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Hoi An, Vietnam
Photo: Steffen Schmitz (more photos) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Hoi An

Vietnam · Asia · 152,160 people · Asia/Ho_Chi_Minh · VND

Hoi An scores 54.7/100 for digital nomads under balanced weights, ranking 1056 of 1501 cities. Expect about $900 per month (country-level estimate), no dedicated nomad visa, and a measured median download speed of 20.4 Mbps.

Hoi An is a preserved trading port of lanterns and tailors, with An Bang beach a bike ride away and Da Nang's airport half an hour north. It is touristy in the centre but calm on the edges, and cheap.

  • UNESCO old town
  • An Bang beach
  • Tailors and cafés
  • Da Nang airport 30 min
Cost of living: 8.8 of 55 points (scores 79/100)Safety: 7.5 of 55 points (scores 68/100)Healthcare: 7.7 of 55 points (scores 69/100)Internet: 6.8 of 55 points (scores 61/100)Visa ease: 3.9 of 55 points (scores 35/100)Getting there & around: 2.3 of 55 points (scores 21/100)Climate: 1.9 of 55 points (scores 17/100)Air quality: 9.0 of 55 points (scores 81/100)Quality of life: 6.8 of 55 points (scores 61/100)55
Balanced score
out of 100
Vibe check
  • Cost8.8
  • Safety7.5
  • Health7.7
  • Internet6.8
  • Visa3.9
  • Mobility2.3
  • Climate1.9
  • Air9.0
  • QoL6.8

Rank 1,056 of 1,501 · its cost is a national estimate, so Top 10 lists rank it after cities with a local price

For US nomads

  • US passport entry
    e-visa required
    check the consulate before booking
  • Time vs New York
    12 hours ahead of New York
    0h of a 9–6 day overlap with Eastern time
  • Time vs Los Angeles
    15 hours ahead of Los Angeles
    0h of a 9–6 day overlap with Pacific time
  • Non-stop from the US
    0 US airports
    Wikipedia, 2026-10

Prices are in US dollars. US citizens are taxed on worldwide income; the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion and state residency rules are worth a look before a long stay.

Eating out

OpenStreetMap, 2026-1116

503restaurants within 3 km

Mapped around the centre of Hoi An: plenty of choice within walking distance. A count of what is on the map, not a rating, and it does not affect the score.

How Hoi An scores, factor by factor

Superscripts link to the source list at the bottom. Country-level figures apply to all of Vietnam.

Cost of living

Monthly cost for one person (log-scaled, cheaper is better).
79
  • Monthly cost, one person: $9002 · country-level, 2026-09
  • Central one-bedroom rent: no data3 · city-level, 2026-09 — no city-level rent row in the WhereToEmigrate dataset

Safety

Homicide rate and political stability (country-level).
68
  • Homicide rate: 1.9 per 100k4 · country-level, 2021
  • Political stability: 67.7/1005 · country-level, 2025

Healthcare

WHO universal-health-coverage index and life expectancy (country-level).
69
  • UHC service coverage: 71/1006 · country-level, 2023
  • Life expectancy: 74.3 years7 · country-level, 2023

Internet

Median measured download and upload speed (M-Lab, city-level; the province or country aggregate where the city has too few tests).
61
  • Median download: 20.4 Mbps8 · country-level, 2024
  • Median upload: 20.4 Mbps8 · country-level, 2024
  • Tests measured: 1,1998 · country-level, 2024
  • Starlink: Available9 · country-level, 2026-10, not scored

Visa ease

How easily your passport gets in and stays: visa-free days, eTA, visa on arrival, e-visa or consular visa, plus a nomad visa and how affordable its income threshold is. Averages US, EU and UK passports until you pick yours.
35
  • Nomad visa: none listed10
  • Entry, US passport: e-visa required11 · country-level, 2026-02
  • Entry, EU passport: 45 days11 · country-level, 2026-02
  • Entry, UK passport: 45 days11 · country-level, 2026-02

