Alicante vs Bilbao
for digital nomads
Under balanced weights Bilbao edges it, 71 to 70, winning 1 of the 9 factors. Neither leads on any factor by 10 points or more. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.
Costa Blanca base with a real city behind the beach
Full Alicante profile →Plan a trip to Alicante →Basque food and design in a compact city
Full Bilbao profile →Plan a trip to Bilbao →Where they differ
- Getting there & around. Bilbao leads on getting there & around, 51 to 43, against Alicante. Non-stop airport destinations: 127 vs 73.
Where they are close. Within five points on internet, air quality, cost of living, safety, healthcare, visa ease, climate, quality of life.
Pick Alicante if you want
- faster internet (75.1 Mbps measured)
Pick Bilbao if you want
- no clear edge over Alicante in the data
Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)
| Metric | Alicante | Bilbao |
|---|---|---|
| Cost of living | 36 | 36 |
| Safety | 76 | 76 |
| Healthcare | 90 | 90 |
| Internet | 85 ✓ | 81 |
| Visa ease | 80 | 80 |
| Getting there & around | 43 | 51 ✓ |
| Climate | 50 | 50 |
| Air quality | 94 ✓ | 93 |
| Quality of life | 81 | 81 |
Cost
| Metric | Alicante | Bilbao |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one city | $2,200 | $2,200 |
| Central one-bedroom rent | no data | no data |
Safety and health (country-level)
| Metric | Alicante | Bilbao |
|---|---|---|
| Homicides per 100k | 0.73 | 0.73 |
| Political stability (0–100) | 68.7 | 68.7 |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 84 | 84 |
| Life expectancy | 83.3 yrs | 83.3 yrs |
Internet (M-Lab measured medians)
| Metric | Alicante | Bilbao |
|---|---|---|
| Download | 75.1 Mbps ✓ | 62.5 Mbps |
| Upload | 63 Mbps ✓ | 48.2 Mbps |
Visa
| Metric | Alicante | Bilbao |
|---|---|---|
| Nomad visa | International teleworking visa (digital nomad visa) | International teleworking visa (digital nomad visa) |
| Minimum income for the visa | $2,741/mo | $2,741/mo |
| Entry, US passport | 90 days | 90 days |
| Entry, EU passport | unlimited | unlimited |
| Entry, UK passport | 90 days | 90 days |
Getting there and around
| Metric | Alicante | Bilbao |
|---|---|---|
| Non-stop airport destinations | 127 ✓ | 73 |
| Walkability (1–5, editorial) | 4 | 5 ✓ |
| Transit (1–5, editorial) | 3 | 5 ✓ |
Climate and air
| Metric | Alicante | Bilbao |
|---|---|---|
| Comfortable months per year | 6 | 6 |
| Annual mean PM2.5 | 7.7 µg/m³ ✓ | 8.3 µg/m³ |
✓ marks the better value in each row; ties and missing data are left unmarked.
Frequently asked
- Which is cheaper, Alicante or Bilbao?
- Alicante and Bilbao cost about the same: roughly $2,200 per month for one person.
- Is Alicante or Bilbao safer?
- Alicante and Bilbao score the same on safety (76), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
- Where is the internet faster, Alicante or Bilbao?
- Alicante: a measured median of 75.1 Mbps versus 62.5 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).
More comparisons
- Alicante vs Castellón de la Plana
- Alicante vs Badajoz
- Bilbao vs Toledo
- Bilbao vs Tarragona
- All comparisons
Sources: Cost of Living Global 2026 (city rows); 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level); Worldwide Governance Indicators — Political Stability and Absence of Violence (score 0–100); Victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population (national data, latest year); UHC service coverage index; Life expectancy at birth (years), both sexes; M-Lab NDT statistics (city aggregates, 2024); Airport destinations (Wikipedia airline and destination tables); NASA POWER climatology (2001–2020 monthly means); WHO Ambient Air Quality Database, June 2026 update (V8); Human Development Index (HDR 2025, HDI 2023); EF English Proficiency Index 2024 (band); Walkability and transit ratings (editorial); Passport Index dataset (visa requirements, 199 passports × 199 destinations); OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API); Nostos long-stay visa guides; Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.11.3. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.