Quetzales to dollars converter
Convert Guatemalan quetzales (GTQ) to US dollars (USD) instantly. The calculator above loads the Bank of Guatemala (Banguat) official reference when available; you can still override the rate from your bank or remittance app.
Jump to common amounts with the chips: Q60, Q70, Q75, Q85, Q100, Q200, Q300, Q500, Q1,000, Q2,000, Q5,000, Q10,000, Q50,000, and Q100,000.
- 100 quetzales → $13.12
- 300 quetzales → $39.37
- 2,000 quetzales → $262.47
- 100,000 quetzales → $13,123.36
Formula: USD = GTQ ÷ rate. For today’s value, use the live rate in the calculator (not this static table).
GTQ ↔ USD formula
Dollars = Quetzales ÷ Exchange rate (GTQ per 1 USD)
Quetzales = Dollars × Exchange rate
The reference mid-market rate is published by the Bank of Guatemala (Banguat). Banks, street houses, and remittance apps add their own buy/sell spread. This page is an educational estimate (verified August 2026): always confirm with your provider before you send money.
Common quetzales → dollars amounts
Example table at a hypothetical rate of Q7.62 per USD: it is only an arithmetic illustration to follow the formula, not an official reference and not any specific date's rate. The only rate that matters is the one the calculator loads from the Bank of Guatemala for the day.
| Quetzales (GTQ) | Dollars (USD)* | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Q50 | $6.56 | Small cash |
| Q60 | $7.87 | Daily cash |
| Q70 | $9.19 | Daily spend |
| Q75 | $9.84 | Daily spend |
| Q85 | $11.15 | Daily spend |
| Q100 | $13.12 | Most common amount |
| Q200 | $26.25 | Two days of cash |
| Q300 | $39.37 | Small remittance slice |
| Q500 | $65.62 | Weekly float |
| Q1,000 | $131.23 | Partial remittance |
| Q2,000 | $262.47 | Mid-size send |
| Q5,000 | $656.17 | Tuition / business |
| Q10,000 | $1,312.34 | Medium transfer |
| Q50,000 | $6,561.68 | Large payout |
| Q100,000 | $13,123.36 | High-value estimate |
*Hypothetical example at Q7.62 per USD, with no date and no official source. The actual rate at your exchange house may differ. For Q100,000 at today’s rate, use the calculator above.
Inverse table: dollars → quetzales
Handy when a quote is in USD and you need GTQ (same Q7.62/USD example).
| Dollars (USD) | Quetzales (GTQ)* |
|---|---|
| $5 | Q38.10 |
| $10 | Q76.20 |
| $20 | Q152.40 |
| $50 | Q381.00 |
| $100 | Q762.00 |
| $200 | Q1,524.00 |
| $500 | Q3,810.00 |
| $1,000 | Q7,620.00 |
*Illustrative. Your house rate may differ.
Worked examples (same math as the tool)
How much is 100 quetzales in dollars?
At a hypothetical Q7.62/USD → 100 ÷ 7.62 = $13.12. With today’s Banguat rate the calculator updates automatically.
How much is 300 quetzales in dollars?
Example at Q7.62/USD → 300 ÷ 7.62 = $39.37.
How much is 2,000 quetzales in dollars?
Example at Q7.62/USD → 2,000 ÷ 7.62 = $262.47.
How much is 100,000 quetzales in dollars?
Example at Q7.62/USD → 100,000 ÷ 7.62 = $13,123.36 before fees. Adjust if your house quotes differently.
Inverse: $500 to quetzales
Example at Q7.62/USD → 500 × 7.62 = Q3,810.00.
Large amounts: property, tuition, and business
A large transfer needs a clear USD estimate before fees. Enter the exact GTQ amount, keep or override the prefilled Banguat rate, compare against your provider, and subtract remittance fees separately.
Never treat a static table as a live quote for a wire, bank transfer, or remittance app.
Remittances vs reference rate
- Banguat reference ≈ market average (what the calculator tries to load).
- Your app/bank rate is usually worse for you (spread).
- Fixed or % fee comes off the send or receive side.
To estimate net arrival in Guatemala, pair this conversion with the Guatemala remittances calculator.
How the quetzal–dollar exchange rate works
Under the Free Negotiation of Foreign Currency Act, holding, buying, selling and transferring foreign currency in Guatemala is unrestricted: the price comes from supply and demand. The Bank of Guatemala (Banguat) does not set the rate, but it does calculate and publish a daily reference rate using the methodology approved by the Monetary Board, and it can step in when the market moves abruptly. That combination is what a managed float means here.
For your own maths, that reference works as the market midpoint: your bank, your exchange house or your remittance app quote around it with their own buy/sell spread.
