NavoyNostos

Apia vs Suva

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Apia edges it, 55 to 54, winning 3 of the 9 factors. Apia is stronger on climate; Suva on getting there & around, 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 →
Cost of living: 4.3 of 54 points (scores 38/100)Safety: 8.5 of 54 points (scores 77/100)Healthcare: 5.9 of 54 points (scores 53/100)Internet: 4.6 of 54 points (scores 42/100)Visa ease: 5.8 of 54 points (scores 52/100)Getting there & around: 5.4 of 54 points (scores 49/100)Climate: 2.8 of 54 points (scores 25/100)Air quality: 10.9 of 54 points (scores 98/100)Quality of life: 5.6 of 54 points (scores 50/100)54
Suva
out of 100

Fiji's rainy working capital rather than its resort coast

Full Suva profile →Where to stay in Suva →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricApiaSuva
Cost of livingno data38
Safety7177 ✓
Healthcare56 ✓53
Internetno data42
Visa ease3852 ✓
Getting there & around2149 ✓
Climate50 ✓25
Air quality100 ✓98
Quality of life4650 ✓

Cost

MetricApiaSuva
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one cityno data$1,742
Central one-bedroom rentno datano data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricApiaSuva
Homicides per 100k6.262.37 ✓
Political stability (0–100)89 ✓82.8
UHC service coverage (0–100)6269 ✓
Life expectancy70.3 yrs ✓65.5 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricApiaSuva
Downloadno data8.2 Mbps
Uploadno data3.9 Mbps

Visa

MetricApiaSuva
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

MetricApiaSuva
Non-stop airport destinations530 ✓
Walkability (1–5, editorial)23 ✓
Transit (1–5, editorial)12 ✓

Climate and air

MetricApiaSuva
Comfortable months per year6 ✓3
Annual mean PM2.53.7 µg/m³ ✓5.9 µg/m³

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Apia or Suva?
We lack a monthly cost figure for one of the two cities.
Is Apia or Suva safer?
Suva scores higher on safety (77 vs 71), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Apia or Suva?
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); WhereNext city cost estimates 2026 (city pages); OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API); Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.10.7. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.