---
title: "Antananarivo vs Nosy Be for digital nomads"
url: https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/antananarivo-vs-nosy-be
description: "Under balanced weights Nosy Be edges it, 44 to 34, winning 2 of the 9 factors. Antananarivo is stronger on nothing outright; Nosy Be on climate, air quality. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you."
dataset: 2026.10.7 (2026-10-13)
license: CC BY 4.0
---

# Antananarivo vs Nosy Be for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Nosy Be edges it, 44 to 34, winning 2 of the 9 factors. Antananarivo is stronger on nothing outright; Nosy Be on climate, air quality. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

## Where they differ

- **Climate.** Nosy Be leads on climate, 67 to 8, against Antananarivo. Comfortable months: 1 vs 8.
- **Air quality.** Nosy Be leads on air quality, 100 to 63, against Antananarivo. PM2.5: 21.5 µg/m³ vs 5.1 µg/m³.
- **Getting there & around.** Antananarivo leads on getting there & around, 33 to 24, against Nosy Be. Non-stop airport destinations: 17 vs 7.

Where they are close: within five points on safety, healthcare, internet, visa ease, quality of life.

**Pick Antananarivo if you want** nothing in particular over Nosy Be: it trails on every factor the data covers.

**Pick Nosy Be if you want** a longer comfortable season (8 months against 1); cleaner air.

## Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

| Metric | Antananarivo | Nosy Be | Better |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Cost of living | no data | no data | — |
| Safety | 47 | 47 | tie |
| Healthcare | 28 | 28 | tie |
| Internet | 44 | 44 | tie |
| Visa ease | 34 | 34 | tie |
| Getting there & around | 33 | 24 | Antananarivo |
| Climate | 8 | 67 | Nosy Be |
| Air quality | 63 | 100 | Nosy Be |
| Quality of life | 11 | 11 | tie |

## Cost

| Metric | Antananarivo | Nosy Be | Better |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly cost, one person | no data | no data | — |
| Central one-bedroom rent | no data | no data | — |

## Safety and health (country-level)

| Metric | Antananarivo | Nosy Be | Better |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Homicides per 100k | 6.1 | 6.1 | tie |
| Political stability (0–100) | 56.4 | 56.4 | tie |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 33 | 33 | tie |
| Life expectancy | 62.9 yrs | 62.9 yrs | tie |

## Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

| Metric | Antananarivo | Nosy Be | Better |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Download | 9 Mbps | 9 Mbps | tie |
| Upload | 4.9 Mbps | 4.9 Mbps | tie |

## Visa

| Metric | Antananarivo | Nosy Be | Better |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Nomad visa | none listed | none listed | tie |
| Minimum income for the visa | no data | no data | — |
| Entry, US passport | visa on arrival | visa on arrival | tie |
| Entry, EU passport | visa on arrival | visa on arrival | tie |
| Entry, UK passport | visa on arrival | visa on arrival | tie |

## Getting there and around

| Metric | Antananarivo | Nosy Be | Better |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Non-stop airport destinations | 17 | 7 | Antananarivo |
| Walkability (1–5, editorial) | 2 | 2 | tie |
| Transit (1–5, editorial) | 1 | 1 | tie |

## Climate and air

| Metric | Antananarivo | Nosy Be | Better |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Comfortable months per year | 1 | 8 | Nosy Be |
| Annual mean PM2.5 | 21.5 µg/m³ | 5.1 µg/m³ | Nosy Be |

## FAQ

### Which is cheaper, Antananarivo or Nosy Be?

We lack a monthly cost figure for one of the two cities.

### Is Antananarivo or Nosy Be safer?

Antananarivo scores higher on safety (47 vs 47), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.

### Where is the internet faster, Antananarivo or Nosy Be?

Antananarivo: a measured median of 9 Mbps versus 9 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).

City pages: [Antananarivo](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/antananarivo) · [Nosy Be](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/nosy-be). Sources: Cost of Living Global 2026 (city rows); 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level); Digital Nomad Visas 2026; Worldwide Governance Indicators — Political Stability and Absence of Violence (score 0–100); Estimates of rates of homicides per 100 000 population; 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); SatPM2.5 satellite-derived annual PM2.5 (V6.GL.02.04); 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); Starlink availability map.

HTML page: https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/antananarivo-vs-nosy-be