---
title: "Living in Tehran as a digital nomad: cost, safety, visa, internet"
url: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/tehran
description: "Iran's sprawling capital under the Alborz, cut off from global payments"
dataset: 2026.10.7 (2026-10-13)
license: CC BY 4.0
---

# Tehran, Iran

Tehran scores 45.2/100 for digital nomads under balanced weights, ranking 946 of 1000 cities. There is no open cost-of-living figure yet; expect no dedicated nomad visa, and a measured median download speed of 6.8 Mbps.

Tehran is a city of nearly 9 million on the slopes of the Alborz, with a modern metro, ski slopes an hour away and a lively café culture. It is almost impossible as a remote-work base: sanctions mean foreign bank cards do not work and cash must be carried in, internet is heavily filtered and often throttled, US, UK and Canadian citizens must travel with a guide, and winter smog is severe.

Known for: Alborz mountains and Tochal ski, Grand Bazaar, Cafés and galleries, Sanctions: no foreign cards.

## Scores (balanced weights, 0–100)

| Factor | Score |
| --- | --- |
| Overall | 45.2 |
| Cost of living | — |
| Safety | 41 |
| Healthcare | 74 |
| Internet | 33 |
| Visa ease | 15 |
| Getting there & around | 63 |
| Climate | 42 |
| Air quality | 39 |
| Quality of life | 56 |

## The numbers behind the scores

| Metric | Value | Level | As of | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly cost, one person | — | 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) | 2.9 | country | 2021 | [^4] |
| Political stability (0–100) | 36 | country | 2025 | [^5] |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 81 | country | 2023 | [^6] |
| Life expectancy (years) | 74.7 | country | 2021 | [^7] |
| Median download (Mbps) | 6.8 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Median upload (Mbps) | 0.7 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Starlink residential service | Coming soon | country | 2026-10 | [^9] |
| Nomad visa | none listed | country | 2026-07 | [^10] |
| Entry for US / EU / UK passports | visa required / visa on arrival / visa required | country | 2026-02 | [^11] |
| Non-stop destinations (IKA/THR) | 79 | city | 2014 | [^12] |
| Restaurants within 3 km of the centre (OpenStreetMap) | 137 | city | 2026-10 | [^16] |
| Walkability / transit (1–5) | 2 / 4 | editorial | 2026-09 | [^13] |
| Comfortable months | 5 of 12 | city | 2001–2020 | [^14] |
| Annual mean PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 32.5 | city | 2023 | [^15] |
| Human Development Index | 0.799 | country | 2023 | [^17] |
| English proficiency band | low | country | 2024 | [^18] |

## Climate (2001–2020 normals)

| Month | Mean °C | Rain mm | Humidity % | Comfortable |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Jan | 3.3 | 33 | 58 | no |
| Feb | 5.5 | 34 | 55 | no |
| Mar | 10.7 | 35 | 50 | no |
| Apr | 15.7 | 38 | 48 | yes |
| May | 22 | 15 | 38 | yes |
| Jun | 27.9 | 6 | 25 | yes |
| Jul | 30.5 | 7 | 23 | no |
| Aug | 29.2 | 8 | 23 | no |
| Sep | 24.8 | 16 | 28 | yes |
| Oct | 18.2 | 36 | 40 | yes |
| Nov | 9.6 | 45 | 54 | no |
| Dec | 4.8 | 35 | 59 | no |

## Airports and nonstop flights

| Airport | IATA | Nonstop destinations | International | From US airports |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Imam Khomeini International Airport | IKA | 43 | 43 | 0 |
| Mehrabad International Airport | THR | 36 | 1 | 0 |

Unique destinations across all airports: 79, of which 44 international (OpenFlights 2014 snapshot).

## Similar cities

- [Mashhad](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/mashhad) (43.7) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/mashhad-vs-tehran)
- [Shiraz](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/shiraz) (45.8) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/shiraz-vs-tehran)
- [Tabriz](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/tabriz) (41.7) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/tabriz-vs-tehran)
- [Isfahan](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/isfahan) (38.9) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/isfahan-vs-tehran)
- [Chengdu](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/chengdu) (52) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/chengdu-vs-tehran)

## FAQ

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

We do not have a reliable monthly cost figure for Tehran yet.

### Is Tehran safe for digital nomads?

Tehran scores 41/100 on safety. Iran records 2.9 homicides per 100,000 people per year (WHO, 2021) and a political-stability score of 36/100 (World Bank WGI). Both figures are national, so neighbourhood-level risk can differ.

### Does Iran have a digital nomad visa?

No dedicated digital nomad visa was listed for Iran as of 2026-07. Visitors from the US need a visa from a consulate.

### How fast is the internet in Tehran?

Measured median download speed in Tehran was 6.8 Mbps (upload 0.7 Mbps) across 2,755 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 Tehran?

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

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

Tehran is served by Imam Khomeini International Airport (IKA) with 43 nonstop destinations and Mehrabad International Airport (THR) with 36 nonstop destinations, 79 unique destinations across all of them, of which 44 are international. 0 US airports have a nonstop link. Source: OpenFlights 2014 snapshot.

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

The most comfortable months are Apr, May, Jun, Sep, Oct. Mean temperatures range from 38°F (3°C) in Jan to 87°F (31°C) in Jul (NASA POWER 2001–2020 climatology).

### Tehran or Mashhad: which is better for digital nomads?

Mashhad is the city with the closest factor profile to Tehran 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 Iran](https://navoy.io/hotels/iran) 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]: SatPM2.5 satellite-derived annual PM2.5 (V6.GL.02.04), Atmospheric Composition Analysis Group, Washington University in St. Louis. CC BY 4.0. https://sites.wustl.edu/acag/surface-pm2-5/ (retrieved 2026-10-07)
[^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/tehran