Getting there & around

Non-stop airport destinations (hub size) plus editorial walkability and transit ratings.
21
  • Non-stop destinations from DAD: 3912 · city-level, 2026-10
  • Walkability: 4/513 · editorial, 2026-09
  • Public transit: 1/513 · editorial, 2026-09

Climate

Share of months that are comfortable: 59–82°F (15–28 °C) mean, at most 5.9 in (150 mm) rain, at most 85% humidity.
17
  • Comfortable months: 2 of 1214 · city-level, 2001–2020 normals

Air quality

Annual mean PM2.5 on a fixed scale: 5 µg/m³ (WHO guideline) scores 100, 50 µg/m³ or worse scores 0.
81
  • Annual mean PM2.5: 13.4 µg/m³15 · city-level, 2023

Quality of life

Human Development Index and English proficiency (country-level).
61
  • Human Development Index: 0.76617 · country-level, 2023
  • English proficiency: moderate18 · country-level, 2024

What does Hoi An cost per month?

Total, one person$900country estimate
One-bedroom rent, centreno datacity-level rent unavailable
Country cost index (US = 100)24country

Can you stay legally?

Nomad visanone listed
Minimum income—
US passporte-visa required
EU passport45 days
UK passport45 days

Visa rules change often. Verify with the issuing government before you book.

Do you pay tax here on income from abroad?

Tax status · Vietnam

Residents are taxed on worldwide income at 5%–35%; work done in Vietnam is taxed even before you are resident

Worldwide income

Spend 183 days in Vietnam, or rent housing (hotels count) for 183 days of a year, and you are taxed on worldwide income. Pay for work done while in Vietnam is taxed wherever the employer is: 5%–35% after a VND 15.5 million monthly allowance if resident, a flat 20% if not. Dividends and interest bear 5%, share sales 0.1% of the price, and foreign state pensions are exempt. A new income tax law applies from 2026.

  • Remote work income

    Salary from a foreign employer or fees from foreign clients

    Taxed

    5%–35% progressive for residents; 20% flat for non-residents

  • Investments and pensions

    Dividends, interest, gains, rent and pensions from abroad

    Taxed

    5% on dividends and interest; 0.1% of the sale price on securities; other rates by type

  • Wealth

    Net wealth and inheritance

    No wealth tax

    Inheritance tax applies

Tax resident after
183 days a year
Top income tax rate
35%

On the nomad visa

Vietnam has no digital nomad or remote-work visa. Most long-stay visitors use an e-visa valid for up to 90 days, single or multiple entry. That stay has no tax status of its own: pay for work done in Vietnam is taxed at a flat 20% while you are non-resident. Once you pass 183 days, or rented housing including hotels for 183 days of a tax year, you are resident and taxed on worldwide income. Immigration law has no category for remote work for a foreign employer; this profile does not cover whether such work needs a work permit.

Not yet reviewed by a person · compiled from official pages read on 2026-11-10

General information, not tax advice. Tax treaties, your citizenship and your home country's exit rules can change the answer. US citizens are taxed by the US wherever they live.

Airports and nonstop flights

Hoi An is served by one airport.

AirportNonstop destinationsInternationalFrom US airports
DADDa Nang International Airport39260

Wikipedia airport pages as of 2026-10: seasonal routes included, charters and announced-but-not-started routes excluded.

What is the weather like through the year?

Comfortable months by our rule: Apr–May. Rank cities for Mar–May →

MonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Mean °F707175798283838381787671
Rain in3.11.11.51.93.22.846.614.622.116.29.8
Humidity %878686848279787983858787

Green temperatures mark months that meet the comfort rule (59–82°F, ≤5.9 in rain, ≤85% humidity). NASA POWER 2001–2020 climatology at the city coordinates.

Where can you stay in Hoi An?

Three ways to live here, and what each does to the monthly budget. Rents are the one-bedroom figures from the cost table; hotels and short lets are priced per night and cost more, most of all in high season.

OptionRent per monthMonthly totalNotes
One-bedroom outside the centre——No city-level cost here; the total is a national estimate.
One-bedroom in the centre——No city-level rent figure for this city.
Hotel or short let——For the first weeks or a stay under a month. Compare hotels on Navoy →

Monthly rents assume an unfurnished lease of six months or more; furnished monthly lets usually cost 20 to 50 percent more.

