How much does a home nurse cost in Guatemala? The market range runs Q150 to Q500 per day depending on the level of care — basic assistance versus professional nursing with procedures — with some agencies advertising shifts from Q100. For planning a full month of care, that translates to roughly Q4,500-Q15,000 per month depending on shifts and profile, which is why working out what level your patient actually needs comes before asking anyone to quote.
This guide gives the ranges by format and profile, names the established agencies, and covers the two questions the Spanish-language market does not answer for a foreign or diaspora family: how to verify the nurse is licensed, and what changes legally if you hire an individual directly instead of an agency.
Quick summary: Per day Q150-500 by level of care (VirtualSalud 2025); shifts from Q100 at budget agencies. One-off visits (injection, dressing change) billed separately. Nurse salary on a payroll: average Q4,071/month; auxiliary Q4,038; professional Q4,589 (Computrabajo). Serious agencies quote after assessing the patient.
Dollar figures convert at the live Banguat reference rate — Q7.62 per US dollar as of 2026-09-01 — and update on their own. They are not typed-in literals.
Prices by Format
| Format | Range | USD (live rate) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Budget shift (basic care) | From Q100-150 | from ~$13 USD | Company and assistance, budget agencies |
| Full day — basic care | Q150-250 | ~$20 USD to ~$33 USD | Caregiver / auxiliary |
| Full day — nursing with procedures | Q300-500 | ~$39 USD to ~$66 USD | IV medication, wound care, oxygen therapy |
| Night shift | Quoted with surcharge | — | Overnight cover at agencies such as ViviMed |
| Per-event visit (injection, dressing) | Quoted individually | — | Cheaper than a full shift |
| Monthly 24/7 plan | Quoted after assessment | — | “Hospital at home” (Cuidare, Home Hospital) |
Why the range is so wide: a caregiver who accompanies and assists does not cost what a licensed professional nurse administering intravenous medication costs. Agencies quote after assessing the patient — treat a closed price offered for a complex case with no assessment as a warning sign, not a bargain.
Planning a month
Continuous cover works out to roughly Q4,500-Q15,000 per month (~$590 USD to ~$1967 USD ) depending on the shift pattern and the profile. The single decision that moves that figure by a factor of three is which level of care the patient actually needs — settle that first, then collect quotes.
Caregiver, Auxiliary or Professional Nurse
| Profile | What they do | Where they sit |
|---|---|---|
| Elderly caregiver | Hygiene, mobility, company, medication reminders | Low end (Q100-200/day) |
| Nursing auxiliary | The above + vital signs, oral medication, basic care | Middle (Q200-350/day) |
| Licensed professional nurse | IV/IM medication, wound and ulcer care, oxygen therapy, medical orders | High (Q300-500/day) |
If the patient needs assistance rather than clinical procedures, the cheaper and correct profile is a caregiver — see our elderly caregiver cost guide.
Verify the Licence First
A professional nurse must be colegiada y activa — a registered, active member of her professional association. Ask to see current proof, and treat an inability to produce it as disqualifying, not as an administrative detail.
This is the most important check on this page. It is the difference between someone qualified to administer intravenous medication in your home and someone who is not, and it is the one thing an agency’s marketing cannot substitute for. If you are hiring from abroad and cannot inspect the document yourself, have the relative who signs the contract do it and photograph it.
Established Agencies in Guatemala
| Agency | Focus |
|---|---|
| Cuidavida | Elderly care; nurses and caregivers; 8+ years |
| Home Hospital | 24-hour nursing |
| ViviMed | Daily, hourly and night shifts; weekly and monthly plans |
| Cuidare | Hospital at home with a supervising physician |
| Casa de los Ángeles | Home programmes (medication control) |
| enfermeria.com.gt | Elderly care, wound care |
There are also independent nurses on classifieds (Encuentra24, Facebook groups) — cheaper, but with no agency behind them.
