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Apia vs Port Vila

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Port Vila edges it, 58 to 55, winning 4 of the 9 factors. Apia is stronger on quality of life, healthcare; Port Vila on safety, climate, visa ease. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Safety: 10.2 of 55 points (scores 71/100)Healthcare: 8.0 of 55 points (scores 56/100)Visa ease: 5.4 of 55 points (scores 38/100)Getting there & around: 3.0 of 55 points (scores 21/100)Climate: 7.1 of 55 points (scores 50/100)Air quality: 14.3 of 55 points (scores 100/100)Quality of life: 6.5 of 55 points (scores 46/100)55
Apia
out of 100

Samoa's laid-back capital, where Sundays stop and the sea is close

Full Apia profile →Where to stay in Apia →
Safety: 12.7 of 58 points (scores 89/100)Healthcare: 6.3 of 58 points (scores 44/100)Visa ease: 7.5 of 58 points (scores 52/100)Getting there & around: 3.3 of 58 points (scores 23/100)Climate: 9.5 of 58 points (scores 67/100)Air quality: 14.3 of 58 points (scores 100/100)Quality of life: 3.9 of 58 points (scores 28/100)58
Port Vila
out of 100

Vanuatu's harbour-side capital: duty-free, cyclone-prone and small

Full Port Vila profile →Where to stay in Port Vila →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricApiaPort Vila
Cost of livingno datano data
Safety7189 ✓
Healthcare56 ✓44
Internetno datano data
Visa ease3852 ✓
Getting there & around2123 ✓
Climate5067 ✓
Air quality100100
Quality of life46 ✓28

Cost

MetricApiaPort Vila
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one cityno datano data
Central one-bedroom rentno datano data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricApiaPort Vila
Homicides per 100k6.260.33 ✓
Political stability (0–100)89 ✓82.3
UHC service coverage (0–100)62 ✓52
Life expectancy70.3 yrs ✓66.3 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricApiaPort Vila
Downloadno datano data
Uploadno datano data

Visa

MetricApiaPort Vila
Nomad visanone listednone listed
Minimum income for the visano datano data
Entry, US passportvisa on arrival120 days ✓
Entry, EU passport90 days120 days ✓
Entry, UK passportvisa on arrival120 days ✓

Getting there and around

MetricApiaPort Vila
Non-stop airport destinations56 ✓
Walkability (1–5, editorial)22
Transit (1–5, editorial)11

Climate and air

MetricApiaPort Vila
Comfortable months per year68 ✓
Annual mean PM2.53.7 µg/m³ ✓4.1 µg/m³

✓ marks the better value in each row; ties and missing data are left unmarked.

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Apia or Port Vila?
We lack a monthly cost figure for one of the two cities.
Is Apia or Port Vila safer?
Port Vila scores higher on safety (89 vs 71), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Apia or Port Vila?
M-Lab has no reliable measurement for one of the two cities.

More comparisons

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); 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); 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. Dataset 2026.10.7. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.