In short: Hidrobombas, a Guatemalan well and pump company, puts drilling at Q550 to Q1,100 per foot in the private sector and, in the same 2025 article, Q500 to Q1,500 per foot depending on the rock. That is for the hole only: a hydrogeological study cost municipalities Q9,500 to Q32,000 in 2026 (the driller says Q15,000-40,000), and the pump runs from Q5,000 to more than Q200,000. Five hand-dug wells bought by four municipalities cost Q5,000 to Q24,825 each in July-August 2026. None of the five drilling companies’ websites we read lists a price, so get a written, itemised quote.
USD figures are approximate and use the day’s Banguat reference rate. See today’s exchange rate.
The price per foot
| Source (date) | Price per foot | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Hidrobombas S.A., article dated 10 July 2025 | Q550-1,100 (“en el sector privado guatemalteco”) | Drilling only |
| Same article, drilling section | Q500-1,500, low end in clay, silt and sand, high end in volcanic rock | Drilling only |
| Municipality of San Andrés Itzapa, 2019 budget filed in SEGEPLAN’s public-investment system (SNIP 226323) | Q914.20 for 1,000 feet (Q914,200) | Drilling line of a community well budget |
At the wider range, every 100 feet drilled comes to Q50,000 to Q150,000 before casing, the pump or anything else (our arithmetic: 100 × Q500 and 100 × Q1,500). In US dollars that is roughly ~$6543 USD to ~$19630 USD .
The Hidrobombas article is written for industrial, development and farm wells, and names steel casing (ASTM A53) as the standard for those. It does not give a separate price for a house well.
What the per-foot price leaves out
Hidrobombas lists these as separate parts of a well budget, and asks buyers to have each one itemised in the quote:
- Mobilisation of the drilling rig, higher on hard-to-reach land.
- Casing (ademe) and the gravel filter around it.
- Well development and cleaning after drilling.
- The pumping test (aforo): a temporary pump runs at different rates for a long period (12 to 24 hours, the article says) to measure the sustainable flow.
- Pumping equipment: Q5,000 to more than Q200,000, sized from the test.
- Geological surprises: the article says the contract should state how a cavity, a fault or a collapsing hole will be handled and who pays. It also lists a dry or low-yield well as a risk that remains even after a study.
The 2019 San Andrés Itzapa budget shows the same split on a community well. Its lines:
| Line in the budget | Amount |
|---|---|
| Drilling, 1,000 ft at Q914.20 | Q914,200.00 |
| Installation of the pumping equipment | Q221,065.00 |
| Pump house, 12 m² | Q53,739.24 |
| Generator | Q234,000.00 |
| Storage tank, 214.94 m³ | Q618,711.24 |
| Perimeter wall, 144 m² | Q71,928.00 |
| Chlorination system | Q9,425.00 |
| 3-inch PVC pipe to the tank, 17 m | Q2,986.05 |
| Total | Q2,126,054.53 |
Drilling was 43% of that total (our division).
The hydrogeological study: what municipalities paid in 2026
A study maps where water is likely, how deep, and which spot to drill. Municipalities buy them before drilling community wells and publish the purchase on Guatecompras:
| Buyer (publication date) | Price |
|---|---|
| La Esperanza, Quetzaltenango, for a well in Zona 4 (16 Jul 2026) | Q9,500 |
| Uspantán, Quiché, two studies for two sectors (20 Aug 2026) | Q24,000 (Q12,000 each, our division) |
| Momostenango, Totonicapán (15 Jul 2026) | Q12,500 |
| Patzité, Quiché (13 Aug 2026) | Q22,000 |
| Uspantán, Quiché, for a well in Caserío Piedras Negras (18 Aug 2026) | Q22,000 |
| San Juan Sacatepéquez, Guatemala (19 Aug 2026) | Q24,900 |
| El Quetzal, San Marcos (15 Jul 2026) | Q25,000 |
| San Jorge, Zacapa, study with prospecting for a village system (28 Aug 2026) | Q32,000 |
Per study, that is Q9,500 to Q32,000, against Hidrobombas’s Q15,000-40,000.
Hand-dug wells (pozo artesanal)
Public buyers also pay for hand-dug wells (pozos artesanales). One Masagua record lists the work as digging, removing soil and solids, cleaning, fitting concrete rings and pumping out water. What they paid in 2026:
| Buyer (publication date) | Job, as described in the record | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Masagua, Escuintla (30 Jul 2026) | Hand-dug well for a clonal garden | Q5,000 |
| San Antonio Palopó, Sololá (16 Jul 2026) | Hand-dug drinking-water well for the town centre | Q10,000 |
| Masagua, Escuintla (27 Aug 2026) | Hand-dug well: digging, removing soil, cleaning, concrete rings, pumping out water | Q10,785 |
| Taxisco, Santa Rosa (10 Jul 2026) | Hand-dug well for a municipal community garden | Q24,500 |
| El Tejar, Chimaltenango (31 Jul 2026) | Hand-dug well to irrigate vegetables | Q24,825 |
| IGSS hospital, Malacatán (16 Jun 2026) | Enlarging and excavating an existing hand-dug well (ampliación y excavación) | Q4,200 |
| IGSS clinic, Chiquimula (11 Aug 2026) | Lowering a submersible pump into a hand-dug well | Q900 |
None of these records states the depth, so the prices cannot be compared foot for foot.