What moves the exchange rate
- Family remittances: the steadiest source of dollars in the country; when the flow rises, more foreign currency is on offer locally.
- Exports and services: coffee, sugar, bananas, cardamom, tourism and services bring dollars in through trade.
- Banguat monetary policy: the policy rate and the management of international reserves change the appeal of holding quetzales.
- Differential inflation: if prices rise faster in Guatemala than in the United States, the quetzal tends to lose ground.
- External environment: Federal Reserve decisions and global risk appetite move the dollar against every currency in the region.
- Seasonality: dollar demand usually picks up during holiday seasons and around the dates when remittances peak.
None of these factors works alone, which is why the rate moves every day and no static table can act as a quote.
Where to exchange quetzales for dollars (and back)
- Banks: quote close to the reference, are regulated and have branches nationwide. Typical hours: Monday to Friday 9:00–17:00 and Saturday 9:00–13:00; mall branches usually stay open longer.
- Exchange houses: quicker for small amounts and open longer hours in tourist areas and at land borders, but they usually apply a wider spread.
- ATMs: available 24/7 and useful outside banking hours. The 5B network and international networks cover the main cities.
- Hotels and airports: the most convenient option and almost always the most expensive; keep it for last-minute emergencies.
Guatemalan banks usually charge a flat fee per withdrawal, commonly in the Q15–25 range, plus whatever your own bank charges and, when the machine offers to convert into your currency, a worse rate. Withdraw larger amounts less often to dilute the fixed part.
Rate comparison: typical spread by institution (illustrative)
The table is illustrative only and uses a Q7.62-per-dollar midpoint. The spread is the buy/sell difference divided by that midpoint; Banguat publishes a new one every day, so use today's rate for real conversions.
| Institution | USD buy | USD sell | Spread vs midpoint |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily reference (illustrative midpoint) | Q7.62 | Q7.62 | 0% |
| Commercial banks | Q7.57 | Q7.67 | ~1.3% |
| Exchange houses | Q7.52 | Q7.72 | ~2.6% |
| Hotels and airports | Q7.42 | Q7.82 | ~5.2% |
*Illustrative ranges around a Q7.62 midpoint: they are not a quote for any specific date or counter. Compare the buy/sell you are offered against your own bank's spread before you change money.
Tips for getting the best rate
If you are visiting
- Compare two or three counters before you change: the gap between the airport bank and a downtown bank is usually wider than the ATM fee.
- Use bank ATMs, not machines inside shops, and decline the conversion into your own currency when the machine offers it.
- Pay by card where it is accepted: your issuer converts at a narrower spread than a hotel desk.
- Change only what you will spend in cash; cards work almost everywhere else in the country.
If you live in Guatemala
- Buy dollars when the quetzal is strong, not when a payment deadline is already on top of you.
- Check the rate your bank applies in online banking before you queue at the counter.
- If you receive remittances often, compare the effective rate on the receipt: fee plus spread explains almost all of the gap between providers.
- For large amounts, ask an authorized exchange house for a quote by phone before you move the money.
Legal and regulatory framework
- Daily reference: the Free Negotiation of Foreign Currency Act provides that Banguat calculates and publishes the quetzal's reference rate against the US dollar every day. The current methodology was set by the Monetary Board in 2006 (Resolution JM-126-2006, which repealed the 2001 methodology).
- Exchange houses: they must be authorized by the Monetary Board (Resolution JM-131-2001), and the Banking Superintendency supervises and inspects their foreign exchange operations.
- Freedom to exchange: any person, national or foreign, may buy, sell, hold and transfer foreign currency; the gains or losses on those operations belong to whoever carries them out.
- Records for obliged entities: the Anti-Money Laundering Act (Decree 67-2001, article 24) requires these entities to identify customers and to keep a daily record of cash transactions above US$10,000 or its equivalent in local currency.
- Declaration when entering or leaving the country: article 25 of the same act requires anyone, national or foreign, who carries more than US$10,000 in cash or documents to report it on the corresponding form at the port of entry or exit. Omitting or falsifying that declaration puts the money at risk of seizure and of proceedings before the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
How remittances affect the exchange rate
Family remittances are the steadiest dollar flow Guatemala receives. That constant trickle:
- Increases the supply of dollars in the local market, which tends to support the quetzal.
- Reduces volatility, because it arrives every month and does not depend on the export cycle.
- Feeds into Banguat decisions, since the central bank tracks the flow as part of the external sector.
The effect on the rate you see at a counter depends on how much of that money is converted into quetzales and how much stays in dollar accounts. For the monthly and annual detail, check the Bank of Guatemala's family remittance statistics.