Cities with a similar profile

Also in Asia: Abbottabad, Agra, Ahmedabad, Ahvaz, Akita, Almaty

Ready to see Hoi An for yourself?

Nostos tells you where. Navoy, the AI travel planner behind it, builds the trip: itineraries, places to stay and what to book before you land.

Opens on navoy.io.

The vibe

What people post about living in Hoi An, read for its mood. It is a reading of opinions, not a fact, and it is not part of the score.

Liked · 72Commenters mostly love Hoi An's charm, low costs and food for slow living, with caveats about heat, rain, traffic and a quieter, touristy old town.

People praise
  • low cost
  • charm and old town atmosphere
  • food
  • peace and quiet
  • beach access
  • easy slow pace
People warn about
  • heat and humidity
  • rainy season
  • reckless scooter traffic
  • tourist crowds and overtourism
  • quiet or dead feel
  • air quality
  • Cheap living makes it attractive for remote workers
  • Heat and rain can be exhausting long term
  • Scooter traffic is a real hazard
  • Town feels touristy and changed over the years
  • Good for a calm, slow stay with nature nearby

Read from 8 videos, 40 comments and 0 posts on 2026-11-07; the summary is written by a language model and can misread sarcasm.

Frequently asked

How much does it cost to live in Hoi An as a digital nomad?
A single person typically spends about $900 per month in Hoi An (a country-level estimate for Vietnam). That is a 79/100 cost score, where 100 is the cheapest city in the dataset.
Is Hoi An safe for digital nomads?
Hoi An scores 68/100 on safety. Vietnam records 1.9 homicides per 100,000 people per year (WHO, 2021) and a political-stability score of 67.7/100 (World Bank WGI). Both figures are national, so neighbourhood-level risk can differ.
Does Vietnam have a digital nomad visa?
No dedicated digital nomad visa was listed for Vietnam as of 2026-07. Visitors from the US need an e-visa, applied for online.
How fast is the internet in Hoi An?
Measured median download speed in Hoi An was 20.4 Mbps (upload 20.4 Mbps) across 1,199 M-Lab tests in 2024. Measured speeds run below advertised plan speeds everywhere, so compare cities rather than reading the number as a plan.
Is Starlink available in Hoi An?
Yes. Starlink's availability map lists residential service as available in Vietnam (checked 2026-10), so a dish can serve as a backup line in Hoi An. Check the exact address on starlink.com before ordering, since capacity varies by area.
Which airports serve Hoi An and how many nonstop flights are there?
Hoi An is served by Da Nang International Airport (DAD) with 39 nonstop destinations, of which 26 are international. 0 US airports have a nonstop link. Source: Wikipedia, 2026-10.
When is the best time of year to be in Hoi An?
The most comfortable months are Apr, May. Mean temperatures range from 70°F (21°C) in Jan to 83°F (29°C) in Jun (NASA POWER 2001–2020 climatology).
Hoi An or Hue: which is better for digital nomads?
Hue is the city with the closest factor profile to Hoi An 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

Dataset 2026.11.3, published 2026-11-10. Download the full dataset or read the methodology.

