Alicante vs Castellón de la Plana
for digital nomads
Under balanced weights the two cities tie at 70. 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 →Valencian coast city of tile makers, an hour from Valencia by train
Full Castellón de la Plana profile →Plan a trip to Castellón de la Plana →Where they differ
Where they are close. Within five points on getting there & around, internet, air quality, cost of living, safety, healthcare, visa ease, climate, quality of life.
Pick Alicante if you want
- no clear edge over Castellón de la Plana in the data
Pick Castellón de la Plana if you want
- no clear edge over Alicante in the data
Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)
| Metric | Alicante | Castellón de la Plana |
|---|---|---|
| Cost of living | 36 | 36 |
| Safety | 76 | 76 |
| Healthcare | 90 | 90 |
| Internet | 85 | 87 ✓ |
| Visa ease | 80 | 80 |
| Getting there & around | 43 ✓ | 41 |
| Climate | 50 | 50 |
| Air quality | 94 ✓ | 93 |
| Quality of life | 81 | 81 |
Cost
| Metric | Alicante | Castellón de la Plana |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Castellón de la Plana |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Castellón de la Plana |
|---|---|---|
| Download | 75.1 Mbps | 79.9 Mbps ✓ |
| Upload | 63 Mbps | 71.1 Mbps ✓ |
Visa
| Metric | Alicante | Castellón de la Plana |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Castellón de la Plana |
|---|---|---|
| Non-stop airport destinations | 127 ✓ | 110 |
| Walkability (1–5, editorial) | 4 | 4 |
| Transit (1–5, editorial) | 3 | 3 |
Climate and air
| Metric | Alicante | Castellón de la Plana |
|---|---|---|
| Comfortable months per year | 6 | 6 |
| Annual mean PM2.5 | 7.7 µg/m³ ✓ | 8.1 µg/m³ |
✓ marks the better value in each row; ties and missing data are left unmarked.
Frequently asked
- Which is cheaper, Alicante or Castellón de la Plana?
- Alicante and Castellón de la Plana cost about the same: roughly $2,200 per month for one person.
- Is Alicante or Castellón de la Plana safer?
- Alicante and Castellón de la Plana score the same on safety (76), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
- Where is the internet faster, Alicante or Castellón de la Plana?
- Castellón de la Plana: a measured median of 79.9 Mbps versus 75.1 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).
More comparisons
- Alicante vs Badajoz
- Alicante vs San Sebastián
- Castellón de la Plana vs Badajoz
- Castellón de la Plana vs San Sebastián
- 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 2026.11.2. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.