Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Guatemala City and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,207 a month against $1,346 in Guatemala City, rent and utilities included – about $1,700 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

66

Cost of Living Index in Guatemala City
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Guatemala City Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index

Jump to prices

Guatemala City

🇬🇹 Guatemala

$1,346

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,346 in Guatemala City versus $1,207 in Phuket.

Guatemala City $1,346
Phuket $1,207

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,023 in Guatemala City versus $2,037 in Phuket.

Guatemala City $2,023
Phuket $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,701 in Guatemala City versus $2,867 in Phuket.

Guatemala City $2,701
Phuket $2,867

Living in Guatemala City is roughly 11% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

The two cities straddle the global median: Guatemala City is 0% above, Phuket is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.83 Q 52.2

$4.58 ฿153

49.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.3 Q 385

$32.48 ฿1,086

54.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.83 Q 59.9

$8.55 ฿286

-8.42%

Cappuccino

$3.43 Q 26.24

$2.72 ฿91.0

26.10%

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

$1.15 Q 8.79

$0.94 ฿31.25

22.34%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 Q 7.48

$0.49 ฿16.39

100.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 Q 24.28

$2.59 ฿86.6

22.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.68 Q 35.76

$3.83 ฿128

22.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.03 Q 15.52

$1.74 ฿58.1

16.67%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 Q 23.06

$1.43 ฿47.82

111.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.09 Q 16.00

$1.53 ฿51.0

36.60%

Eggs

$2.50 Q 19.09

$2.17 ฿72.7

15.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.37 Q 48.71

$19.15 ฿640

-66.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.16 Q 70.0

$3.30 ฿110

177.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.08 Q 100.0

$11.14 ฿372

17.41%

Apples (1kg)

$3.98 Q 30.46

$2.95 ฿98.5

34.92%

Banana (1kg)

$1.72 Q 13.19

$1.68 ฿56.1

2.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.87 Q 21.97

$2.30 ฿76.8

24.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.64 Q 12.56

$2.13 ฿71.3

-23.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.47 Q 11.21

$1.53 ฿51.1

-3.92%

Onion (1kg)

$2.15 Q 16.47

$1.36 ฿45.55

58.09%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.68 Q 5.23

$1.12 ฿37.44

-39.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 Q 9.14

$0.55 ฿18.24

118.18%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.16 Q 31.83

$4.26 ฿142

-2.35%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.98 Q 61.0

$18.19 ฿608

-56.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 Q 13.32

$1.74 ฿58.2

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 Q 20.45

$2.79 ฿93.3

-4.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.28 Q 9.79

$2.22 ฿74.1

-42.34%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$14.30 Q 109

$22.06 ฿737

-35.18%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.11 Q 39.07

$2.91 ฿97.3

75.60%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.01 ฿33.79

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.27 Q 78.6

$3.83 ฿128

168.15%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.39 Q 10.64

$1.49 ฿49.85

-6.71%

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

$27.8K Q 212.7K

$26.7K ฿891.6K

4.28%

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

$25.5K Q 194.9K

$26.7K ฿892.7K

-4.55%

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

$71.7 Q 548

$99.4 ฿3,321

-27.86%

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

$29.01 Q 222

$11.28 ฿377

157.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$46.39 Q 355

$17.36 ฿580

167.22%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.85 Q 305

$52.3 ฿1,747

-23.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.94 Q 99.0

$10.85 ฿362

19.26%

Cinema Ticket

$6.52 Q 49.85

$7.57 ฿253

-13.87%

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

$336 Q 2,565

$558 ฿18.7K

-39.90%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,630 Q 50.7K

$11.5K ฿383.9K

-42.29%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.45 Q 378

$62.9 ฿2,102

-21.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.87 Q 366

$28.58 ฿955

67.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$119 Q 913

$96.1 ฿3,213

24.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$114 Q 875

$88.1 ฿2,943

30.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$828 Q 6,329

$729 ฿24.4K

13.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$540 Q 4,130

$460 ฿15.4K

17.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,522 Q 11.6K

$2,096 ฿70.0K

-27.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$821 Q 6,273

$1,222 ฿40.8K

-32.87%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,017 Q 15.4K

$3,459 ฿115.6K

-41.70%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,072 Q 8,196

$2,489 ฿83.2K

-56.93%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$863 Q 6,602

$493 ฿16.5K

75.13%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.62

5.57

108.62%

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

Last update for Guatemala City: October 12, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Guatemala City

$540 40.2%

Phuket

$460 38.1% 14.8% $80

Groceries & Markets

Guatemala City

$279 20.7%

Phuket

$268 22.2% 4% $11

Eating Out

Guatemala City

$153 11.4%

Phuket

$121 10.1% 20.7% $32

Clothing & Footwear

Guatemala City

$149 11.1%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 16.8% $25

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Guatemala City

$147 10.9%

Phuket

$128 10.6% 13% $19

Sport & Entertainment

Guatemala City

$53 3.9%

Phuket

$67 5.6% 27.5% $15

Getting Around

Guatemala City

$25 * 1.8%

Phuket

$39 3.2% 58.5% $14

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 $729 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Guatemala City pays 75% 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 $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $279 vs $268 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇹 Guatemala City

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

06:34 6:34 AM

19:34 7:34 PM

13 h ahead of Guatemala City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,450,212 Capital

79,308

💱 Currency

Guatemalan Quetzal GTQ Q

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 GTQ = 0.131 USD

1 GTQ = 0.116 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, 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).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to GTQ in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Guatemala City Phuket 17,320 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Guatemala City
Phuket

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 Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket wins on cost – living expenses run 11% lower than in Guatemala City. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Phuket the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 75% 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: $828 in Guatemala City versus $729 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32.00 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 $1,346 per month in Guatemala City versus $1,207 in Phuket – a 11% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,207 in Phuket versus $1,346 in Guatemala City, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Guatemala City. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Phuket delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,207 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Phuket hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Guatemala City and Phuket 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 Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 11% less than in Guatemala City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.