Agency or Independent?
| Factor | Agency | Independent |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Higher | Lower |
| Replacement if absent | Yes — they send someone else | No |
| Supervision and protocol | Yes (some with a supervising physician) | Depends on the person |
| Credential verification | The agency does it | You do it |
| FEL invoice | Yes | Not always |
For a foreign or diaspora family, the replacement guarantee is usually what justifies the agency premium. An independent nurse who falls ill leaves a dependent patient with nobody, and arranging cover from another country at short notice is not realistic.
If You Hire an Individual Directly: the Legal Question
This is where a confident answer would be worse than an honest one, so here is exactly what we know and what we do not.
If you contract an agency, the agency is the employer. Your relationship is a service contract.
If you hire an individual to work a regular schedule in your home, the picture changes. Our domestic worker minimum wage page lists cuidadoras — caregivers for elderly, sick or disabled family members — among the roles covered by the household-worker regime, which carries:
- The Non-Agricultural minimum wage for the zone: Q4,252.28/month CE1, Q4,066.90 CE2 (2026, bonus included)
- Bono 14 (one base salary, July 1-15) and Aguinaldo (one base salary, half December 1-20 and half in the first half of January), both calculated on the Q4,002.28 base, excluding the Q250 bonus
- 15 working days of paid vacation after one year, one full rest day per week, 8h/day and 44h/week with overtime at +50%
- Severance of one base salary per year of service on dismissal without just cause
- IGSS via PRECAPI — a fixed Q303.66 per quarter for the employer (~Q101/month), Q455.49 combined, paid quarterly in advance at Banrural, covering medical care, maternity at 100% for 84 days, work-accident care and IVS pension credit. See IGSS-PRECAPI for domestic workers and IGSS employer registration.
What we cannot tell you. That page does not address a licensed nurse engaged case by case for clinical procedures. Where exactly the line falls between a household caregiver and a self-employed colegiada professional on a per-shift contract is not something we have a sourced answer for, and we are not going to guess. Ask a Guatemalan labour lawyer before assuming either way — particularly if the arrangement is going to run for months.
What is clear either way: our hiring guide notes that occasional, genuinely independent work is one thing, while the same person working a fixed schedule for months is an employee, and those obligations attach retroactively. Regularity is the risk factor, whichever profile you hire.
Hiring from Abroad for a Relative
The obligations do not soften because you are not in the country. Per our domestic worker wage page, a US-based employer owes exactly what a Guatemala-based one owes, and the practical setup is: have a trusted relative or a Guatemalan attorney sign under a poder especial, pay by bank transfer so every payment is documented, register the worker in IGSS-PRECAPI, set calendar reminders for Bono 14 in July and Aguinaldo in December, and keep 6+ years of payment records.
Two additions specific to nursing care:
- Have someone physically verify the licence and the agency contract before the first shift.
- Insist on the patient assessment, even remotely. A quote given without one, for a case you cannot inspect yourself, is the worst combination on this page.
The full process — finding, vetting, contracting, payroll and ending the relationship — is in our guide to hiring domestic help in Guatemala, and the document itself on our employment contract format page.
How to Get a Good Quote
- Define the real level of care — company and assistance, or nursing procedures? This is the number one price variable
- Ask for a patient assessment — serious agencies do one before giving a final price
- Compare 2-3 agencies with the same case described identically
- Ask what happens if the nurse is absent — the replacement is the real value of an agency
- Verify the licence for professional profiles, and ask for references for independents
- Agree in writing the shifts, the tasks included, night and holiday surcharges, and the payment method
Red Flags
- A closed price for a complex case without assessing the patient
- A “professional nurse” who cannot show current active registration
- No contract and no invoice on monthly plans
- Rates far below the range — usually a sign of constant staff turnover
What a Nurse Earns in Guatemala
Different from the per-shift rate. If your question is the salary of an employed nurse: the reported average is Q4,071 per month across 262 reported salaries — one of the larger samples in the Guatemalan labour market — with a range of Q1,500 to Q7,000 (Computrabajo Guatemala, consulted 9 August 2026). A nursing auxiliary averages Q4,038/month; a professional nurse Q4,589 (range Q3,000-6,250).
For scale: the national average labour income was Q2,797 per month in the first quarter of 2026 (INE, ENEIC). Self-employed home nurses bill per shift at the rates in this guide; monthly income depends on how many shifts they cover.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a home nurse cost in Guatemala?
