---
title: "Living in Kathmandu as a digital nomad: cost, safety, visa, internet"
url: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/kathmandu
description: "Gateway to the Himalayas"
dataset: 2026.09.4 (2026-09-26)
license: CC BY 4.0
---

# Kathmandu, Nepal

Kathmandu scores 40.2/100 for digital nomads under balanced weights, ranking 294 of 309 cities. Expect about $677 per month, no dedicated nomad visa, and a measured median download speed of 17.1 Mbps.

Kathmandu is the base for Himalayan trekking with very low costs and a friendly expat scene. Infrastructure is fragile and air quality poor in winter.

Known for: Trekking base, Very low cost, Temples, Dust and power cuts.

## Scores (balanced weights, 0–100)

| Factor | Score |
| --- | --- |
| Overall | 40.2 |
| Cost of living | 84 |
| Safety | 59 |
| Healthcare | 51 |
| Internet | 50 |
| Visa ease | 6 |
| Getting there & around | 12 |
| Climate | 42 |
| Air quality | 29 |
| Quality of life | 29 |

## The numbers behind the scores

| Metric | Value | Level | As of | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly cost, one person | $677 | city | 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) | 2.3 | country | 2021 | [^5] |
| Political stability (0–100) | 58.8 | country | 2024 | [^6] |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 58 | country | 2023 | [^7] |
| Life expectancy (years) | 70 | country | 2021 | [^8] |
| Median download (Mbps) | 17.1 | city | 2024 | [^9] |
| Median upload (Mbps) | 16.2 | city | 2024 | [^9] |
| Nomad visa | none listed | country | 2026-07 | [^10] |
| Visa-free days US / EU / UK | visa or e-visa required / visa or e-visa required / visa or e-visa required | editorial | 2026-02 | [^11] |
| Non-stop destinations (KTM) | 50 | city | 2026-08 | [^12] |
| Walkability / transit (1–5) | 2 / 1 | editorial | 2026-09 | [^13] |
| Comfortable months | 5 of 12 | city | 2001–2020 | [^14] |
| Annual mean PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 37 | city | 2020 | [^15] |
| Human Development Index | 0.622 | country | 2023 | [^16] |
| English proficiency band | low | country | 2024 | [^17] |

## Climate (2001–2020 normals)

| Month | Mean °C | Rain mm | Humidity % | Comfortable |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Jan | 11.1 | 10 | 46 | no |
| Feb | 13.8 | 17 | 43 | no |
| Mar | 18.1 | 21 | 37 | yes |
| Apr | 22.4 | 37 | 37 | yes |
| May | 24.2 | 89 | 49 | yes |
| Jun | 24.8 | 170 | 66 | no |
| Jul | 23.3 | 280 | 85 | no |
| Aug | 22.8 | 238 | 87 | no |
| Sep | 21.6 | 169 | 86 | no |
| Oct | 19 | 45 | 74 | yes |
| Nov | 15.5 | 3 | 62 | yes |
| Dec | 12.3 | 5 | 52 | no |

## Airports and nonstop flights

| Airport | IATA | Nonstop destinations | International | From US airports |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Tribhuvan International Airport | KTM | 50 | 32 | 0 |

Unique destinations across all airports: 50, of which 32 international (Wikipedia, 2026-08).

## Similar cities

- [Pokhara](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/pokhara) (38.9) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/kathmandu-vs-pokhara)
- [Hyderabad](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/hyderabad) (41.9) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/hyderabad-vs-kathmandu)
- [Pune](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/pune) (39.5) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/kathmandu-vs-pune)
- [Siem Reap](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/siem-reap) (35.6) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/kathmandu-vs-siem-reap)
- [Goa (Panaji)](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/goa) (43.6) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/goa-vs-kathmandu)

## FAQ

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

A single person typically spends about $677 per month in Kathmandu. That is a 84/100 cost score, where 100 is the cheapest city in the dataset.

### Is Kathmandu safe for digital nomads?

Kathmandu scores 59/100 on safety. Nepal records 2.3 homicides per 100,000 people per year (WHO, 2021) and a political-stability score of 58.8/100 (World Bank WGI). Both figures are national, so neighbourhood-level risk can differ.

### Does Nepal have a digital nomad visa?

No dedicated digital nomad visa was listed for Nepal as of 2026-07. Visitors from the US can stay only with a visa, e-visa, eTA or visa on arrival days.

### How fast is the internet in Kathmandu?

Measured median download speed in Kathmandu was 17.1 Mbps (upload 16.2 Mbps) across 22,442 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 Kathmandu and how many nonstop flights are there?

Kathmandu is served by Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM) with 50 nonstop destinations, of which 32 are international. 0 US airports have a nonstop link. Source: Wikipedia, 2026-08.

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

The most comfortable months are Mar, Apr, May, Oct, Nov. Mean temperatures range from 52°F (11°C) in Jan to 77°F (25°C) in Jun (NASA POWER 2001–2020 climatology).

### Kathmandu or Pokhara: which is better for digital nomads?

Pokhara is the city with the closest factor profile to Kathmandu 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]: WhereNext city cost estimates 2026 (city pages), WhereNext. CC BY 4.0. https://getwherenext.com/cities (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]: 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level), WhereNext. CC BY 4.0. https://getwherenext.com/data/cost-of-living-2026 (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^5]: 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)
[^6]: 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)
[^7]: 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)
[^8]: 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)
[^9]: M-Lab NDT statistics (city aggregates, 2024), Measurement Lab. CC0 1.0. https://statistics.measurementlab.net/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^10]: Digital Nomad Visas 2026, WhereToEmigrate. CC BY 4.0. https://github.com/0brien18/global-emigration-dataset (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^11]: 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)
[^12]: 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)
[^13]: Walkability and transit ratings (editorial), Navoy. CC BY 4.0. https://nostos.navoy.io/methodology (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^14]: NASA POWER climatology (2001–2020 monthly means), NASA Langley Research Center. Public domain (US Government). https://power.larc.nasa.gov/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^15]: 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)
[^16]: 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)
[^17]: 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/kathmandu