Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Guatemala City

For one person, living is cheaper in Guatemala City: $1,346 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $10,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
66

Cost of Living Index in Guatemala City
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Guatemala City Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Guatemala City

🇬🇹 Guatemala

$1,346

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,223 in Lisbon versus $1,346 in Guatemala City.

Lisbon $2,223
Guatemala City $1,346

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,271 in Lisbon versus $2,023 in Guatemala City.

Lisbon $3,271
Guatemala City $2,023

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,319 in Lisbon versus $2,701 in Guatemala City.

Lisbon $4,319
Guatemala City $2,701

Living in Lisbon is roughly 65% more expensive than in Guatemala City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lisbon 65% above, Guatemala City 0% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.50 €14.67

$6.83 Q 52.2

141.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.3 €54.5

$50.3 Q 385

21.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.27 €10.03

$7.83 Q 59.9

43.93%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$3.43 Q 26.24

-10.79%

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

$2.26 €2.01

$1.15 Q 8.79

96.52%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 €1.54

$0.98 Q 7.48

76.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.39 €3.02

$3.18 Q 24.28

6.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 €3.02

$4.68 Q 35.76

-27.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 €1.00

$2.03 Q 15.52

-44.83%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.65

$3.02 Q 23.06

-38.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 €1.36

$2.09 Q 16.00

-26.79%

Eggs

$3.96 €3.53

$2.50 Q 19.09

58.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.76 €11.35

$6.37 Q 48.71

100.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.02

$9.16 Q 70.0

-13.76%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.97 €15.09

$13.08 Q 100.0

29.74%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$3.98 Q 30.46

-42.96%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$1.72 Q 13.19

1.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$2.87 Q 21.97

-35.54%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.57 €2.28

$1.64 Q 12.56

56.71%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.47 Q 11.21

26.53%

Onion (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$2.15 Q 16.47

-6.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 €1.28

$0.68 Q 5.23

111.76%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 €0.73

$1.20 Q 9.14

-31.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.56 €5.83

$4.16 Q 31.83

57.69%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.62 €5.00

$7.98 Q 61.0

-29.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 €1.14

$1.74 Q 13.32

-26.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 €1.84

$2.67 Q 20.45

-22.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.35 €2.09

$1.28 Q 9.79

83.59%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.18 €39.30

$14.30 Q 109

208.95%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.99 €3.55

$5.11 Q 39.07

-21.92%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 €0.97

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.64 €14.81

$10.27 Q 78.6

62.03%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.39 Q 10.64

64.03%

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

$33.7K €30.0K

$27.8K Q 212.7K

21.04%

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

$39.3K €35.0K

$25.5K Q 194.9K

54.12%

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

$167 €149

$71.7 Q 548

133.63%

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

$18.80 €16.72

$29.01 Q 222

-35.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.09 €29.43

$46.39 Q 355

-28.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.01 €40.93

$39.85 Q 305

15.46%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.19 €17.07

$12.94 Q 99.0

48.30%

Cinema Ticket

$9.84 €8.75

$6.52 Q 49.85

50.92%

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

$677 €602

$336 Q 2,565

101.84%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K €15.1K

$6,630 Q 50.7K

155.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 €90.1

$49.45 Q 378

104.73%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.76 €40.70

$47.87 Q 366

-4.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100.0 €88.9

$119 Q 913

-16.27%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 €109

$114 Q 875

7.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,614 €1,436

$828 Q 6,329

94.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 €1,065

$540 Q 4,130

121.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,862 €2,545

$1,522 Q 11.6K

88.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,990 €1,770

$821 Q 6,273

142.55%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,577 €6,740

$2,017 Q 15.4K

275.75%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,307 €3,831

$1,072 Q 8,196

301.77%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,588 €1,412

$863 Q 6,602

83.87%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

11.62

-66.87%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Last update for Guatemala City: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9%

Guatemala City

$540 40.2% 54.9% $657

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$269 12.1%

Guatemala City

$279 20.7% 3.5% $9.4

Eating Out

Lisbon

$242 10.9%

Guatemala City

$153 11.4% 36.8% $89

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$219 9.9%

Guatemala City

$147 10.9% 32.9% $72

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Guatemala City

$149 11.1% 10.4% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$66 3%

Guatemala City

$53 3.9% 19.5% $13

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.8%

Guatemala City

$25 * 1.8% 61.1% $38

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 $1,614 in Lisbon and $828 in Guatemala City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 84% 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: $61.0 in Lisbon vs $50.0 in Guatemala City. Groceries flip the comparison at $269 vs $279, with Lisbon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇬🇹 Guatemala City

🕒 Local time

13:34 1:34 PM

06:34 6:34 AM

7 h behind Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

2,450,212 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Guatemalan Quetzal GTQ Q

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 GTQ = 0.131 USD

1 GTQ = 0.116 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GTQ, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

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).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Guatemala City 8,260 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Guatemala 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

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

Guatemala City wins on cost – living expenses run 65% lower than in Lisbon. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Guatemala City the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 84% higher in Lisbon, 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: $1,614 in Lisbon versus $828 in Guatemala 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 $61.0 in Lisbon. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $2,223 per month in Lisbon versus $1,346 in Guatemala City – a 65% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,346 in Guatemala City versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Guatemala City but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. 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.

Safety-wise, Lisbon and Guatemala City 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 65% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.