Q150-500 per day depending on the level of care required (VirtualSalud, updated 2025). The low end covers basic care and companionship; the high end is professional nursing with actual procedures. Some agencies advertise shifts from Q100. One-off visits for a single event — an injection, a dressing change — are billed separately and cost less than a full shift.
How much does a month of home nursing cost?
Roughly Q4,500-Q15,000 per month depending on shift pattern and the profile of the carer. It is a wide band because a caregiver providing company and assistance does not cost what a licensed professional nurse administering IV medication costs. Decide which level your patient actually needs before asking agencies to quote — that single decision moves the monthly figure by a factor of three.
What is the difference between a caregiver, a nursing auxiliary and a professional nurse?
A caregiver handles hygiene, mobility, company and medication reminders — roughly Q100-200/day. A nursing auxiliary adds vital signs, oral medication and basic care — roughly Q200-350/day. A licensed professional nurse can administer IV or IM medication, treat wounds and pressure ulcers, manage oxygen therapy and follow medical orders — roughly Q300-500/day. Many agencies offer all three profiles.
How do I check that a nurse in Guatemala is properly licensed?
A professional nurse must be colegiada y activa — a registered, active member of her professional association. Ask to see current proof, and treat an inability to produce it as disqualifying, not an administrative detail. It is the most important check on this page: it is the difference between someone qualified to administer intravenous medication in your home and someone who is not.
Which home nursing agencies operate in Guatemala?
Among the established ones: Cuidavida (elderly care, 8+ years), Home Hospital (24-hour nursing), ViviMed (daily, hourly and night shifts; weekly and monthly plans), Cuidare (hospital at home with a supervising physician), Casa de los Ángeles (home programmes including medication control), and enfermeria.com.gt (elder care, wound care). Almost all quote after assessing the patient.
Do I owe IGSS and benefits if I hire a nurse directly instead of through an agency?
It depends on how the relationship is structured, and an honest answer matters more than a confident one here. Contract an agency and the agency is the employer. Hire an individual to work a regular schedule in your home and our domestic worker wage page lists cuidadoras — caregivers for elderly, sick or disabled family members — among the roles covered by the household regime, carrying the minimum wage, IGSS, Bono 14, Aguinaldo, vacation and severance. That page does not address a licensed nurse engaged case by case for clinical procedures, so where the line falls for a colegiada professional on a per-shift contract is not something we have a sourced answer for. Ask a Guatemalan labour lawyer before assuming either way.
Sources
- VirtualSalud (virtualsalud.com) — Q150-500/day range by level of care, 2025
- MedCare / Médicos de Guatemala — home nursing shifts from Q100 (2025)
- Computrabajo Guatemala — average salaries for nurse, auxiliary and professional nurse (updated 6 June 2026; nurse average re-consulted 9 August 2026)
- INE, ENEIC — national average labour income, Q1 2026
- Agency websites — Cuidavida, Home Hospital, ViviMed, Cuidare (consulted June 2026)
- Household-employment obligations, PRECAPI quotas and the diaspora process — from our own domestic worker minimum wage, IGSS-PRECAPI for domestic workers, IGSS employer registration and hiring domestic help pages
- USD conversion — live Banguat reference rate, read at build time
Related Guides
- Elderly Caregiver Costs — non-clinical care at home
- Nanny Costs — the other care role in the home
- Private Doctor Costs — consultations, house calls and specialists
- How to Hire Domestic Help in Guatemala — finding, vetting, contracting, payroll, ending
- Domestic Worker Minimum Wage 2026 — the legal floor with the full benefit calculation
- IGSS-PRECAPI for Domestic Workers — how the household contribution works
- Employment Contract Format — to formalise a continuing arrangement
- Service Prices Hub — every service with real price ranges
Market prices verified June 2026; salary data consulted 9 August 2026. Prices are indicative ranges and vary with case complexity, profile and zone — ask for an assessment and quotes from several agencies before deciding. This guide is informational and does not constitute medical or legal advice. USD equivalents are computed at the live Banguat rate and are not fixed.