---
title: "Living in Surat as a digital nomad: cost, safety, visa, internet"
url: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/surat
description: "Diamond and textile boomtown on the Tapi, almost unvisited by foreigners"
dataset: 2026.10.7 (2026-10-13)
license: CC BY 4.0
---

# Surat, India

Surat scores 48.1/100 for digital nomads under balanced weights, ranking 904 of 1000 cities. Expect about $750 per month (country-level estimate), no dedicated nomad visa, and a measured median download speed of 30.6 Mbps.

Surat polishes most of the world's diamonds and is one of India's fastest-growing cities, with a riverfront, new flyovers and a top rank in the national cleanliness survey. There is almost no tourism or expat scene, Gujarat is a dry state where foreigners need an alcohol permit, and the climate is hot and humid; costs are low and Mumbai is under four hours by train.

Known for: Diamond-polishing industry, Textile markets, Street food and locho, Fast growth and cleanliness awards.

## Scores (balanced weights, 0–100)

| Factor | Score |
| --- | --- |
| Overall | 48.1 |
| Cost of living | 71 |
| Safety | 55 |
| Healthcare | 56 |
| Internet | 65 |
| Visa ease | 32 |
| Getting there & around | 40 |
| Climate | 42 |
| Air quality | 33 |
| Quality of life | 39 |

## The numbers behind the scores

| Metric | Value | Level | As of | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly cost, one person | $750 | 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) | 2.72 | country | 2023 | [^4] |
| Political stability (0–100) | 55 | country | 2025 | [^5] |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 69 | country | 2023 | [^6] |
| Life expectancy (years) | 67.3 | country | 2021 | [^7] |
| Median download (Mbps) | 30.6 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Median upload (Mbps) | 9.7 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Starlink residential service | Coming soon (Pending regulatory approval) | country | 2026-10 | [^9] |
| Nomad visa | none listed | country | 2026-07 | [^10] |
| Entry for US / EU / UK passports | e-visa required / e-visa required / e-visa required | country | 2026-02 | [^11] |
| Non-stop destinations (STV) | 12 | city | 2026-10 | [^12] |
| Restaurants within 3 km of the centre (OpenStreetMap) | 3 | city | 2026-10 | [^16] |
| Walkability / transit (1–5) | 2 / 3 | editorial | 2026-09 | [^13] |
| Comfortable months | 5 of 12 | city | 2001–2020 | [^14] |
| Annual mean PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 35 | city | 2021 | [^15] |
| Human Development Index | 0.685 | country | 2023 | [^17] |
| English proficiency band | low | country | 2024 | [^18] |

## Climate (2001–2020 normals)

| Month | Mean °C | Rain mm | Humidity % | Comfortable |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Jan | 22.9 | 1 | 36 | yes |
| Feb | 25.2 | 3 | 37 | yes |
| Mar | 28.6 | 2 | 39 | no |
| Apr | 31.5 | 2 | 48 | no |
| May | 32.3 | 6 | 56 | no |
| Jun | 30 | 347 | 74 | no |
| Jul | 27.4 | 572 | 87 | no |
| Aug | 26.6 | 437 | 89 | no |
| Sep | 26.9 | 270 | 86 | no |
| Oct | 26.8 | 43 | 70 | yes |
| Nov | 25.5 | 9 | 55 | yes |
| Dec | 23.8 | 3 | 42 | yes |

## Airports and nonstop flights

| Airport | IATA | Nonstop destinations | International | From US airports |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Surat Airport | STV | 12 | 2 | 0 |

Unique destinations across all airports: 12, of which 2 international (Wikipedia, 2026-10).

## Similar cities

- [Bhubaneswar](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/bhubaneswar) (46.1) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/bhubaneswar-vs-surat)
- [Kathmandu](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/kathmandu) (47.2) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/kathmandu-vs-surat)
- [Pokhara](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/pokhara) (45.3) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/pokhara-vs-surat)
- [Visakhapatnam](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/visakhapatnam) (45.2) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/surat-vs-visakhapatnam)
- [Goa (Panaji)](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/goa) (50.4) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/goa-vs-surat)

## FAQ

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

A single person typically spends about $750 per month in Surat (a country-level estimate for India). That is a 71/100 cost score, where 100 is the cheapest city in the dataset.

### Is Surat safe for digital nomads?

Surat scores 55/100 on safety. India records 2.72 homicides per 100,000 people per year (WHO, 2023) and a political-stability score of 55/100 (World Bank WGI). Both figures are national, so neighbourhood-level risk can differ.

### Does India have a digital nomad visa?

No dedicated digital nomad visa was listed for India as of 2026-07. Visitors from the US need an e-visa, applied for online.

### How fast is the internet in Surat?

Measured median download speed in Surat was 30.6 Mbps (upload 9.7 Mbps) across 604,798 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 Surat?

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

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

Surat is served by Surat Airport (STV) with 12 nonstop destinations, of which 2 are international. 0 US airports have a nonstop link. Source: Wikipedia, 2026-10.

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

The most comfortable months are Jan, Feb, Oct, Nov, Dec. Mean temperatures range from 73°F (23°C) in Jan to 90°F (32°C) in May (NASA POWER 2001–2020 climatology).

### Surat or Bhubaneswar: which is better for digital nomads?

Bhubaneswar is the city with the closest factor profile to Surat 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

[Hotels in India](https://navoy.io/hotels/india) 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]: Victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population (national data, latest year), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, dataUNODC. UNODC data, free to reuse with attribution. https://data.unodc.org/datareport/hom-victim (retrieved 2026-10-12)
[^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]: 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]: 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/surat