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Astana vs Istanbul

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Istanbul edges it, 55 to 47, winning 5 of the 9 factors. Astana is stronger on nothing outright; Istanbul on getting there & around, climate, internet. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Safety: 7.6 of 47 points (scores 61/100)Healthcare: 8.6 of 47 points (scores 69/100)Internet: 5.2 of 47 points (scores 42/100)Visa ease: 7.5 of 47 points (scores 60/100)Getting there & around: 7.0 of 47 points (scores 56/100)Climate: 3.1 of 47 points (scores 25/100)Air quality: 0.0 of 47 points (scores 0/100)Quality of life: 7.6 of 47 points (scores 61/100)47
Astana
out of 100

Planned steppe capital with bold architecture

Full Astana profile →Where to stay in Astana →
Cost of living: 5.2 of 55 points (scores 47/100)Safety: 5.9 of 55 points (scores 53/100)Healthcare: 8.1 of 55 points (scores 73/100)Internet: 6.3 of 55 points (scores 57/100)Visa ease: 8.1 of 55 points (scores 73/100)Getting there & around: 9.3 of 55 points (scores 84/100)Climate: 5.6 of 55 points (scores 50/100)Air quality: 0.0 of 55 points (scores 0/100)Quality of life: 6.4 of 55 points (scores 57/100)55
Istanbul
out of 100

Two continents, endless energy, weak lira

Full Istanbul profile →Where to stay in Istanbul →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricAstanaIstanbul
Cost of livingno data47
Safety61 ✓53
Healthcare6973 ✓
Internet4257 ✓
Visa ease6073 ✓
Getting there & around5684 ✓
Climate2550 ✓
Air quality00
Quality of life61 ✓57

Cost

MetricAstanaIstanbul
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one cityno data$1,391
Central one-bedroom rentno data$1,280

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricAstanaIstanbul
Homicides per 100k2.552.41 ✓
Political stability (0–100)62 ✓50.2
UHC service coverage (0–100)83 ✓77
Life expectancy70.3 yrs75.3 yrs ✓

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricAstanaIstanbul
Download7.3 Mbps19.8 Mbps ✓
Upload6.1 Mbps6.8 Mbps ✓

Visa

MetricAstanaIstanbul
Nomad visaNeo Nomad visa (B12-1)Digital nomad visa
Minimum income for the visa$3,000/mo$3,000/mo
Entry, US passport30 days90 days ✓
Entry, EU passport30 days90 days ✓
Entry, UK passport30 days90 days ✓

Getting there and around

MetricAstanaIstanbul
Non-stop airport destinations60370 ✓
Walkability (1–5, editorial)23 ✓
Transit (1–5, editorial)34 ✓

Climate and air

MetricAstanaIstanbul
Comfortable months per year36 ✓
Annual mean PM2.560 µg/m³50.5 µg/m³ ✓

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Astana or Istanbul?
We lack a monthly cost figure for one of the two cities.
Is Astana or Istanbul safer?
Astana scores higher on safety (61 vs 53), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Astana or Istanbul?
Istanbul: a measured median of 19.8 Mbps versus 7.3 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).

More 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); WhereNext city cost estimates 2026 (city pages); OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API); Nostos long-stay visa guides; Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.10.7. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.