Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Guatemala City and Montevideo

For one person, living is cheaper in Guatemala City: $1,334 a month against $1,813 in Montevideo, rent and utilities included – about $5,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

65

Cost of Living Index in Guatemala City
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Guatemala City Living Index
86

Cost of Living Index in Montevideo
Learn more

Montevideo Living Index

Jump to prices

Guatemala City

🇬🇹 Guatemala

$1,334

/mo nomad

Montevideo

🇺🇾 Uruguay

$1,813

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,334 in Guatemala City versus $1,813 in Montevideo.

Guatemala City $1,334
Montevideo $1,813

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,040 in Guatemala City versus $2,782 in Montevideo.

Guatemala City $2,040
Montevideo $2,782

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,746 in Guatemala City versus $3,750 in Montevideo.

Guatemala City $2,746
Montevideo $3,750

Living in Guatemala City costs roughly 26% less than in Montevideo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Guatemala City 0% above, Montevideo 35% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.84 Q 52.2

$15.26 UYU 613

-55.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$49.83 Q 381

$67.4 UYU 2,711

-26.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.72 Q 59.0

$14.37 UYU 578

-46.28%

Cappuccino

$3.24 Q 24.80

$4.64 UYU 187

-30.17%

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

$1.11 Q 8.46

$2.73 UYU 110

-59.34%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 Q 7.49

$2.09 UYU 84.0

-53.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.22 Q 24.59

$4.75 UYU 191

-32.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.88 Q 37.29

$3.67 UYU 147

32.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.11 Q 16.11

$1.38 UYU 55.5

52.90%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 Q 23.22

$2.77 UYU 112

9.75%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.09 Q 15.96

$1.69 UYU 67.8

23.67%

Eggs

$2.51 Q 19.15

$4.52 UYU 182

-44.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.16 Q 47.09

$14.17 UYU 570

-56.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.55 Q 73.0

$12.07 UYU 485

-20.88%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.51 Q 103

$12.16 UYU 489

11.10%

Apples (1kg)

$4.00 Q 30.54

$2.87 UYU 116

39.37%

Banana (1kg)

$1.71 Q 13.05

$2.75 UYU 110

-37.82%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.83 Q 21.63

$1.73 UYU 69.5

63.58%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.65 Q 12.61

$3.24 UYU 130

-49.07%

Potato (1kg)

$1.49 Q 11.37

$2.07 UYU 83.1

-28.02%

Onion (1kg)

$2.12 Q 16.21

$2.07 UYU 83.1

2.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.68 Q 5.20

$1.38 UYU 55.4

-50.72%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 Q 9.16

$1.85 UYU 74.5

-35.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.11 Q 31.39

$5.57 UYU 224

-26.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.11 Q 61.9

$8.89 UYU 357

-8.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 Q 13.30

$2.29 UYU 92.2

-24.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.73 Q 20.83

$2.70 UYU 109

1.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.29 Q 9.88

$1.52 UYU 61.3

-15.13%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$14.31 Q 109

$73.7 UYU 2,962

-80.57%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.16 Q 39.46

$1.82 UYU 73.4

183.52%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.40 UYU 16.05

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.46 Q 79.9

$10.66 UYU 429

-1.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 Q 10.17

$2.22 UYU 89.2

-40.09%

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

$27.3K Q 208.8K

$26.7K UYU 1.1M

2.18%

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

$25.3K Q 193.6K

$36.7K UYU 1.5M

-31.06%

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

$73.2 Q 559

$191 UYU 7,674

-61.65%

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

$28.62 Q 219

$20.40 UYU 820

40.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$45.27 Q 346

$44.14 UYU 1,775

2.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.18 Q 307

$54.1 UYU 2,177

-25.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.22 Q 101

$19.68 UYU 791

-32.83%

Cinema Ticket

$6.60 Q 50.5

$12.33 UYU 496

-46.47%

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

$334 Q 2,554

$613 UYU 24.7K

-45.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,809 Q 52.0K

$11.0K UYU 444.3K

-38.38%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.72 Q 380

$103 UYU 4,134

-51.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.13 Q 368

$56.1 UYU 2,255

-14.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$120 Q 916

$124 UYU 5,000

-3.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$112 Q 857

$130 UYU 5,214

-13.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$837 Q 6,396

$705 UYU 28.4K

18.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$534 Q 4,082

$575 UYU 23.1K

-7.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,537 Q 11.7K

$1,139 UYU 45.8K

34.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$803 Q 6,139

$1,016 UYU 40.8K

-20.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,071 Q 15.8K

$3,349 UYU 134.6K

-38.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,092 Q 8,343

$1,942 UYU 78.1K

-43.77%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$841 Q 6,425

$1,229 UYU 49.4K

-31.60%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.62

5.74

102.44%

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

Last update for Guatemala City: October 4, 2026

Last update for Montevideo: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Guatemala City

$534 39.8%

Montevideo

$575 32.3% 7.7% $41

Groceries & Markets

Guatemala City

$283 21.1%

Montevideo

$332 18.7% 17.6% $50

Eating Out

Guatemala City

$151 11.3%

Montevideo

$271 15.2% 79.6% $120

Clothing & Footwear

Guatemala City

$148 11.1%

Montevideo

$186 10.4% 25.2% $37

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Guatemala City

$147 11%

Montevideo

$255 14.3% 73.6% $108

Sport & Entertainment

Guatemala City

$53 4%

Montevideo

$79 4.4% 47.6% $25

Getting Around

Guatemala City

$25 * 1.8%

Montevideo

$84 4.7% 239% $59

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 $705 in Montevideo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Montevideo pays 46% 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 $67.0 in Montevideo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $283 vs $332 per month, with Guatemala City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇹 Guatemala City

🇺🇾 Montevideo

🕒 Local time

05:34 5:34 AM

08:34 8:34 AM

3 h ahead of Guatemala City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,450,212 Capital

1,319,108 Capital

💱 Currency

Guatemalan Quetzal GTQ Q

Uruguayan Peso UYU $U

📈 Exchange rate

1 GTQ = 0.131 USD

1 GTQ = 0.117 EUR

100 UYU = 2.49 USD

100 UYU = 2.22 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

UYU, 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 = 8.56 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.117 EUR).

Uruguayan Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 40.21 UYU (100 UYU = 2.49 USD). 1 EUR = 45.06 UYU (100 UYU = 2.22 EUR).

USD to GTQ in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Guatemala City Montevideo 6,590 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Guatemala City
Montevideo

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 Montevideo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Guatemala City wins on cost – living expenses run 36% lower than in Montevideo. 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 46% lower in Montevideo. 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: $837 in Guatemala City versus $705 in Montevideo. 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 $67.0 in Montevideo. 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 $1,813 in Montevideo – a 36% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,334 in Guatemala City versus $1,813 in Montevideo, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Guatemala City but tight or insufficient in Montevideo. 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 $1,334 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 Montevideo 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 36% less than in Montevideo. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.