---
title: "Living in Kep as a digital nomad: cost, safety, visa, internet"
url: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/kep
description: "Sleepy seaside town of crab shacks and abandoned villas near Kampot"
dataset: 2026.10.7 (2026-10-13)
license: CC BY 4.0
---

# Kep, Cambodia

Kep scores 50.3/100 for digital nomads under balanced weights, ranking 869 of 1000 cities. Expect about $1,050 per month (country-level estimate), no dedicated nomad visa, and a measured median download speed of 15 Mbps.

Kep is a quiet strip of seafront in southern Cambodia known for its crab market, the ruined modernist villas of the 1960s and the jungle hill of Kep National Park. It is pretty and very cheap but tiny: most long-stayers base themselves in Kampot, about 25 km away, and come to Kep for the beach and seafood. Phnom Penh is about three hours by road.

Known for: Crab market, Kep National Park trails, Rabbit Island, Kampot 25 km away.

## Scores (balanced weights, 0–100)

| Factor | Score |
| --- | --- |
| Overall | 50.3 |
| Cost of living | 58 |
| Safety | 71 |
| Healthcare | 54 |
| Internet | 54 |
| Visa ease | 34 |
| Getting there & around | 37 |
| Climate | 33 |
| Air quality | 89 |
| Quality of life | 22 |

## The numbers behind the scores

| Metric | Value | Level | As of | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly cost, one person | $1,050 | 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) | 1.8 | country | 2021 | [^4] |
| Political stability (0–100) | 71.5 | country | 2025 | [^5] |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 62 | country | 2023 | [^6] |
| Life expectancy (years) | 68.9 | country | 2021 | [^7] |
| Median download (Mbps) | 15 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Median upload (Mbps) | 9.9 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Starlink residential service | Coming soon (Starting in 2026) | country | 2026-10 | [^9] |
| Nomad visa | none listed | country | 2026-07 | [^10] |
| Entry for US / EU / UK passports | visa on arrival / visa on arrival / visa on arrival | country | 2026-02 | [^11] |
| Non-stop destinations (KOS/PNH) | 15 | city | 2014 | [^12] |
| Restaurants within 3 km of the centre (OpenStreetMap) | 13 | city | 2026-10 | [^16] |
| Walkability / transit (1–5) | 3 / 1 | editorial | 2026-09 | [^13] |
| Comfortable months | 4 of 12 | city | 2001–2020 | [^14] |
| Annual mean PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 10 | city | 2021 | [^15] |
| Human Development Index | 0.606 | country | 2023 | [^17] |
| English proficiency band | very-low | country | 2024 | [^18] |

## Climate (2001–2020 normals)

| Month | Mean °C | Rain mm | Humidity % | Comfortable |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Jan | 26.7 | 23 | 73 | yes |
| Feb | 28 | 18 | 67 | yes |
| Mar | 29.1 | 53 | 68 | no |
| Apr | 29.6 | 104 | 72 | no |
| May | 28.8 | 197 | 80 | no |
| Jun | 27.7 | 299 | 85 | no |
| Jul | 27.2 | 323 | 87 | no |
| Aug | 27 | 276 | 88 | no |
| Sep | 26.9 | 330 | 88 | no |
| Oct | 27 | 218 | 86 | no |
| Nov | 26.8 | 113 | 84 | yes |
| Dec | 26.3 | 44 | 78 | yes |

## Airports and nonstop flights

| Airport | IATA | Nonstop destinations | International | From US airports |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Sihanoukville International Airport | KOS | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Phnom Penh International Airport | PNH | 15 | 14 | 0 |

Unique destinations across all airports: 15, of which 14 international (OpenFlights 2014 snapshot).

## Similar cities

- [Sihanoukville](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/sihanoukville) (47) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/kep-vs-sihanoukville)
- [Kampot](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/kampot) (47.4) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/kampot-vs-kep)
- [Phnom Penh](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/phnom-penh) (48.5) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/kep-vs-phnom-penh)
- [Labuan Bajo](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/labuan-bajo) (55.4) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/kep-vs-labuan-bajo)
- [Manado](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/manado) (52) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/kep-vs-manado)

## FAQ

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

A single person typically spends about $1,050 per month in Kep (a country-level estimate for Cambodia). That is a 58/100 cost score, where 100 is the cheapest city in the dataset.

### Is Kep safe for digital nomads?

Kep scores 71/100 on safety. Cambodia records 1.8 homicides per 100,000 people per year (WHO, 2021) and a political-stability score of 71.5/100 (World Bank WGI). Both figures are national, so neighbourhood-level risk can differ.

### Does Cambodia have a digital nomad visa?

No dedicated digital nomad visa was listed for Cambodia as of 2026-07. Visitors from the US get a visa on arrival.

### How fast is the internet in Kep?

Measured median download speed in Kep was 15 Mbps (upload 9.9 Mbps) across 12,739 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 Kep?

Not yet. Starlink's availability map lists Cambodia as coming soon (Starting in 2026) as of 2026-10. Roaming plans may work for short stays, but local rules on using them vary.

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

Kep is served by Sihanoukville International Airport (KOS) with 1 nonstop destinations and Phnom Penh International Airport (PNH) with 15 nonstop destinations, 15 unique destinations across all of them, of which 14 are international. 0 US airports have a nonstop link. Source: OpenFlights 2014 snapshot.

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

The most comfortable months are Jan, Feb, Nov, Dec. Mean temperatures range from 79°F (26°C) in Dec to 85°F (30°C) in Apr (NASA POWER 2001–2020 climatology).

### Kep or Sihanoukville: which is better for digital nomads?

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

## Plan a trip

[Where to stay in Kep](https://navoy.io/hotels/cambodia/kep) on Navoy, the AI travel planner behind Nostos.

## 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]: Starlink availability map, SpaceX (Starlink). Factual status cited from starlink.com. https://www.starlink.com/map (retrieved 2026-10-07)
[^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]: OpenFlights airports and routes, OpenFlights.org. ODbL 1.0. https://openflights.org/data (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^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]: OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API), OpenStreetMap contributors. ODbL 1.0. https://overpass-api.de/ (retrieved 2026-10-02)
[^17]: 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)
[^18]: 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/kep