How the rate has changed over time
Before the currency reform, Guatemala ran a far more administered regime. Under the Free Negotiation of Foreign Currency Act, in force since May 2001, the market sets the price of foreign currency and Banguat took over the job of calculating and publishing the daily reference, stepping in when the market moves in a disorderly way. Since then the quetzal has traded in a relatively narrow range against the dollar, with pressure episodes during external crises and a slow drift towards a stronger dollar.
Banguat’s official series also shows the decade ranges. These bands come from the daily sell-side reference rates the central bank publishes, from January 1990 to September 2026:
| Period | Reference rate (sell) | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1990–1999 | Q3.41 – Q7.84 | Transition from the administered regime to free negotiation of foreign currency |
| 2000–2009 | Q7.38 – Q8.36 | Act in force from May 2001 and the oil-price shock |
| 2010–2019 | Q7.27 – Q8.39 | Wide swings, then relative stability |
| 2020–2026 (to September) | Q7.61 – Q7.93 | A narrow band for the dollar |
*Ranges computed from the daily sell-side reference rates published by Banguat, January 1990 to September 2026. They are not a forecast: the rate for the day is whatever Banguat publishes.
Related tools
- Guatemala remittances: fees and net received
- Guatemala import calculator: landed cost in GTQ
- Currency converter
- Guatemala VAT (IVA)
FAQ
It depends on today’s rate. At a hypothetical Q7.62 per dollar, about $13.12 USD. The calculator prefills the Banguat reference when available and lets you override it.
At a hypothetical Q7.62/USD, about $39.37 USD. Use the Q300 chip or type the exact amount.
At a hypothetical Q7.62/USD, about $262.47 USD before remittance or exchange-house fees.
At a hypothetical Q7.62/USD, about $13,123.36 USD before fees. Confirm with today’s rate in the calculator.
Yes — it tries to load the Bank of Guatemala official reference. If the feed fails, it falls back to a backup rate and lets you edit the field. Banks and remittance apps may quote differently.
No. Apps take fees and usually a worse rate than the reference. Use the rate on your receipt and Calcufast’s remittances calculator to estimate net received.
Banguat publishes the day’s reference and banks and exchange houses adjust their boards after that, so compare two or three counters on the same morning. Outside banking hours an ATM is usually the only option.
Hotels, airlines and tourist areas often accept dollars, but the merchant chooses the rate it applies and it is rarely in your favour: you usually pay less when the price is charged in quetzales and you exchange at a bank or an authorized exchange house.
Banks and authorized exchange houses ask for identification: DPI if you are a resident, passport if you are a visitor. Guatemala’s anti-money-laundering law also requires them to identify customers and keep records, so larger amounts may require you to explain where the funds come from.
In tourist areas and city centres it is common, but carry only what you need: use ATMs in supervised places such as malls or bank branches, do not show bundles of notes, and split the money between two places.
If Guatemala runs higher inflation than the United States, the quetzal tends to depreciate to preserve purchasing power. Remittances and Banguat intervention can offset that tendency, so the link is not automatic.
It depends on what the money is for. Dollars hedge against devaluation and help with payments abroad; quetzales avoid paying the spread twice and give access to local products. At a hypothetical Q7.62 per dollar, $1,000 is Q7,620.00, and a round trip through a counter with a spread would cost you part of that amount.
Change money only at banks and at exchange houses authorized by the Monetary Board. An unauthorized counter may offer an attractive rate, but it is not supervised by the Banking Superintendency and it exposes you to counterfeit notes, to being followed from the premises, or to legal holds. If the deal happens on the street or inside a car, walk away.
Official sources
- Bank of Guatemala, today's reference exchange rate: www.banguat.gob.gt/cambio/tc/tccc.asp
- Bank of Guatemala, historical exchange-rate series: www.banguat.gob.gt/page/tipo-de-cambio
- Bank of Guatemala, Free Negotiation of Foreign Currency Act (Decree 94-2000): banguat.gob.gt/sites/default/files/banguat/leyes/2013/ley_negociacion_de_divisas.pdf
- Bank of Guatemala, reference exchange rate and current methodology: banguat.gob.gt/page/tipos-de-cambio-de-referencia
- Bank of Guatemala, Monetary Board resolutions on foreign currency (JM-131-2001, exchange houses): banguat.gob.gt/page/disposiciones-de-la-jm-relacionadas-con-la-ley-de-libre-negociacion-de-divisas
- Bank of Guatemala, Anti-Money Laundering Act (Decree 67-2001): banguat.gob.gt/sites/default/files/banguat/leyes/2013/ley_contra_lavado_de_dinero.pdf
- Banking Superintendency: www.sib.gob.gt
- Ministry of Public Finance: www.minfin.gob.gt