Cost of living comparison

compared to

Guatemala City vs. Vientiane Cost of Living Summary

Guatemala City is 45.9% more expensive than Vientiane.

Restaurants: pay 90.3% more in Guatemala City
Groceries: pay 52.4% more in Guatemala City
Transportation: pay 24.7% less in Guatemala City
Housing: pay 64.9% more in Guatemala City
Childcare: pay 34.4% less in Guatemala City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 82.5% more in Guatemala City
Clothing: pay 90.5% more in Guatemala City

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

Guatemala City vs. Vientiane Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 90.3% more for restaurants

	Vientiane	Guatemala City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.31 LAK50,054	$5.22 GTQ39.96	+126.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.54 LAK120,129	$6.33 GTQ48.46	+14.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.62 LAK13,442	$1.20 GTQ9.16	+92.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.42 LAK9,010	$0.95 GTQ7.26	+128.2%
Average			+90.3%

Vientiane vs. Guatemala City - Cost of restaurants

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pay 52.4% more for groceries

	Vientiane	Guatemala City
Bread 1 loaf	$1.17 LAK25,309	$3.11 GTQ23.82	+166.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$13.94 LAK302,259	$3.93 GTQ30.09	-71.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.32 LAK158,700	$7.96 GTQ60.96	+8.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.81 LAK39,281	$2.55 GTQ19.55	+40.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.99 LAK64,879	$3.82 GTQ29.26	+27.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.90 LAK19,424	$1.76 GTQ13.52	+97.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.50 LAK10,847	$0.76 GTQ5.81	+51.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.94 LAK20,357	$1.41 GTQ10.77	+49.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.61 LAK13,168	$0.86 GTQ6.59	+41.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.74 LAK16,044	$0.78 GTQ5.99	+5.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.47 LAK10,090	$1.20 GTQ9.23	+158.9%
Average			+52.4%

Vientiane vs. Guatemala City - Cost of groceries

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pay 24.7% less for transportation

	Vientiane	Guatemala City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.18 LAK112,301	$4.07 GTQ31.16	-21.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$50.18 LAK1,088,125	$13.61 GTQ104.26	-72.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$28,736.24 LAK623,136,050	$19,565.40 GTQ149,867.31	-31.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$10.86 LAK235,461	$13.83 GTQ105.91	+27.3%
Average			-24.7%

Vientiane vs. Guatemala City - Cost of transportation

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pay 64.9% more for housing

	Vientiane	Guatemala City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$11.39 LAK246,932	$46.51 GTQ356.24	+308.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$866.78 LAK18,795,832	$745.66 GTQ5,711.58	-14.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$784.74 LAK17,016,800	$422.61 GTQ3,237.13	-46.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$55.21 LAK1,197,166	$61.38 GTQ470.18	+11.2%
Average			+64.9%

Vientiane vs. Guatemala City - Cost of housing

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pay 34.4% less for childcare

	Vientiane	Guatemala City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$338.54 LAK7,341,095	$230.87 GTQ1,768.43	-31.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,334.55 LAK202,416,649	$5,887.88 GTQ45,100.07	-36.9%
Average			-34.4%

Vientiane vs. Guatemala City - Cost of childcare

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pay 82.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Vientiane	Guatemala City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.50 LAK32,535	$3.26 GTQ24.98	+117.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.73 LAK37,539	$3.31 GTQ25.38	+91.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.96 LAK42,546	$4.04 GTQ30.97	+106.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$50.52 LAK1,095,580	$48.62 GTQ372.45	-3.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.56 LAK77,163	$7.17 GTQ54.95	+101.6%
Average			+82.5%

Vientiane vs. Guatemala City - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 90.5% more for clothing

	Vientiane	Guatemala City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$27.70 LAK600,645	$51.42 GTQ393.90	+85.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$69.25 LAK1,501,613	$53.26 GTQ407.97	-23.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$58.22 LAK1,262,426	$122.72 GTQ940.00	+110.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$42.19 LAK914,851	$121.74 GTQ932.51	+188.6%
Average			+90.5%

Vientiane vs. Guatemala City - 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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