NavoyNostos

Astana vs Medan

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Medan edges it, 47 to 47, winning 3 of the 9 factors. Astana is stronger on quality of life, getting there & around, healthcare; Medan on air quality, 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: 6.7 of 47 points (scores 60/100)Safety: 7.4 of 47 points (scores 67/100)Healthcare: 6.2 of 47 points (scores 56/100)Internet: 5.8 of 47 points (scores 52/100)Visa ease: 6.0 of 47 points (scores 54/100)Getting there & around: 4.7 of 47 points (scores 42/100)Climate: 2.8 of 47 points (scores 25/100)Air quality: 2.5 of 47 points (scores 22/100)Quality of life: 5.0 of 47 points (scores 45/100)47
Medan
out of 100

North Sumatra's big, hectic city and the road to Lake Toba

Full Medan profile →Where to stay in Medan →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricAstanaMedan
Cost of livingno data60
Safety6167 ✓
Healthcare69 ✓56
Internet4252 ✓
Visa ease60 ✓54
Getting there & around56 ✓42
Climate2525
Air quality022 ✓
Quality of life61 ✓45

Cost

MetricAstanaMedan
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one cityno data$1,000
Central one-bedroom rentno datano data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricAstanaMedan
Homicides per 100k2.550.41 ✓
Political stability (0–100)62 ✓52.7
UHC service coverage (0–100)83 ✓67
Life expectancy70.3 yrs ✓68.3 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricAstanaMedan
Download7.3 Mbps14.4 Mbps ✓
Upload6.1 Mbps6.5 Mbps ✓

Visa

MetricAstanaMedan
Nomad visaNeo Nomad visa (B12-1)Remote worker visa (E33G)
Minimum income for the visa$3,000/mo ✓$5,000/mo
Entry, US passport30 daysvisa on arrival ✓
Entry, EU passport30 daysvisa on arrival ✓
Entry, UK passport30 daysvisa on arrival ✓

Getting there and around

MetricAstanaMedan
Non-stop airport destinations60 ✓26
Walkability (1–5, editorial)22
Transit (1–5, editorial)3 ✓2

Climate and air

MetricAstanaMedan
Comfortable months per year33
Annual mean PM2.560 µg/m³39.9 µg/m³ ✓

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Astana or Medan?
We lack a monthly cost figure for one of the two cities.
Is Astana or Medan safer?
Medan scores higher on safety (67 vs 61), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Astana or Medan?
Medan: a measured median of 14.4 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); 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); Nostos long-stay visa guides; Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.10.7. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.