Not a water well, but priced the same way: San Juan Sacatepéquez paid Q24,600 (20 Aug 2026) for a hand-dug well for wastewater, 1.30 m wide and 20 varas deep, with a 4-inch connection from the old pit. That is the kind of absorption pit a septic system drains into.
Two whole projects running in 2026
| Project (SNIP record) | Scope | Total budget |
|---|---|---|
| Colonia San Josecito, Retalhuleu (2025-2026) | A 750-foot well, 555 m of pipeline and the rest of the system | Q2,505,000 |
| Altos de Sinaí, Zona 18, Guatemala City, Municipalidad de Guatemala (2024-2026) | A well of at least 1,700 feet, 12-inch steel casing, a 475-gallon-per-minute pump with a 200 hp motor | Q4,265,889.33 |
These are community systems serving whole neighbourhoods, not house wells; they show how far a full system goes beyond the drilling line.
Before you drill on your own land
- Ask neighbours with wells how deep they went and how much water they get.
- Get the study first if the driller does not already know the area.
- Ask for an itemised quote: mobilisation, drilling per foot, casing (material and thickness), gravel filter, development, the pumping test and the pump, as separate lines.
- Agree in writing who pays if the well comes up dry or the hole collapses.
- Plan for storage and pressure: see our cistern and pump guide.
- Until the well runs, a water truck fills the cistern.
Related pages
- Water truck (pipa) delivery prices
- Septic tank prices
- Cistern, pump and water pressure
- Heavy equipment rental
- Construction costs in Guatemala
- Service prices hub
Sources
All read on 2 October 2026.
- Hidrobombas S.A.: what a mechanical well really costs in Guatemala (dated 10 July 2025)
- SEGEPLAN public-investment system (SNIP): San Andrés Itzapa budget, project 226323 and its project record (duration 1 June to 31 December 2019); Colonia San Josecito, Retalhuleu, project 337172; Altos de Sinaí, Zona 18, project 314629
- Guatecompras purchase records (NPG numbers), read through sociedad.info, which republishes Guatecompras records: studies E587294426, E589648705, E587273747, E589120395, E589407929, E589504231, E587265108, E590115863; hand-dug wells E588274682, E587385634, E590086049, E586939857, E588349216, E585537747, E588993433, E589597620
- USD conversion: Banguat reference exchange rate
The five Guatemalan drilling companies’ websites we read on 2 October 2026 show services but no prices. Prices above are what one driller published and what public buyers paid; your well depends on the ground under it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to drill a well in Guatemala per foot?
Hidrobombas, a Guatemalan pump and well company, wrote in July 2025 that the drilling price in the Guatemalan private sector ranges between Q550 and Q1,100 per foot, and later in the same article that it can vary from Q500 to Q1,500 per foot depending on the rock: soft sediments at the low end, volcanic rock at the top. A 2019 municipal budget filed with SEGEPLAN priced 1,000 feet of drilling at Q914.20 per foot. The per-foot price covers the drilling only.
Do I need a hydrogeological study before drilling a well?
Hidrobombas calls it the step that reduces the risk of a dry or low-yield well, and puts its cost at Q15,000 to Q40,000. Guatemalan municipalities that bought studies in July-August 2026 paid Q9,500 to Q32,000 per study on Guatecompras.
How much does the pump cost for a well?
Hidrobombas gives a range of Q5,000 to more than Q200,000 for pumping equipment, and says the pump can only be sized after drilling, from a pumping test that runs 12 to 24 hours and measures how much water the well gives.
How much does a hand-dug well (pozo artesanal) cost?
Four Guatemalan municipalities paid for five hand-dug water wells in July-August 2026, at Q5,000 to Q24,825 each. None of the records states the depth. An IGSS hospital paid Q4,200 to enlarge and excavate an existing hand-dug well (ampliación y excavación), and another public clinic paid Q900 to have a submersible pump lowered into its hand-dug well.
What does a whole well system cost?
Far more than the drilling. In a 2019 municipal budget for San Andrés Itzapa, drilling 1,000 feet was Q914,200 out of a Q2,126,054.53 total that also paid for pump installation, a pump house, a generator, a storage tank and chlorination. Two municipal projects running in 2026 are budgeted at Q2,505,000 (a 750-foot well plus pipeline, Retalhuleu) and Q4,265,889.33 (a well of at least 1,700 feet with a 200 hp pump, Zona 18 of Guatemala City).
