---
title: "Living in Alicante as a digital nomad: cost, safety, visa, internet"
url: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/alicante
description: "Costa Blanca base with a real city behind the beach"
dataset: 2026.09.4 (2026-09-26)
license: CC BY 4.0
---

# Alicante, Spain

Alicante scores 70.8/100 for digital nomads under balanced weights, ranking 15 of 309 cities. Expect about $2,200 per month (country-level estimate), a nomad visa (International Telework Visa (Digital Nomad, Ley 14/2013 amended Dec 2022)), and a measured median download speed of 75.1 Mbps.

Alicante gives you a working Spanish city with a beach at the end of the main street and one of Europe's busiest low-cost airports. Rents stay well below Barcelona and Valencia, and winters are mild enough to eat outside.

Known for: Postiguet beach, Tram to nearby towns, Cheap flights across Europe, Big expat community.

## Scores (balanced weights, 0–100)

| Factor | Score |
| --- | --- |
| Overall | 70.8 |
| Cost of living | 33 |
| Safety | 77 |
| Healthcare | 87 |
| Internet | 83 |
| Visa ease | 90 |
| Getting there & around | 43 |
| Climate | 50 |
| Air quality | 94 |
| Quality of life | 80 |

## The numbers behind the scores

| Metric | Value | Level | As of | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly cost, one person | $2,200 | country | 2026-09 | [^2] |
| Central 1-bedroom rent | — | city | 2026-09 | [^3] |
| Outskirts 1-bedroom rent (basis of the monthly total) | — | city | 2026-09 | [^3] |
| Homicide rate (per 100k) | 0.5 | country | 2021 | [^4] |
| Political stability (0–100) | 65.8 | country | 2024 | [^5] |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 84 | country | 2023 | [^6] |
| Life expectancy (years) | 82.7 | country | 2021 | [^7] |
| Median download (Mbps) | 75.1 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Median upload (Mbps) | 63 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Nomad visa | International Telework Visa (Digital Nomad, Ley 14/2013 amended Dec 2022) (min $2,714/mo) | country | 2026-07 | [^9] |
| Visa-free days US / EU / UK | 90 days / unlimited / 90 days | editorial | 2026-02 | [^10] |
| Non-stop destinations (ALC) | 126 | city | 2026-09 | [^11] |
| Walkability / transit (1–5) | 4 / 3 | editorial | 2026-09 | [^12] |
| Comfortable months | 6 of 12 | city | 2001–2020 | [^13] |
| Annual mean PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 7.7 | city | 2024 | [^14] |
| Human Development Index | 0.918 | country | 2023 | [^15] |
| English proficiency band | moderate | country | 2024 | [^16] |

## Climate (2001–2020 normals)

| Month | Mean °C | Rain mm | Humidity % | Comfortable |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Jan | 8.8 | 31 | 74 | no |
| Feb | 9.4 | 19 | 71 | no |
| Mar | 12 | 35 | 67 | no |
| Apr | 14.6 | 37 | 65 | no |
| May | 18.3 | 25 | 60 | yes |
| Jun | 23 | 12 | 55 | yes |
| Jul | 25.8 | 4 | 55 | yes |
| Aug | 25.7 | 15 | 59 | yes |
| Sep | 22.2 | 42 | 66 | yes |
| Oct | 18.2 | 36 | 70 | yes |
| Nov | 12.6 | 41 | 73 | no |
| Dec | 9.6 | 33 | 76 | no |

## Airports and nonstop flights

| Airport | IATA | Nonstop destinations | International | From US airports |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Alicante–Elche Miguel Hernández Airport | ALC | 126 | 59 | 0 |

Unique destinations across all airports: 126, of which 59 international (Wikipedia, 2026-09).

## Similar cities

- [San Sebastián](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/san-sebastian) (70.9) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/alicante-vs-san-sebastian)
- [Bilbao](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/bilbao) (71) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/alicante-vs-bilbao)
- [Nice](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/nice) (68.4) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/alicante-vs-nice)
- [Toulouse](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/toulouse) (68.1) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/alicante-vs-toulouse)
- [Montpellier](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/montpellier) (67.7) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/alicante-vs-montpellier)

## FAQ

### How much does it cost to live in Alicante as a digital nomad?

A single person typically spends about $2,200 per month in Alicante (a country-level estimate for Spain). That is a 33/100 cost score, where 100 is the cheapest city in the dataset.

