---
title: "Living in Visakhapatnam as a digital nomad: cost, safety, visa, internet"
url: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/visakhapatnam
description: "Port city with beaches and a growing IT sector on the Bay of Bengal"
dataset: 2026.10.7 (2026-10-13)
license: CC BY 4.0
---

# Visakhapatnam, India

Visakhapatnam scores 45.2/100 for digital nomads under balanced weights, ranking 947 of 1000 cities. Expect about $750 per month (country-level estimate), no dedicated nomad visa, and a measured median download speed of 27 Mbps.

Visakhapatnam, or Vizag, is a large port city with a long beach promenade, hills on three sides and a relaxed feel for its size. Rents are low, the Araku Valley is a scenic train ride away and Andhra Pradesh is pushing it as an IT hub; it is humid most of the year, cyclones strike some autumns, and the expat community is small.

Known for: Ramakrishna Beach and Rushikonda, Araku Valley train, Kailasagiri hill park, Naval and steel port.

## Scores (balanced weights, 0–100)

| Factor | Score |
| --- | --- |
| Overall | 45.2 |
| Cost of living | 71 |
| Safety | 55 |
| Healthcare | 56 |
| Internet | 64 |
| Visa ease | 32 |
| Getting there & around | 36 |
| Climate | 33 |
| Air quality | 20 |
| 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) | 27 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Median upload (Mbps) | 13.9 | 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 (VTZ) | 8 | city | 2014 | [^12] |
| Restaurants within 3 km of the centre (OpenStreetMap) | 17 | city | 2026-10 | [^16] |
| Walkability / transit (1–5) | 2 / 3 | editorial | 2026-09 | [^13] |
| Comfortable months | 4 of 12 | city | 2001–2020 | [^14] |
| Annual mean PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 41 | 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 | 23.6 | 5 | 71 | yes |
| Feb | 25.5 | 11 | 69 | yes |
| Mar | 28.1 | 15 | 69 | no |
| Apr | 29.9 | 31 | 70 | no |
| May | 30.9 | 72 | 73 | no |
| Jun | 29.8 | 170 | 78 | no |
| Jul | 28.5 | 201 | 83 | no |
| Aug | 28.1 | 211 | 85 | no |
| Sep | 28.1 | 224 | 84 | no |
| Oct | 27.5 | 211 | 80 | no |
| Nov | 25.4 | 80 | 77 | yes |
| Dec | 23.6 | 22 | 74 | yes |

## Airports and nonstop flights

| Airport | IATA | Nonstop destinations | International | From US airports |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Vishakhapatnam Airport | VTZ | 8 | 1 | 0 |

Unique destinations across all airports: 8, of which 1 international (OpenFlights 2014 snapshot).

## Similar cities

- [Bhubaneswar](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/bhubaneswar) (46.1) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/bhubaneswar-vs-visakhapatnam)
- [Surat](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/surat) (48.1) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/surat-vs-visakhapatnam)
- [Chandigarh](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/chandigarh) (44.1) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/chandigarh-vs-visakhapatnam)
- [Kathmandu](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/kathmandu) (47.2) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/kathmandu-vs-visakhapatnam)
- [Pokhara](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/pokhara) (45.3) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/pokhara-vs-visakhapatnam)

## FAQ

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

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

### Is Visakhapatnam safe for digital nomads?

Visakhapatnam 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 Visakhapatnam?

Measured median download speed in Visakhapatnam was 27 Mbps (upload 13.9 Mbps) across 112,431 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 Visakhapatnam?

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 Visakhapatnam and how many nonstop flights are there?

Visakhapatnam is served by Vishakhapatnam Airport (VTZ) with 8 nonstop destinations, of which 1 are international. 0 US airports have a nonstop link. Source: OpenFlights 2014 snapshot.

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

The most comfortable months are Jan, Feb, Nov, Dec. Mean temperatures range from 74°F (24°C) in Jan to 88°F (31°C) in May (NASA POWER 2001–2020 climatology).

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

Bhubaneswar is the city with the closest factor profile to Visakhapatnam 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]: 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/visakhapatnam