Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Guatemala City and Lima

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $996 a month against $1,334 in Guatemala City, rent and utilities included – about $4,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

65

Cost of Living Index in Guatemala City
Learn more

Guatemala City Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
Learn more

Lima Living Index

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Guatemala City

🇬🇹 Guatemala

$1,334

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$996

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Guatemala City and in Lima

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,334 in Guatemala City versus $996 in Lima.

Guatemala City $1,334
Lima $996

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,040 in Guatemala City versus $1,594 in Lima.

Guatemala City $2,040
Lima $1,594

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,746 in Guatemala City versus $2,191 in Lima.

Guatemala City $2,746
Lima $2,191

Living in Guatemala City is roughly 34% more expensive than in Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Guatemala City is 0% above, Lima is 26% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.84 Q 52.2

$4.42 PEN 15.16

54.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$49.83 Q 381

$35.04 PEN 120

42.21%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.72 Q 59.0

$6.84 PEN 23.44

12.87%

Cappuccino

$3.24 Q 24.80

$3.27 PEN 11.22

-0.92%

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

$1.11 Q 8.46

$1.10 PEN 3.78

0.91%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 Q 7.49

$0.65 PEN 2.22

50.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.22 Q 24.59

$2.58 PEN 8.85

24.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.88 Q 37.29

$4.47 PEN 15.34

9.17%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.11 Q 16.11

$1.59 PEN 5.46

32.70%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 Q 23.22

$2.58 PEN 8.86

17.83%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.09 Q 15.96

$1.36 PEN 4.65

53.68%

Eggs

$2.51 Q 19.15

$2.95 PEN 10.11

-14.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.16 Q 47.09

$9.10 PEN 31.19

-32.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.55 Q 73.0

$5.81 PEN 19.91

64.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.51 Q 103

$9.83 PEN 33.68

37.44%

Apples (1kg)

$4.00 Q 30.54

$2.01 PEN 6.89

99.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.71 Q 13.05

$1.08 PEN 3.69

58.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.83 Q 21.63

$1.37 PEN 4.70

106.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.65 Q 12.61

$1.48 PEN 5.06

11.49%

Potato (1kg)

$1.49 Q 11.37

$0.96 PEN 3.30

55.21%

Onion (1kg)

$2.12 Q 16.21

$0.85 PEN 2.92

149.41%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.68 Q 5.20

$0.88 PEN 3.02

-22.73%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 Q 9.16

$0.87 PEN 2.97

37.93%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.11 Q 31.39

$5.90 PEN 20.24

-30.34%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.11 Q 61.9

$8.81 PEN 30.21

-7.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 Q 13.30

$1.92 PEN 6.57

-9.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.73 Q 20.83

$3.20 PEN 10.98

-14.69%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.29 Q 9.88

$0.68 PEN 2.33

89.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$14.31 Q 109

$26.74 PEN 91.7

-46.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.16 Q 39.46

$3.81 PEN 13.06

35.43%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.04 PEN 7.00

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.46 Q 79.9

$7.14 PEN 24.49

46.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 Q 10.17

$1.65 PEN 5.65

-19.39%

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

$27.3K Q 208.8K

$22.2K PEN 76.0K

23.23%

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

$25.3K Q 193.6K

$25.7K PEN 88.0K

-1.32%

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

$73.2 Q 559

$73.0 PEN 250

0.19%

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

$28.62 Q 219

$16.26 PEN 55.7

76.01%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$45.27 Q 346

$27.60 PEN 94.6

64.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.18 Q 307

$33.07 PEN 113

21.50%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.22 Q 101

$19.49 PEN 66.8

-32.17%

Cinema Ticket

$6.60 Q 50.5

$7.39 PEN 25.33

-10.69%

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

$334 Q 2,554

$182 PEN 624

83.64%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,809 Q 52.0K

$13.3K PEN 45.7K

-48.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.72 Q 380

$52.6 PEN 180

-5.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.13 Q 368

$34.23 PEN 117

40.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$120 Q 916

$83.8 PEN 287

43.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$112 Q 857

$79.0 PEN 271

41.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$837 Q 6,396

$723 PEN 2,479

15.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$534 Q 4,082

$340 PEN 1,166

57.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,537 Q 11.7K

$1,184 PEN 4,060

29.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$803 Q 6,139

$635 PEN 2,176

26.57%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,071 Q 15.8K

$2,449 PEN 8,394

-15.42%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,092 Q 8,343

$1,372 PEN 4,702

-20.39%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$841 Q 6,425

$653 PEN 2,237

28.84%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.62

8.94

29.98%

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

Last update for Guatemala City: October 4, 2026

Last update for Lima: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Guatemala City

$534 39.8%

Lima

$340 33.6% 36.3% $194

Groceries & Markets

Guatemala City

$283 21.1%

Lima

$226 22.4% 19.9% $56

Eating Out

Guatemala City

$151 11.3%

Lima

$124 12.3% 17.8% $27

Clothing & Footwear

Guatemala City

$148 11.1%

Lima

$112 11.1% 24.3% $36

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Guatemala City

$147 11%

Lima

$117 11.6% 20.5% $30

Sport & Entertainment

Guatemala City

$53 4%

Lima

$48 4.7% 10.4% $5.5

Getting Around

Guatemala City

$25 * 1.8%

Lima

$43 4.3% 76.4% $19

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 $837 in Guatemala City and $723 in Lima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Guatemala City pays 29% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $50.0 in Guatemala City vs $35.00 in Lima for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $283 vs $226 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇹 Guatemala City

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

01:34 1:34 AM

02:34 2:34 AM

1 h ahead of Guatemala City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,450,212 Capital

9,989,369 Capital

💱 Currency

Guatemalan Quetzal GTQ Q

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

1 GTQ = 0.131 USD

1 GTQ = 0.117 EUR

1 PEN = 0.292 USD

1 PEN = 0.26 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PEN, USD, EUR to GTQ – Guatemalan Quetzal Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇹 Guatemalan Quetzal (Q)

Guatemalan Quetzal exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 7.64 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.131 USD). 1 EUR = 8.57 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.117 EUR).

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.292 USD). 1 EUR = 3.84 PEN (1 PEN = 0.26 EUR).

USD to GTQ in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Guatemala City Lima 3,320 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Guatemala City
Lima

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

Guatemala City vs Lima: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lima wins on cost – living expenses run 34% lower than in Guatemala City. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Lima the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 29% higher in Guatemala City, 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: $837 in Guatemala City versus $723 in Lima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Lima – a meal for two runs $35.00 versus $50.0 in Guatemala City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,334 per month in Guatemala City versus $996 in Lima – a 34% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $996 in Lima versus $1,334 in Guatemala City, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in Guatemala City. The gap between the two cities makes Lima the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Lima delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $996 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Lima hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Lima gentler on the wallet – expenses run 34% less than in Guatemala City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.