Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and Quetzaltenango

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $1,012 a month against $1,148 in Quetzaltenango, rent and utilities included – about $1,600 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index
56

Cost of Living Index in Quetzaltenango
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Quetzaltenango Living Index

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Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,012

/mo nomad

Quetzaltenango

🇬🇹 Guatemala

$1,148

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lima and in Quetzaltenango

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Lima and in Quetzaltenango actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,012 in Lima versus $1,148 in Quetzaltenango.

Lima $1,012
Quetzaltenango $1,148

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,589 in Lima versus $1,444 in Quetzaltenango.

Lima $1,589
Quetzaltenango $1,444

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,167 in Lima versus $1,741 in Quetzaltenango.

Lima $2,167
Quetzaltenango $1,741

Living in Lima costs roughly 12% less than in Quetzaltenango, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Lima 25% lower, Quetzaltenango 15% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 PEN 15.10

$6.78 Q 51.9

-35.10%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.17 PEN 121

$49.64 Q 380

-29.15%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.89 PEN 23.65

$7.66 Q 58.6

-10.05%

Cappuccino

$3.26 PEN 11.20

$3.26 Q 24.91

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

$1.12 PEN 3.84

$1.15 Q 8.77

-2.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.62 PEN 2.11

$0.91 Q 6.97

-31.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 PEN 9.09

$3.35 Q 25.60

-20.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 PEN 15.15

$4.66 Q 35.65

-5.36%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.63 PEN 5.61

$2.01 Q 15.36

-18.91%

White Bread (500g)

$2.56 PEN 8.78

$2.66 Q 20.33

-3.76%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.35 PEN 4.65

$2.13 Q 16.30

-36.62%

Eggs

$2.90 PEN 9.96

$2.51 Q 19.16

15.54%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.85 PEN 30.38

$6.44 Q 49.23

37.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.98 PEN 20.52

$7.96 Q 60.9

-24.87%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.78 PEN 33.59

$12.86 Q 98.3

-23.95%

Apples (1kg)

$2.05 PEN 7.02

$2.86 Q 21.90

-28.32%

Banana (1kg)

$1.06 PEN 3.66

$1.70 Q 13.02

-37.65%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.35 PEN 4.64

$2.92 Q 22.30

-53.77%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 PEN 5.15

$1.64 Q 12.55

-8.54%

Potato (1kg)

$0.88 PEN 3.03

$1.55 Q 11.81

-43.23%

Onion (1kg)

$0.92 PEN 3.15

$2.19 Q 16.71

-57.99%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.89 PEN 3.07

$0.69 Q 5.31

28.99%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 PEN 3.10

$1.19 Q 9.10

-24.37%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.90 PEN 20.27

$3.35 Q 25.64

76.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.52 PEN 29.26

$8.09 Q 61.9

5.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.88 PEN 6.45

$1.72 Q 13.18

9.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.22 PEN 11.05

$2.71 Q 20.70

18.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 PEN 2.33

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.86 PEN 92.2

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.81 PEN 13.09

$5.15 Q 39.38

-26.02%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.02 PEN 6.93

$1.73 Q 13.22

16.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.11 PEN 24.41

$10.56 Q 80.8

-32.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.72 PEN 5.91

$1.38 Q 10.57

24.64%

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

$22.3K PEN 76.6K

$27.5K Q 210.6K

-18.99%

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

$25.5K PEN 87.6K

$25.3K Q 193.3K

0.90%

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

$73.1 PEN 251

$72.7 Q 556

0.45%

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

$16.35 PEN 56.2

$13.06 Q 99.9

25.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.47 PEN 94.3

$46.29 Q 354

-40.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.90 PEN 110

$32.89 Q 251

-3.01%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.41 PEN 66.7

Cinema Ticket

$7.05 PEN 24.23

$6.35 Q 48.54

11.02%

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

$182 PEN 627

$342 Q 2,611

-46.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.0K PEN 44.8K

$6,757 Q 51.7K

93.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.8 PEN 185

$50.0 Q 382

7.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.32 PEN 118

$46.61 Q 356

-26.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.8 PEN 284

$110 Q 844

-24.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.2 PEN 269

$112 Q 857

-30.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 PEN 2,476

$397 Q 3,037

81.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$343 PEN 1,179

$398 Q 3,046

-13.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,219 PEN 4,186

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$651 PEN 2,235

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,414 PEN 8,292

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,357 PEN 4,660

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$648 PEN 2,226

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.94

11.62

-23.06%

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

Last update for Lima: October 11, 2026

Last update for Quetzaltenango: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lima

$343 33.9%

Quetzaltenango

$398 34.7% 16% $55

Groceries & Markets

Lima

$226 22.3%

Quetzaltenango

$264 23% 16.7% $38

Eating Out

Lima

$124 12.3%

Quetzaltenango

$151 13.1% 21.5% $27

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lima

$117 11.6%

Quetzaltenango

$132 11.5% 13% $15

Clothing & Footwear

Lima

$112 11.1%

Quetzaltenango

$144 12.5% 28.1% $31

Sport & Entertainment

Lima

$46 4.6%

Quetzaltenango

$46 4% 0.9% $0.4

Getting Around

Lima

$43 4.3%

Quetzaltenango

$14 * 1.2% 68.3% $30

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 $721 in Lima and $397 in Quetzaltenango. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $35.00 in Lima vs $50.0 in Quetzaltenango for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $226 vs $264 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Lima

🇬🇹 Quetzaltenango

🕒 Local time

11:48 11:48 AM

10:48 10:48 AM

1 h behind Lima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,989,369 Capital

500,000

💱 Currency

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

Guatemalan Quetzal GTQ Q

📈 Exchange rate

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 EUR

1 GTQ = 0.131 USD

1 GTQ = 0.116 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GTQ, USD, EUR to PEN – Peruvian Sol Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇪 Peruvian Sol (S/)

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

Guatemalan Quetzal exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 7.65 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.131 USD). 1 EUR = 8.6 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.116 EUR).

USD to PEN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lima Quetzaltenango 3,390 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Lima
Quetzaltenango

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

Lima vs Quetzaltenango: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lima and Quetzaltenango differ by about 13% in total monthly costs ($1,012 vs $1,148 including rent). Lima is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,518 in Lima and $1,722 in Quetzaltenango 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: $721 in Lima versus $397 in Quetzaltenango. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 17% higher in Quetzaltenango. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,012 per month in Lima versus $1,148 in Quetzaltenango – a 13% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,012 in Lima versus $1,148 in Quetzaltenango, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in Quetzaltenango. The gap between the two cities makes Lima 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.

Expats usually find Lima gentler on the wallet – expenses run 13% less than in Quetzaltenango. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.