Guatemala SIM Card for Tourists: Claro vs Tigo, Prices

Guatemala SIM Card for Tourists (2026): Claro vs Tigo, Prices & Registration

Tourists can buy prepaid SIM cards from Claro and Tigo in Guatemala. Current packages start from Q35 for a practical Tigo weekly option and Q50 for Claro’s 15-day SuperPack, but the first-purchase total can include more than the advertised package price.

Lena Hartley

Aug 17, 2026

Guatemala SIM Card for Tourists (2026): Claro vs Tigo, Prices & Registration

Jump to section

👇

In this article

Can tourists buy a SIM card in Guatemala?
Guatemala prepaid SIM prices in 2026
Tigo or Claro: which SIM is better for tourists?
What is the real upfront cost of a Guatemala SIM?
Where to buy a SIM card in Guatemala
SIM registration: what tourists need
Local SIM vs Roafly eSIM in Guatemala
Does Claro offer a local prepaid eSIM?
Coverage and mobile network considerations
Best choice by trip type
FAQs
Final recommendation

Claro and Tigo are the main local prepaid choices for visitors to Guatemala. Tigo publishes a Q10 price for a new SIM with an assigned number, which makes its first-purchase cost easier to calculate; Claro publishes prepaid package prices but does not clearly publish a standard new physical-SIM price.

Foreign visitors need a valid passport when buying a SIM because Guatemala requires the buyer’s identity to be registered.

Operator / Option	Plan	Data & Validity	Price / New-Line Total	Key Difference
Tigo	Todo Incluido	5GB / 7 days	Q35 plan; Q45 with Q10 SIM	Short-stay option
Tigo	Todo Incluido	15GB / 30 days	Q120 plan; Q130 with Q10 SIM	Local calling benefits
Claro	SuperPack Todo Incluido	6GB / 15 days	Q50 + new-line/SIM cost	Mid-length trips
Claro	SuperPack Todo Incluido	10GB / 30 days	Q100 + new-line/SIM cost	30-day local package
Roafly	Guatemala eSIM	5GB or 10GB / 30 days	$14.90 or $24.90	Data-only; no physical SIM swap

Prices and terms checked August 17, 2026. Operator prices, allowances, bonuses and purchase conditions can change. Tigo totals above combine the published Q10 SIM price with the selected package; Claro does not reliably publish the complete new-line physical-SIM cost.

Need data in Guatemala? Get an eSIM!

Choose the perfect data plan for your trip

5 GB

30 days

Can tourists buy a SIM card in Guatemala?

Yes. Guatemala’s SIM-registration law specifically provides for foreign buyers and requires them to show a valid passport when acquiring a SIM card.

Article 14 of the Guatemala Law on Mobile Terminal Equipment requires the seller to verify that the identification belongs to the buyer. The seller must also retain the required purchase information, while activation is subject to the legal registration requirements being completed.

Visitors should therefore bring:

a valid passport;
an unlocked or otherwise compatible phone;
enough time to complete registration at the point of sale;
a payment method accepted by the seller.

No Guatemalan residence claim is needed in this guide to establish tourist eligibility: the law itself addresses foreign buyers using a valid passport.

Guatemala prepaid SIM prices in 2026

Local package prices are available, and there are more useful options than a single 30-day plan.

Tigo prepaid prices

Tigo currently publishes several Todo Incluido prepaid packages on its official Guatemala prepaid page.

Useful visitor benchmarks include:

Package Price	Data	Validity	New SIM + Package
Q35	5GB	7 days	Q45
Q65	8GB	15 days	Q75
Q120	15GB	30 days	Q130
Q150	17GB	30 days	Q160

Checked August 17, 2026. Card-purchase bonus data shown by Tigo is excluded from the standard allowances above because it is conditional. Prices and benefits may change.

Tigo lists unlimited Tigo calls plus an allowance of minutes to Guatemala and the USA with these Todo Incluido packages. The Q120 package, for example, includes 400 such minutes.

New physical SIM pricing is unusually clear. Tigo’s official SIM pricing page lists Q10 for a chip/SIM with an assigned number.

That Q10 SIM includes promotional welcome benefits, but Tigo says a recharge of at least Q25 is needed to receive those welcome benefits. The Q25 condition should not be added automatically as another mandatory fee to every package purchase; it applies to the stated welcome benefit.

