Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Guatemala City and Mexicali

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexicali: $925 a month against $1,347 in Guatemala City, rent and utilities included – about $5,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

65

Cost of Living Index in Guatemala City
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Guatemala City Living Index
44

Cost of Living Index in Mexicali
Learn more

Mexicali Living Index

Jump to prices

Guatemala City

🇬🇹 Guatemala

$1,347

/mo nomad

Mexicali

🇲🇽 Mexico

$925

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,347 in Guatemala City versus $925 in Mexicali.

Guatemala City $1,347
Mexicali $925

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,028 in Guatemala City versus $1,482 in Mexicali.

Guatemala City $2,028
Mexicali $1,482

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,710 in Guatemala City versus $2,039 in Mexicali.

Guatemala City $2,710
Mexicali $2,039

Living in Guatemala City is roughly 46% more expensive than in Mexicali, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.76 Q 59.3

$12.12 MX$227

-35.97%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$49.88 Q 381

$33.79 MX$632

47.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.72 Q 59.0

$6.39 MX$120

20.81%

Cappuccino

$3.31 Q 25.28

$3.28 MX$61.3

0.91%

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

$1.17 Q 8.98

$1.38 MX$25.84

-15.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.01 Q 7.75

$1.05 MX$19.71

-3.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 Q 24.29

$3.17 MX$59.3

0.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.71 Q 36.00

$4.02 MX$75.3

17.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.08 Q 15.88

$1.22 MX$22.87

70.49%

White Bread (500g)

$3.11 Q 23.78

$2.27 MX$42.42

37.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.12 Q 16.19

$1.45 MX$27.06

46.21%

Eggs

$2.44 Q 18.68

$2.73 MX$51.0

-10.62%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.19 Q 47.28

$2.45 MX$45.87

152.65%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.64 Q 73.7

$5.90 MX$110

63.39%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.48 Q 103

$6.60 MX$124

104.24%

Apples (1kg)

$3.98 Q 30.43

$1.63 MX$30.45

144.17%

Banana (1kg)

$1.65 Q 12.58

$1.31 MX$24.55

25.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.83 Q 21.66

$1.33 MX$24.88

112.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.63 Q 12.48

$1.54 MX$28.84

5.84%

Potato (1kg)

$1.53 Q 11.70

$1.37 MX$25.67

11.68%

Onion (1kg)

$2.18 Q 16.63

$1.39 MX$26.00

56.83%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.69 Q 5.26

$1.34 MX$24.97

-48.51%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.17 Q 8.94

$0.79 MX$14.75

48.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.01 Q 30.62

$4.04 MX$75.5

-0.74%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.08 Q 61.7

$8.00 MX$150

1.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 Q 13.71

$1.99 MX$37.14

-10.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.68 Q 20.46

$3.87 MX$72.4

-30.75%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.01 Q 7.69

$1.02 MX$19.00

-0.98%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.11 Q 84.9

$34.65 MX$648

-67.94%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.17 Q 39.48

$2.79 MX$52.2

85.30%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.09 MX$39.12

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.66 Q 81.5

$18.59 MX$348

-42.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.37 Q 10.47

$1.32 MX$24.67

3.79%

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

$27.1K Q 207.4K

$23.7K MX$443.0K

14.57%

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

$24.9K Q 190.7K

$23.6K MX$442.0K

5.57%

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

$73.1 Q 559

$46.13 MX$863

58.44%

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

$29.48 Q 225

$22.09 MX$413

33.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$45.73 Q 349

$28.80 MX$539

58.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.04 Q 291

$38.59 MX$722

-1.43%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.79 Q 97.8

$16.06 MX$300

-20.36%

Cinema Ticket

$6.57 Q 50.2

$4.07 MX$76.1

61.43%

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

$338 Q 2,582

$200 MX$3,747

68.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.8K Q 120.8K

$4,490 MX$84.0K

252.04%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.96 Q 382

$33.04 MX$618

51.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.37 Q 362

$32.17 MX$602

47.25%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$119 Q 908

$74.6 MX$1,396

59.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$111 Q 845

$38.32 MX$717

188.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$835 Q 6,383

$970 MX$18.1K

-13.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$538 Q 4,114

$267 MX$4,995

101.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,568 Q 12.0K

$1,337 MX$25.0K

17.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$823 Q 6,292

$537 MX$10.0K

53.33%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,041 Q 15.6K

$2,648 MX$49.5K

-22.92%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,099 Q 8,398

$1,439 MX$26.9K

-23.63%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$846 Q 6,463

$845 MX$15.8K

0.03%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.62

11.6

0.17%

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

Last update for Guatemala City: November 3, 2026

Last update for Mexicali: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Guatemala City

$538 40%

Mexicali

$267 28.9% 50.4% $271

Groceries & Markets

Guatemala City

$283 21%

Mexicali

$193 20.8% 31.9% $90

Eating Out

Guatemala City

$159 11.8%

Mexicali

$189 20.5% 18.9% $30

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Guatemala City

$148 11%

Mexicali

$97 10.5% 34.6% $51

Clothing & Footwear

Guatemala City

$147 10.9%

Mexicali

$80 8.7% 45.5% $67

Sport & Entertainment

Guatemala City

$51 3.8%

Mexicali

$47 5.1% 8.7% $4.4

Getting Around

Guatemala City

$20 * 1.5%

Mexicali

$52 5.6% 156% $32

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 $835 in Guatemala City and $970 in Mexicali. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $50 in Guatemala City vs $34 in Mexicali for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $283 vs $193 per month, with Mexicali cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇹 Guatemala City

🇲🇽 Mexicali

🕒 Local time

13:56 1:56 PM

11:56 11:56 AM

2 h behind Guatemala City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,450,212 Capital

854,186

💱 Currency

Guatemalan Quetzal GTQ Q

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 GTQ = 0.131 USD

1 GTQ = 0.117 EUR

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to GTQ – Guatemalan Quetzal Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇹 Guatemalan Quetzal (Q)

Guatemalan Quetzal exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 7.64 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.131 USD). 1 EUR = 8.54 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.117 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 18.7 MXN (100 MXN = 5.35 USD). 1 EUR = 20.9 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

USD to GTQ in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Guatemala City Mexicali 3,220 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Guatemala City
Mexicali

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 Mexicali: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexicali wins on cost – living expenses run 31% lower than in Guatemala City. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Mexicali the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $2,021 in Guatemala City and $1,387 in Mexicali to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $835 in Guatemala City versus $970 in Mexicali. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Mexicali – a meal for two runs $34 versus $50 in Guatemala City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,347 per month in Guatemala City versus $925 in Mexicali – Mexicali is about 31% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $925 in Mexicali versus $1,347 in Guatemala City, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Mexicali but tight or insufficient in Guatemala City. The gap between the two cities makes Mexicali the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.