Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Guatemala City and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Guatemala City: $1,346 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $10,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

66

Cost of Living Index in Guatemala City
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Guatemala City Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
Learn more

Lisbon Living Index

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Guatemala City

🇬🇹 Guatemala

$1,346

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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 Lisbon actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,346 in Guatemala City versus $2,223 in Lisbon.

Guatemala City $1,346
Lisbon $2,223

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,023 in Guatemala City versus $3,271 in Lisbon.

Guatemala City $2,023
Lisbon $3,271

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,701 in Guatemala City versus $4,319 in Lisbon.

Guatemala City $2,701
Lisbon $4,319

Living in Guatemala City costs roughly 39% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Guatemala City 0% above, Lisbon 65% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.83 Q 52.2

$16.50 €14.67

-58.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.3 Q 385

$61.3 €54.5

-17.86%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.83 Q 59.9

$11.27 €10.03

-30.52%

Cappuccino

$3.43 Q 26.24

$3.06 €2.72

12.09%

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

$1.15 Q 8.79

$2.26 €2.01

-49.12%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 Q 7.48

$1.73 €1.54

-43.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 Q 24.28

$3.39 €3.02

-6.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.68 Q 35.76

$3.40 €3.02

37.65%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.03 Q 15.52

$1.12 €1.00

81.25%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 Q 23.06

$1.86 €1.65

62.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.09 Q 16.00

$1.53 €1.36

36.60%

Eggs

$2.50 Q 19.09

$3.96 €3.53

-36.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.37 Q 48.71

$12.76 €11.35

-50.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.16 Q 70.0

$7.90 €7.02

15.95%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.08 Q 100.0

$16.97 €15.09

-22.92%

Apples (1kg)

$3.98 Q 30.46

$2.27 €2.02

75.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.72 Q 13.19

$1.75 €1.55

-1.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.87 Q 21.97

$1.85 €1.64

55.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.64 Q 12.56

$2.57 €2.28

-36.19%

Potato (1kg)

$1.47 Q 11.21

$1.86 €1.65

-20.97%

Onion (1kg)

$2.15 Q 16.47

$2.02 €1.80

6.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.68 Q 5.23

$1.44 €1.28

-52.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 Q 9.14

$0.82 €0.73

46.34%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.16 Q 31.83

$6.56 €5.83

-36.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.98 Q 61.0

$5.62 €5.00

41.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 Q 13.32

$1.28 €1.14

35.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 Q 20.45

$2.07 €1.84

28.99%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.28 Q 9.79

$2.35 €2.09

-45.53%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$14.30 Q 109

$44.18 €39.30

-67.63%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.11 Q 39.07

$3.99 €3.55

28.07%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 €0.97

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.27 Q 78.6

$16.64 €14.81

-38.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.39 Q 10.64

$2.28 €2.03

-39.04%

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

$27.8K Q 212.7K

$33.7K €30.0K

-17.38%

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

$25.5K Q 194.9K

$39.3K €35.0K

-35.11%

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

$71.7 Q 548

$167 €149

-57.20%

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

$29.01 Q 222

$18.80 €16.72

54.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$46.39 Q 355

$33.09 €29.43

40.19%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.85 Q 305

$46.01 €40.93

-13.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.94 Q 99.0

$19.19 €17.07

-32.57%

Cinema Ticket

$6.52 Q 49.85

$9.84 €8.75

-33.74%

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

$336 Q 2,565

$677 €602

-50.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,630 Q 50.7K

$16.9K €15.1K

-60.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.45 Q 378

$101 €90.1

-51.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.87 Q 366

$45.76 €40.70

4.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$119 Q 913

$100.0 €88.9

19.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$114 Q 875

$123 €109

-6.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$828 Q 6,329

$1,614 €1,436

-48.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$540 Q 4,130

$1,197 €1,065

-54.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,522 Q 11.6K

$2,862 €2,545

-46.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$821 Q 6,273

$1,990 €1,770

-58.77%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,017 Q 15.4K

$7,577 €6,740

-73.39%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,072 Q 8,196

$4,307 €3,831

-75.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$863 Q 6,602

$1,588 €1,412

-45.61%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.62

3.85

201.82%

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

Last update for Guatemala City: October 12, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Guatemala City

$540 40.2%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9% 122% $657

Groceries & Markets

Guatemala City

$279 20.7%

Lisbon

$269 12.1% 3.4% $9.4

Eating Out

Guatemala City

$153 11.4%

Lisbon

$242 10.9% 58.3% $89

Clothing & Footwear

Guatemala City

$149 11.1%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 11.6% $17

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Guatemala City

$147 10.9%

Lisbon

$219 9.9% 49.1% $72

Sport & Entertainment

Guatemala City

$53 3.9%

Lisbon

$66 3% 24.2% $13

Getting Around

Guatemala City

$25 * 1.8%

Lisbon

$63 2.8% 157% $38

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 $828 in Guatemala City and $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 84% 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 $61.0 in Lisbon. Groceries flip the comparison at $279 vs $269, with Lisbon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇹 Guatemala City

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

05:36 5:36 AM

12:36 12:36 PM

7 h ahead of Guatemala City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,450,212 Capital

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Guatemalan Quetzal GTQ Q

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 GTQ = 0.131 USD

1 GTQ = 0.116 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to GTQ – Guatemalan Quetzal Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇹 Guatemalan Quetzal (Q)

Guatemalan Quetzal exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 7.65 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.131 USD). 1 EUR = 8.6 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.116 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to GTQ in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Guatemala City Lisbon 8,260 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Guatemala City
Lisbon

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 Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Guatemala City wins on cost – living expenses run 65% lower than in Lisbon. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Guatemala City the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 84% lower in Lisbon. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $828 in Guatemala City versus $1,614 in Lisbon. 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 $50.0 versus $61.0 in Lisbon. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,346 per month in Guatemala City versus $2,223 in Lisbon – a 65% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,346 in Guatemala City versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Guatemala City but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Guatemala City the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Guatemala City delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,346 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Guatemala City hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Guatemala City and Lisbon are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Guatemala City gentler on the wallet – expenses run 65% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.