Claro prepaid prices

Claro publishes two especially relevant SuperPack Todo Incluido choices on its current mobile benefits page:

Package Price	Data	Validity	Complete New-Line Total
Q50	6GB	15 days	Q50 + SIM/new-line cost not reliably published
Q100	10GB	30 days	Q100 + SIM/new-line cost not reliably published

Checked August 17, 2026. Claro package prices and terms may change, and the figures above are package prices rather than guaranteed complete physical-SIM purchase totals.

Both SuperPacks include national/USA calling benefits and selected unlimited social apps during the validity period. Claro also advertises Centroamérica browsing under its Claro sin Fronteras benefit for these packages.

Recurrence deserves attention. Claro provides an SMS cancellation method for both listed SuperPacks, so visitors wanting package should check that recurrence is stopped rather than assuming the package will simply expire without another purchase attempt.

Tigo or Claro: which SIM is better for tourists?

Tigo has the stronger case when price transparency matters. Its Q10 SIM price is publicly documented, so the main first-purchase components can be calculated before visiting a store.

Claro remains competitive on package pricing. Its Q50 6GB/15-day and Q100 10GB/30-day offers are easy to understand, but the physical new-line cost is the missing part of the calculation.

Trip length creates a useful dividing line:

Around week: Tigo’s Q35 5GB/7-day package is the clearest fit among the selected benchmarks.
Around two weeks: Tigo offers 8GB/15 days for Q65, while Claro offers 6GB/15 days for Q50.
Around month: Tigo lists 15GB/30 days for Q120 and 17GB/30 days for Q150; Claro lists 10GB/30 days for Q100.
Local number or calls matter: either local operator can make more sense than a data-only travel eSIM.
Store and registration convenience matter more: Roafly avoids the physical local-SIM purchase process.

Price alone does not identify a universal winner because Claro’s new-line/SIM amount still needs to be confirmed at purchase.

What is the real upfront cost of a Guatemala SIM?

Advertised package price and total amount paid on day are not always the same thing.

Tigo makes the calculation relatively transparent. Someone buying a new Q10 SIM and the Q120 30-day package has Q130 in documented components. Choosing the Q35 weekly package instead gives Q45 in documented components.

Claro’s calculation stops step earlier. The operator clearly publishes Q50 and Q100 package prices, yet a standard nationwide physical-SIM/new-line price is not reliably disclosed alongside those packages.

That uncertainty should remain visible rather than being filled with an assumed fee.

Check these items before paying:

physical SIM or starter-card price;
selected package price;
mandatory first recharge, if applies to your purchase;
activation or service charge, if quoted;
retailer-specific charge;
final amount due.

Third-party sellers may structure the transaction differently from an operator store, so ask what the quoted price actually includes.

Where to buy a SIM card in Guatemala

Official operator stores or properly authorized sellers are the safest starting point because the purchase requires identity verification.

Tigo says its chips/SIMs are sold through Tigo points of sale and Tigo stores. Claro prepaid packages can be purchased through the operator’s channels and points of sale.

Good buying choices include:

official Tigo stores;
official Claro stores;
authorized operator sales points able to register a new line.

Airport stock, individual counter locations and opening hours are too location-specific to generalize nationally. Availability can also change, so this guide does not promise that a particular airport seller will have the SIM or package you want.

Broader connectivity choices are covered separately in ways to get internet in Guatemala.

SIM registration: what tourists need

Guatemalan law requires the buyer of a SIM to identify themselves to the seller. Foreign buyers use a valid passport.

The practical process is:

Present your passport.
Choose the prepaid line and package.
Ask for the SIM price and package price separately.
Let the seller complete the required registration.
Confirm the final amount before paying.
Check that the line is active before leaving.

No reliable official source checked for this guide provides universal activation time. Promising “instant activation” or a fixed number of minutes would therefore be misleading.

Registration also explains why buying an unidentified loose SIM from an informal source is a poor shortcut. Proper sale and activation depend on the required buyer information being recorded.

Local SIM vs Roafly eSIM in Guatemala

Local prepaid service is the stronger choice when a Guatemalan phone number or included local calling benefits matter. Longer trips may also benefit from the larger local packages available from Tigo and Claro.

Roafly targets a different trade-off: mobile data without visiting a local SIM seller or swapping out a physical SIM.

Owner-verified Guatemala options are:

5GB — $14.90 — 30 days
10GB — $24.90 — 30 days
Listed local network: Claro
Hotspot/tethering: supported across the purchased data allowance, with no separate hotspot quota

Roafly’s Guatemala plans are data-only. No local phone number, calls, SMS, 5G availability, guaranteed coverage or exact activation time is claimed here.

