Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Francisco, CA and Guatemala City

For one person, living is cheaper in Guatemala City: $1,347 a month against $4,602 in San Francisco, CA, rent and utilities included – about $39,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

219

Cost of Living Index in San Francisco, CA
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San Francisco, CA Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Guatemala City
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Guatemala City Living Index

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San Francisco, CA

🇺🇸 United States

$4,602

/mo nomad

Guatemala City

🇬🇹 Guatemala

$1,347

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in San Francisco, CA and in Guatemala City

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in San Francisco, CA and in Guatemala City actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $4,602 in San Francisco, CA versus $1,347 in Guatemala City.

San Francisco, CA $4,602
Guatemala City $1,347

Estimated couple costs with rent: $6,919 in San Francisco, CA versus $2,028 in Guatemala City.

San Francisco, CA $6,919
Guatemala City $2,028

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $9,236 in San Francisco, CA versus $2,710 in Guatemala City.

San Francisco, CA $9,236
Guatemala City $2,710

Living in San Francisco, CA is roughly 242% more expensive than in Guatemala City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$29.69 $29.69

$7.76 Q 59.3

282.60%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$127 $127

$49.88 Q 381

154.33%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$15.18 $15.18

$7.72 Q 59.0

96.63%

Cappuccino

$6.39 $6.39

$3.31 Q 25.28

93.05%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 $3.08

$1.17 Q 8.98

163.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.76 $2.76

$1.01 Q 7.75

173.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.13 $8.13

$3.18 Q 24.29

155.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.96 $8.96

$4.71 Q 36.00

90.23%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.82 $1.82

$2.08 Q 15.88

-12.50%

White Bread (500g)

$6.56 $6.56

$3.11 Q 23.78

110.93%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$5.32 $5.32

$2.12 Q 16.19

150.94%

Eggs

$5.52 $5.52

$2.44 Q 18.68

126.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$18.20 $18.20

$6.19 Q 47.28

194.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$17.33 $17.33

$9.64 Q 73.7

79.77%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$24.07 $24.07

$13.48 Q 103

78.56%

Apples (1kg)

$7.02 $7.02

$3.98 Q 30.43

76.38%

Banana (1kg)

$3.20 $3.20

$1.65 Q 12.58

93.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.87 $4.87

$2.83 Q 21.66

72.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$7.34 $7.34

$1.63 Q 12.48

350.31%

Potato (1kg)

$3.29 $3.29

$1.53 Q 11.70

115.03%

Onion (1kg)

$3.85 $3.85

$2.18 Q 16.63

76.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.06 $3.06

$0.69 Q 5.26

343.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$3.00 $3.00

$1.17 Q 8.94

156.41%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.83 $11.83

$4.01 Q 30.62

195.01%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.81 $14.81

$8.08 Q 61.7

83.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.48 $3.48

$1.79 Q 13.71

94.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.26 $4.26

$2.68 Q 20.46

58.96%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.06 $3.06

$1.01 Q 7.69

202.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$96.6 $96.6

$11.11 Q 84.9

769.85%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.27 $4.27

$5.17 Q 39.48

-17.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.08 $2.08

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.59 $39.59

$10.66 Q 81.5

271.39%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.63 $1.63

$1.37 Q 10.47

18.98%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$33.5K $33.5K

$27.1K Q 207.4K

23.59%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$26.8K $26.8K

$24.9K Q 190.7K

7.37%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$241 $241

$73.1 Q 559

229.89%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$67.5 $67.5

$29.48 Q 225

128.87%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$80.8 $80.8

$45.73 Q 349

76.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$113 $113

$38.04 Q 291

197.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.56 $22.56

$12.79 Q 97.8

76.39%

Cinema Ticket

$17.65 $17.65

$6.57 Q 50.2

168.65%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$2,976 $2,976

$338 Q 2,582

780.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$50.3K $50.3K

$15.8K Q 120.8K

218.44%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$85.7 $85.7

$49.96 Q 382

71.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.8 $51.8

$47.37 Q 362

9.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 $108

$119 Q 908

-8.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$144 $144

$111 Q 845

29.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,682 $3,682

$835 Q 6,383

340.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,751 $2,751

$538 Q 4,114

410.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$6,059 $6,059

$1,568 Q 12.0K

286.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$4,963 $4,963

$823 Q 6,292

502.72%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$10.9K $10.9K

$2,041 Q 15.6K

436.23%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,206 $8,206

$1,099 Q 8,398

646.74%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$7,237 $7,237

$846 Q 6,463

755.72%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.13

11.62

-38.64%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for San Francisco, CA: November 2, 2026

Last update for Guatemala City: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

San Francisco, CA

$2.8K 59.8%

Guatemala City

$538 40% 80.4% $2.2K

Groceries & Markets

San Francisco, CA

$572 12.4%

Guatemala City

$283 21% 50.6% $290

Eating Out

San Francisco, CA

$442 9.6%

Guatemala City

$159 11.8% 64% $283

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Francisco, CA

$389 8.5%

Guatemala City

$148 11% 61.9% $241

Clothing & Footwear

San Francisco, CA

$175 3.8%

Guatemala City

$147 10.9% 16.1% $28

Sport & Entertainment

San Francisco, CA

$149 3.2%

Guatemala City

$51 3.8% 65.6% $97

Getting Around

San Francisco, CA

$124 2.7%

Guatemala City

$20 * 1.5% 83.6% $103

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $3,682 in San Francisco, CA and $835 in Guatemala City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

San Francisco, CA pays about 8.6 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $127 in San Francisco, CA vs $50 in Guatemala City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $572 vs $283 per month, with Guatemala City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 San Francisco, CA

🇬🇹 Guatemala City

🕒 Local time

10:52 10:52 AM

12:52 12:52 PM

2 h ahead of San Francisco, CA

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

873,965

2,450,212 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Guatemalan Quetzal GTQ Q

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

1 GTQ = 0.131 USD

1 GTQ = 0.117 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GTQ, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇬🇹 Guatemalan Quetzal (Q)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

Guatemalan Quetzal exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 7.64 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.131 USD). 1 EUR = 8.58 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.117 EUR).

GTQ to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

San Francisco, CA Guatemala City 4,060 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

San Francisco, CA
Guatemala City

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

San Francisco, CA vs Guatemala City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Guatemala City wins on cost – living expenses run 71% lower than in San Francisco, CA. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Guatemala City the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in San Francisco, CA is about 8.6 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $3,682 in San Francisco, CA versus $835 in Guatemala City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Guatemala City – a meal for two runs $50 versus $127 in San Francisco, CA. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $4,602 per month in San Francisco, CA versus $1,347 in Guatemala City – Guatemala City is about 71% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Guatemala City is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

Both work as nomad bases, but Guatemala City delivers better value at $1,347 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Guatemala City hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Guatemala City gentler on the wallet – expenses run 71% less than in San Francisco, CA. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.