQ49.59	-27.6%
Average			+0.2%

Shanghai vs. Guatemala City - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 18.0% more for clothing

	Shanghai	Guatemala City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥363.79	$49.64 GTQ379.84	-8.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥248.19	$47.46 GTQ363.17	+27.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥505.08	$117.72 GTQ900.82	+55.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥707.25	$112.60 GTQ861.58	+6.5%
Average			+18.0%

Shanghai vs. Guatemala City - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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: Shanghai vs. Guatemala City

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Guatemala City?

More cost comparisons

Shanghai vs.

Beijing

Shanghai vs.

Moscow

Shanghai vs.

Madrid

Shanghai vs.

Toronto

Shanghai vs.

Sydney

Shanghai vs.

Rome

Shanghai vs.

Bangkok

Shanghai vs.

London

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in China vs. Guatemala. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within China and Guatemala.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Shanghai

Add prices for Guatemala City

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Guatemala City or Shanghai. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.