Keeping the primary SIM in the phone can also be useful for travelers who still need access to their usual number while using the Roafly eSIM for data.

See Guatemala eSIM plans to compare the currently available package choices.

Provider-level travel-eSIM comparisons belong on a different page; use best eSIM options for Guatemala when that is the decision you are making.

Does Claro offer a local prepaid eSIM?

Claro Guatemala advertises prepaid eSIM service for compatible devices.

Local operator eSIM and travel eSIM solve different problems. Claro’s version belongs to the local prepaid service: registration and operator-specific purchase requirements still matter even though there is no plastic card to insert.

Current public information does not justify claiming that every foreign tourist can complete the entire Claro prepaid eSIM purchase remotely before arrival. Visitors interested in this route should confirm the current new-line process directly with Claro.

Coverage and mobile network considerations

Coverage should be judged against the places on your itinerary rather than reduced to a nationwide “winner” claim.

Claro and Tigo both operate mobile networks in Guatemala. Urban routes and heavily visited destinations may present a different experience from mountainous or rural areas, so operator choice becomes more important when a trip includes remote locations.

No 5G promise is attached to the prepaid packages in this comparison. Network generation depends on the exact service, device and location, and an operator operating a 5G network does not prove that every prepaid user will receive 5G everywhere.

Roafly lists Claro as the local network for its Guatemala product. That fact does not imply guaranteed speed, priority or nationwide coverage.

Best choice by trip type

Short trip: Tigo’s Q35 5GB/7-day package gives a clearly published local option, with a documented Q45 in SIM-plus-package components for a new line.

Two-week trip: Claro’s Q50 6GB/15-day package has the lower headline package price among the selected 15-day benchmarks; Tigo offers more included data at Q65 for 8GB/15 days.

One-month trip: Claro publishes 10GB/30 days for Q100. Tigo publishes 15GB/30 days for Q120 or 17GB/30 days for Q150, plus the Q10 new-SIM price.

Need a Guatemalan number: choose a local prepaid SIM rather than a data-only Roafly plan.

Want data ready without a local shop visit: Roafly is more convenient when your phone supports eSIM and a local number is unnecessary.

FAQs

How much does a Guatemala SIM card cost?

Tigo officially lists a new SIM with an assigned number at Q10. Its prepaid data/calling packages are separate, with selected current benchmarks ranging from Q35 for 5GB/7 days to Q150 for 17GB/30 days.

Claro publishes prepaid package prices including Q50 for 6GB/15 days and Q100 for 10GB/30 days, but its complete new physical-SIM purchase total is not reliably published.

Do tourists need a passport to buy a Guatemala SIM?

Yes. Guatemala’s mobile-terminal law requires foreign SIM buyers to present a valid passport to the seller.

How much is Tigo for 30 days?

Tigo currently lists 15GB for Q120 and 17GB for Q150, both valid for 30 days. Someone starting a new line should also account for the separately published Q10 SIM price.

How much is Claro for 30 days?

Claro currently lists its 10GB SuperPack Todo Incluido at Q100 for 30 days. The full first-purchase amount may be higher because the standard new physical-SIM/new-line cost is not clearly published with the package.

Can I get a local number?

Tigo explicitly lists its Q10 SIM as coming with an assigned number. Local prepaid service is therefore the more appropriate route when a Guatemalan number is part of your trip requirements.

Is a local SIM cheaper than Roafly?

The products are not directly equivalent. Local plans can provide more data and local calling benefits at their published package prices, while Roafly removes the local store, passport-registration and physical-SIM-swap steps.

Claro’s missing published new-line cost also prevents a clean complete-total comparison for every option.

Final recommendation

Tigo is currently the easiest Guatemala physical SIM to budget before arrival because both the Q10 SIM price and multiple prepaid package prices are publicly available. Its useful tourist benchmarks run from Q35 for 5GB/7 days to Q120 for 15GB/30 days and Q150 for 17GB/30 days.

Claro is still worth comparing, particularly at Q50 for 6GB/15 days and Q100 for 10GB/30 days. Confirm the new physical-SIM cost before paying because the package price is not a guaranteed complete first-purchase total.

Roafly makes more sense when the priority is data and pre-travel convenience rather than a Guatemalan number or local calling benefits.

Roafly publishes this guide and offers the travel-eSIM alternative discussed above.