### Is Alicante safe for digital nomads?

Alicante scores 77/100 on safety. Spain records 0.5 homicides per 100,000 people per year (WHO, 2021) and a political-stability score of 65.8/100 (World Bank WGI). Both figures are national, so neighbourhood-level risk can differ.

### Does Spain have a digital nomad visa?

Yes. Spain offers the International Telework Visa (Digital Nomad, Ley 14/2013 amended Dec 2022) with a minimum income of about $2,714 per month. Verify current rules with the issuing authority before applying.

### How fast is the internet in Alicante?

Measured median download speed in Alicante was 75.1 Mbps (upload 63 Mbps) across 19,052 M-Lab tests in 2024. Measured speeds run below advertised plan speeds everywhere, so compare cities rather than reading the number as a plan.

### Which airports serve Alicante and how many nonstop flights are there?

Alicante is served by Alicante–Elche Miguel Hernández Airport (ALC) with 126 nonstop destinations, of which 59 are international. 0 US airports have a nonstop link. Source: Wikipedia, 2026-09.

### When is the best time of year to be in Alicante?

The most comfortable months are May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct. Mean temperatures range from 48°F (9°C) in Jan to 78°F (26°C) in Jul (NASA POWER 2001–2020 climatology).

### Alicante or San Sebastián: which is better for digital nomads?

San Sebastián is the city with the closest factor profile to Alicante in this dataset. Which one wins depends on your weights; the comparison page puts every factor side by side with the numbers behind them.

## Sources

[^1]: City population (latest census or official estimate), Wikipedia (citing national statistics offices). CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^2]: 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level), WhereNext. CC BY 4.0. https://getwherenext.com/data/cost-of-living-2026 (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^3]: Cost of Living Global 2026 (city rows), WhereToEmigrate. CC BY 4.0. https://github.com/0brien18/global-emigration-dataset (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^4]: Estimates of rates of homicides per 100 000 population, World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO data policy). https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-details/GHO/estimates-of-rates-of-homicides-per-100-000-population (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^5]: Worldwide Governance Indicators — Political Stability and Absence of Violence (score 0–100), World Bank. CC BY 4.0. https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^6]: UHC service coverage index, World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO data policy). https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-details/GHO/uhc-index-of-service-coverage (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^7]: Life expectancy at birth (years), both sexes, World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO data policy). https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-details/GHO/life-expectancy-at-birth-(years) (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^8]: M-Lab NDT statistics (city aggregates, 2024), Measurement Lab. CC0 1.0. https://statistics.measurementlab.net/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^9]: Digital Nomad Visas 2026, WhereToEmigrate. CC BY 4.0. https://github.com/0brien18/global-emigration-dataset (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^10]: Passport Index dataset (visa requirements, 199 passports × 199 destinations), Ilya Ilyankou (compiled from passportindex.org). MIT. https://github.com/ilyankou/passport-index-dataset (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^11]: Airport destinations (Wikipedia airline and destination tables), Wikipedia contributors; countries via Wikidata. CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/ (retrieved 2026-09-24)
[^12]: Walkability and transit ratings (editorial), Navoy. CC BY 4.0. https://nostos.navoy.io/methodology (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^13]: NASA POWER climatology (2001–2020 monthly means), NASA Langley Research Center. Public domain (US Government). https://power.larc.nasa.gov/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^14]: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database, June 2026 update (V8), World Health Organization. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO data policy). https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/who-ambient-air-quality-database-(update-jun-2026) (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^15]: Human Development Index (HDR 2025, HDI 2023), United Nations Development Programme. CC BY 3.0 IGO. https://hdr.undp.org/data-center/documentation-and-downloads (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^16]: EF English Proficiency Index 2024 (band), EF Education First. Proprietary; band cited as a fact with attribution. https://www.ef.com/epi/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)

HTML page: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/alicante