Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Guatemala City and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Guatemala City: $1,346 a month against $1,567 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $2,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

66

Cost of Living Index in Guatemala City
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Guatemala City Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Guatemala City

🇬🇹 Guatemala

$1,346

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,567

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,346 in Guatemala City versus $1,567 in Mexico City.

Guatemala City $1,346
Mexico City $1,567

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,023 in Guatemala City versus $2,450 in Mexico City.

Guatemala City $2,023
Mexico City $2,450

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,701 in Guatemala City versus $3,333 in Mexico City.

Guatemala City $2,701
Mexico City $3,333

Living in Guatemala City costs roughly 14% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Guatemala City 0% above, Mexico City 16% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.83 Q 52.2

$10.75 MX$199

-36.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.3 Q 385

$50.3 MX$929

0.12%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.83 Q 59.9

$11.10 MX$205

-29.46%

Cappuccino

$3.43 Q 26.24

$3.68 MX$68.1

-6.79%

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

$1.15 Q 8.79

$1.65 MX$30.42

-30.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 Q 7.48

$1.30 MX$24.08

-24.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 Q 24.28

$3.32 MX$61.3

-4.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.68 Q 35.76

$5.54 MX$102

-15.52%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.03 Q 15.52

$1.77 MX$32.68

14.69%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 Q 23.06

$3.05 MX$56.4

-0.98%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.09 Q 16.00

$2.01 MX$37.20

3.98%

Eggs

$2.50 Q 19.09

$2.77 MX$51.1

-9.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.37 Q 48.71

$11.91 MX$220

-46.52%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.16 Q 70.0

$9.33 MX$172

-1.82%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.08 Q 100.0

$15.02 MX$278

-12.92%

Apples (1kg)

$3.98 Q 30.46

$3.08 MX$56.8

29.22%

Banana (1kg)

$1.72 Q 13.19

$1.95 MX$35.97

-11.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.87 Q 21.97

$2.03 MX$37.54

41.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.64 Q 12.56

$2.21 MX$40.92

-25.79%

Potato (1kg)

$1.47 Q 11.21

$2.02 MX$37.41

-27.23%

Onion (1kg)

$2.15 Q 16.47

$1.82 MX$33.67

18.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.68 Q 5.23

$1.52 MX$28.07

-55.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 Q 9.14

$1.28 MX$23.65

-6.25%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.16 Q 31.83

$5.27 MX$97.4

-21.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.98 Q 61.0

$16.12 MX$298

-50.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 Q 13.32

$1.95 MX$36.05

-10.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 Q 20.45

$4.25 MX$78.6

-37.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.28 Q 9.79

$0.31 MX$5.82

312.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$14.30 Q 109

$19.85 MX$367

-27.96%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.11 Q 39.07

$2.00 MX$36.93

155.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.86

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.27 Q 78.6

$5.62 MX$104

82.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.39 Q 10.64

$1.52 MX$28.07

-8.55%

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

$27.8K Q 212.7K

$21.0K MX$388.7K

32.28%

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

$25.5K Q 194.9K

$25.2K MX$465.3K

1.25%

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

$71.7 Q 548

$62.5 MX$1,155

14.72%

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

$29.01 Q 222

$28.77 MX$532

0.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$46.39 Q 355

$34.45 MX$637

34.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.85 Q 305

$57.1 MX$1,055

-30.21%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.94 Q 99.0

$24.81 MX$458

-47.84%

Cinema Ticket

$6.52 Q 49.85

$6.67 MX$123

-2.25%

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

$336 Q 2,565

$431 MX$7,964

-22.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,630 Q 50.7K

$11.7K MX$216.9K

-43.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.45 Q 378

$70.8 MX$1,308

-30.15%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.87 Q 366

$51.8 MX$958

-7.64%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$119 Q 913

$109 MX$2,011

9.72%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$114 Q 875

$112 MX$2,076

1.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$828 Q 6,329

$1,051 MX$19.4K

-21.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$540 Q 4,130

$665 MX$12.3K

-18.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,522 Q 11.6K

$2,346 MX$43.3K

-35.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$821 Q 6,273

$1,227 MX$22.7K

-33.10%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,017 Q 15.4K

$3,554 MX$65.7K

-43.25%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,072 Q 8,196

$1,977 MX$36.5K

-45.78%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$863 Q 6,602

$975 MX$18.0K

-11.41%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.62

11.3

2.83%

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

Last update for Guatemala City: October 12, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Guatemala City

$540 40.2%

Mexico City

$665 42.4% 23.1% $125

Groceries & Markets

Guatemala City

$279 20.7%

Mexico City

$323 20.6% 15.8% $44

Eating Out

Guatemala City

$153 11.4%

Mexico City

$203 13% 32.6% $50

Clothing & Footwear

Guatemala City

$149 11.1%

Mexico City

$155 9.9% 3.8% $5.6

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Guatemala City

$147 10.9%

Mexico City

$126 8% 14.5% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Guatemala City

$53 3.9%

Mexico City

$70 4.5% 33.2% $18

Getting Around

Guatemala City

$25 * 1.8%

Mexico City

$26 1.6% 5.1% $1.3

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 $1,051 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays 13% 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 $50.0 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $279 vs $323 per month, with Guatemala City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇹 Guatemala City

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

06:34 6:34 AM

Same time as Guatemala City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,450,212 Capital

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Guatemalan Quetzal GTQ Q

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 GTQ = 0.131 USD

1 GTQ = 0.116 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 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 October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 7.65 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.131 USD). 1 EUR = 8.6 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.116 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to GTQ in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Guatemala City Mexico City 1,060 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Guatemala City
Mexico 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

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

Guatemala City wins on cost – living expenses run 16% lower than in Mexico City. 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 13% lower in Mexico City. 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 $1,051 in Mexico 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 $50.0 versus $50.0 in Mexico City. 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 $1,567 in Mexico City – a 16% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,346 in Guatemala City versus $1,567 in Mexico City, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Guatemala City but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. 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.

Expats usually find Guatemala City gentler on the wallet – expenses run 16% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.