Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Guatemala City and Rio de Janeiro

For one person, living costs are similar in Guatemala City and in Rio de Janeiro: $1,334 and $1,285 a month, rent and utilities included.

65

Cost of Living Index in Guatemala City
Learn more

Guatemala City Living Index
63

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
Learn more

Rio de Janeiro Living Index

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Guatemala City

🇬🇹 Guatemala

$1,334

/mo nomad

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,285

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Guatemala City and in Rio de Janeiro

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 Rio de Janeiro actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,334 in Guatemala City versus $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro.

Guatemala City $1,334
Rio de Janeiro $1,285

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,040 in Guatemala City versus $1,888 in Rio de Janeiro.

Guatemala City $2,040
Rio de Janeiro $1,888

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,746 in Guatemala City versus $2,491 in Rio de Janeiro.

Guatemala City $2,746
Rio de Janeiro $2,491

Living in Guatemala City is roughly 4% more expensive than in Rio de Janeiro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Guatemala City is 0% above, Rio de Janeiro is 4% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.84 Q 52.2

$9.98 R$50.1

-31.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$49.83 Q 381

$40.34 R$202

23.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.72 Q 59.0

$8.48 R$42.57

-8.96%

Cappuccino

$3.24 Q 24.80

$2.36 R$11.86

37.29%

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

$1.11 Q 8.46

$1.63 R$8.18

-31.90%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 Q 7.49

$1.01 R$5.09

-2.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.22 Q 24.59

$2.44 R$12.25

31.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.88 Q 37.30

$3.69 R$18.53

32.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.11 Q 16.11

$1.15 R$5.75

83.48%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 Q 23.22

$2.07 R$10.40

46.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.09 Q 15.96

$1.29 R$6.45

62.02%

Eggs

$2.51 Q 19.15

$2.27 R$11.38

10.57%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.16 Q 47.10

$11.00 R$55.2

-44.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.55 Q 73.0

$4.31 R$21.62

121.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.51 Q 103

$9.74 R$48.88

38.71%

Apples (1kg)

$4.00 Q 30.54

$2.83 R$14.19

41.34%

Banana (1kg)

$1.71 Q 13.05

$1.84 R$9.21

-7.07%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.83 Q 21.63

$1.60 R$8.01

76.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.65 Q 12.61

$1.80 R$9.04

-8.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.49 Q 11.37

$1.26 R$6.31

18.25%

Onion (1kg)

$2.12 Q 16.21

$1.07 R$5.37

98.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.68 Q 5.20

$0.75 R$3.77

-9.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 Q 9.16

$0.66 R$3.31

81.82%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.11 Q 31.39

$3.05 R$15.29

34.75%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.11 Q 61.9

$8.18 R$41.05

-0.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 Q 13.30

$1.19 R$5.95

46.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.73 Q 20.83

$2.39 R$11.98

14.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.29 Q 9.88

$1.01 R$5.08

27.72%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$14.31 Q 109

$50.2 R$252

-71.47%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.16 Q 39.46

$1.27 R$6.37

306.30%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R$4.53

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.46 Q 79.9

$9.44 R$47.37

10.81%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 Q 10.17

$1.33 R$6.69

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

$27.3K Q 208.8K

$23.4K R$117.6K

16.63%

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

$25.3K Q 193.6K

$33.6K R$168.5K

-24.56%

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

$73.2 Q 559

$134 R$670

-45.18%

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

$28.62 Q 219

$12.23 R$61.4

134.01%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$45.27 Q 346

$22.65 R$114

99.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.18 Q 307

$31.56 R$158

27.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.22 Q 101

$30.87 R$155

-57.18%

Cinema Ticket

$6.60 Q 50.5

$8.23 R$41.29

-19.81%

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

$334 Q 2,554

$603 R$3,027

-44.59%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,809 Q 52.0K

$13.2K R$66.4K

-48.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.72 Q 380

$41.62 R$209

19.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.13 Q 368

$49.94 R$251

-3.62%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$120 Q 916

$75.0 R$377

59.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$112 Q 857

$68.3 R$343

64.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$837 Q 6,396

$905 R$4,543

-7.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$534 Q 4,082

$527 R$2,647

1.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,537 Q 11.7K

$1,346 R$6,755

14.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$803 Q 6,139

$774 R$3,885

3.75%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,071 Q 15.8K

$3,981 R$20.0K

-47.97%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,092 Q 8,344

$1,562 R$7,838

-30.10%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$841 Q 6,425

$643 R$3,227

30.76%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.62

11.93

-2.60%

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

Last update for Guatemala City: October 4, 2026

Last update for Rio de Janeiro: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Guatemala City

$534 39.8%

Rio de Janeiro

$527 41% 1.3% $6.7

Groceries & Markets

Guatemala City

$283 21.1%

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7% 24.1% $68

Eating Out

Guatemala City

$151 11.3%

Rio de Janeiro

$164 12.7% 8.5% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Guatemala City

$148 11.1%

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2% 28.8% $43

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Guatemala City

$147 11%

Rio de Janeiro

$168 13.1% 14.5% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Guatemala City

$53 4%

Rio de Janeiro

$48 3.7% 10.1% $5.4

Getting Around

Guatemala City

$25 * 1.8%

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7% 143% $35

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 $905 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Guatemala City pays 31% 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 $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $283 vs $215 per month, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇹 Guatemala City

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🕒 Local time

20:59 8:59 PM

23:59 11:59 PM

3 h ahead of Guatemala City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,450,212 Capital

6,211,223

💱 Currency

Guatemalan Quetzal GTQ Q

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1 GTQ = 0.131 USD

1 GTQ = 0.117 EUR

1 BRL = 0.199 USD

1 BRL = 0.178 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, 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 = 8.57 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.117 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 5.02 BRL (1 BRL = 0.199 USD). 1 EUR = 5.63 BRL (1 BRL = 0.178 EUR).

USD to GTQ in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Guatemala City Rio de Janeiro 6,630 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Guatemala City
Rio de Janeiro

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 Rio de Janeiro: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Rio de Janeiro wins on cost – living expenses run 4% lower than in Guatemala City. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Rio de Janeiro the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 31% 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: $837 in Guatemala City versus $905 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Rio de Janeiro – a meal for two runs $40.00 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 $1,334 per month in Guatemala City versus $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro – a 4% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,334 in Guatemala City, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Rio de Janeiro but tight or insufficient in Guatemala City. The gap between the two cities makes Rio de Janeiro the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Rio de Janeiro delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,285 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Rio de Janeiro hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Rio de Janeiro gentler on the wallet – expenses run 4% less than in Guatemala City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.