Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Montevideo and Guatemala City

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.

86

Cost of Living Index in Montevideo
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Montevideo Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Guatemala City
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Guatemala City Living Index

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Montevideo

🇺🇾 Uruguay

$1,813

/mo nomad

Guatemala City

🇬🇹 Guatemala

$1,334

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Montevideo 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 Montevideo and in Guatemala City actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

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

Montevideo $1,813
Guatemala City $1,334

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

Montevideo $2,782
Guatemala City $2,040

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

Montevideo $3,750
Guatemala City $2,746

Living in Montevideo is roughly 36% 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: Montevideo 35% above, Guatemala City 0% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.26 UYU 613

$6.84 Q 52.2

123.10%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.4 UYU 2,707

$49.83 Q 381

35.32%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$14.37 UYU 577

$7.72 Q 59.0

86.14%

Cappuccino

$4.64 UYU 186

$3.24 Q 24.80

43.21%

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

$2.73 UYU 110

$1.11 Q 8.46

145.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.09 UYU 83.9

$0.98 Q 7.49

113.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.75 UYU 191

$3.22 Q 24.59

47.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.67 UYU 147

$4.88 Q 37.30

-24.80%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.38 UYU 55.4

$2.11 Q 16.11

-34.60%

White Bread (500g)

$2.77 UYU 111

$3.04 Q 23.22

-8.88%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.69 UYU 67.7

$2.09 Q 15.96

-19.14%

Eggs

$4.52 UYU 182

$2.51 Q 19.15

80.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.17 UYU 569

$6.16 Q 47.10

130.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.07 UYU 485

$9.55 Q 73.0

26.39%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.16 UYU 488

$13.51 Q 103

-9.99%

Apples (1kg)

$2.87 UYU 115

$4.00 Q 30.54

-28.25%

Banana (1kg)

$2.75 UYU 110

$1.71 Q 13.05

60.82%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.73 UYU 69.4

$2.83 Q 21.63

-38.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.24 UYU 130

$1.65 Q 12.61

96.36%

Potato (1kg)

$2.07 UYU 83.0

$1.49 Q 11.37

38.93%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 UYU 83.0

$2.12 Q 16.21

-2.36%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.38 UYU 55.4

$0.68 Q 5.20

102.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.85 UYU 74.4

$1.20 Q 9.16

54.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.57 UYU 224

$4.11 Q 31.39

35.52%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.89 UYU 357

$8.11 Q 61.9

9.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.29 UYU 92.1

$1.74 Q 13.30

31.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.70 UYU 108

$2.73 Q 20.83

-1.10%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.52 UYU 61.2

$1.29 Q 9.88

17.83%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$73.7 UYU 2,958

$14.31 Q 109

414.74%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.82 UYU 73.3

$5.16 Q 39.46

-64.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.40 UYU 16.02

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.66 UYU 428

$10.46 Q 79.9

1.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.22 UYU 89.0

$1.33 Q 10.17

66.92%

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

$26.7K UYU 1.1M

$27.3K Q 208.8K

-2.13%

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

$36.7K UYU 1.5M

$25.3K Q 193.6K

45.06%

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

$191 UYU 7,662

$73.2 Q 559

160.78%

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

$20.40 UYU 819

$28.62 Q 219

-28.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.14 UYU 1,772

$45.27 Q 346

-2.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.1 UYU 2,174

$40.18 Q 307

34.74%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.68 UYU 790

$13.22 Q 101

48.87%

Cinema Ticket

$12.33 UYU 495

$6.60 Q 50.5

86.82%

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

$613 UYU 24.6K

$334 Q 2,554

83.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.0K UYU 443.6K

$6,809 Q 52.0K

62.29%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$103 UYU 4,128

$49.72 Q 380

106.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.1 UYU 2,251

$48.13 Q 368

16.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$124 UYU 4,993

$120 Q 916

3.72%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 UYU 5,207

$112 Q 857

15.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$705 UYU 28.3K

$837 Q 6,396

-15.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$575 UYU 23.1K

$534 Q 4,082

7.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,139 UYU 45.7K

$1,537 Q 11.7K

-25.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,016 UYU 40.8K

$803 Q 6,139

26.43%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,349 UYU 134.4K

$2,071 Q 15.8K

61.68%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,942 UYU 78.0K

$1,092 Q 8,344

77.85%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,229 UYU 49.4K

$841 Q 6,425

46.20%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.74

11.62

-50.60%

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

Last update for Montevideo: October 5, 2026

Last update for Guatemala City: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Montevideo

$575 32.3%

Guatemala City

$534 39.8% 7.2% $41

Groceries & Markets

Montevideo

$332 18.7%

Guatemala City

$283 21.1% 15% $50

Eating Out

Montevideo

$271 15.2%

Guatemala City

$151 11.3% 44.3% $120

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Montevideo

$255 14.3%

Guatemala City

$147 11% 42.4% $108

Clothing & Footwear

Montevideo

$186 10.4%

Guatemala City

$148 11.1% 20.1% $37

Getting Around

Montevideo

$84 4.7%

Guatemala City

$25 * 1.8% 70.5% $59

Sport & Entertainment

Montevideo

$79 4.4%

Guatemala City

$53 4% 32.2% $25

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 $705 in Montevideo and $837 in Guatemala City. 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: $67.0 in Montevideo vs $50.0 in Guatemala City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $332 vs $283 per month, with Guatemala City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇾 Montevideo

🇬🇹 Guatemala City

🕒 Local time

02:43 2:43 AM

23:43 11:43 PM

3 h behind Montevideo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,319,108 Capital

2,450,212 Capital

💱 Currency

Uruguayan Peso UYU $U

Guatemalan Quetzal GTQ Q

📈 Exchange rate

100 UYU = 2.49 USD

100 UYU = 2.22 EUR

1 GTQ = 0.131 USD

1 GTQ = 0.117 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GTQ, USD, EUR to UYU – Uruguayan Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇺🇾 Uruguayan Peso ($U)

Uruguayan Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 40.15 UYU (100 UYU = 2.49 USD). 1 EUR = 45.03 UYU (100 UYU = 2.22 EUR).

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).

USD to UYU in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

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

From you

Montevideo
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

Montevideo vs Guatemala City: 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.

Average pay runs 46% higher in Montevideo, 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: $705 in Montevideo versus $837 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 $67.0 in Montevideo. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,813 per month in Montevideo versus $1,334 in Guatemala City – 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, Montevideo 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 36% less than in Montevideo. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.