  1. 1.City population (latest census or official estimate), Wikipedia (citing national statistics offices). CC BY-SA 4.0. Retrieved 2026-09-22. City-proper figures; the per-city source URL is stored with the seed row.
  2. 2.2026 Cost of Living Index (country level), WhereNext. CC BY 4.0. Retrieved 2026-09-22. Country-level monthly estimate used only where no city-level figure exists; cost_index kept for every city.
  3. 3.Cost of Living Global 2026 (city rows), WhereToEmigrate. CC BY 4.0. Retrieved 2026-09-22. monthly_cost_single_eur and rent_1br_center_eur, converted to USD at the ECB reference rate on the retrieval date (see ecb-frankfurter).
  4. 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). Retrieved 2026-09-22. WHO GHO modelled estimate, used only where UNODC has no national figure from 2018 or later (seven countries in this dataset). May be reused with attribution under WHO's data policy.
  5. 5.Worldwide Governance Indicators — Political Stability and Absence of Violence (score 0–100), World Bank. CC BY 4.0. Retrieved 2026-09-22.
  6. 6.UHC service coverage index, World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO data policy). Retrieved 2026-09-22.
  7. 7.Life expectancy at birth (years), both sexes, World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO data policy). Retrieved 2026-09-22.
  8. 8.M-Lab NDT statistics (city aggregates, 2024), Measurement Lab. CC0 1.0. Retrieved 2026-09-22. Median of daily median download/upload throughput over 2024 for the city aggregate; sample count is the number of tests. Speeds reflect user-initiated tests, not advertised plans.
  9. 9.Starlink availability map, SpaceX (Starlink). Factual status cited from starlink.com. Retrieved 2026-10-07. Residential service status per country from the file Starlink's map loads. Grouped as on the map: launched or available = available; coming soon, pending regulatory approval or test = coming soon; blacklisted = not offered; unknown or excluded = unknown. Shown on city pages and as a ranker filter; not part of any score. Roaming and maritime plans can work in more places.
  10. 10.Digital Nomad Visas 2026, WhereToEmigrate. CC BY 4.0. Retrieved 2026-09-22. Programme name, minimum monthly income (EUR, converted to USD) and whether it leads to permanent residence. Values are directional; verify with the issuing government.
  11. 11.Passport Index dataset (visa requirements, 199 passports × 199 destinations), Ilya Ilyankou (compiled from passportindex.org). MIT. Retrieved 2026-09-22. Days per visit where stated; 'visa free' without a limit is credited as unlimited; eTA, visa on arrival, e-visa and visa required are credited 0 days for scoring but shown by kind. The default US/EU/UK figures use the US, German and British passports.
  12. 12.Airport destinations (Wikipedia airline and destination tables), Wikipedia contributors; countries via Wikidata. CC BY-SA 4.0. Retrieved 2026-09-24. Distinct destination airports listed in each airport article's passenger table, resolved through Wikidata. Seasonal routes count; charters and routes announced but not yet flying are excluded. The as-of date is the newest article revision among the city's airports. Falls back to the OpenFlights snapshot when an airport has no article or table.
  13. 13.Walkability and transit ratings (editorial), Navoy. CC BY 4.0. Retrieved 2026-09-22. Judgment ratings, not measurements. Explained on /methodology.
  14. 14.NASA POWER climatology (2001–2020 monthly means), NASA Langley Research Center. Public domain (US Government). Retrieved 2026-09-22. T2M, PRECTOTCORR and RH2M at the city coordinates (0.5° grid). Monthly precipitation = mm/day × days in month.
  15. 15.SatPM2.5 satellite-derived annual PM2.5 (V6.GL.02.04), Atmospheric Composition Analysis Group, Washington University in St. Louis. CC BY 4.0. Retrieved 2026-10-07. Annual 2023 PM2.5 for the 0.1° grid cell at the city centre, from satellite aerosol retrievals combined with a chemical transport model and ground monitors. Used only for cities with no WHO database row. Where the same country has WHO-measured cities, values are scaled by the median measured/satellite ratio there (corrects desert-dust overestimates in the Gulf). Across 811 cities with both, log-correlation with WHO values is 0.89 and the median difference 2 µg/m³.
  16. 16.OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API), OpenStreetMap contributors. ODbL 1.0. Retrieved 2026-10-02. Count of OpenStreetMap elements tagged amenity=restaurant within 3 km of the city centre coordinate. Measures how many restaurants are mapped, which tracks real density well where OpenStreetMap is well maintained (Europe, the Americas, East and Southeast Asia) and under-counts where it is not (parts of Africa and Central Asia).
  17. 17.Human Development Index (HDR 2025, HDI 2023), United Nations Development Programme. CC BY 3.0 IGO. Retrieved 2026-09-22.
  18. 18.EF English Proficiency Index 2024 (band), EF Education First. Proprietary; band cited as a fact with attribution. Retrieved 2026-09-22. Only the proficiency band is stored, transcribed by hand from the public ranking.