NavoyNostos

Astana vs Ulaanbaatar

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Astana edges it, 47 to 39, winning 6 of the 9 factors. Astana is stronger on visa ease, climate, quality of life; Ulaanbaatar on nothing outright. 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: 5.1 of 39 points (scores 46/100)Safety: 6.9 of 39 points (scores 62/100)Healthcare: 6.7 of 39 points (scores 61/100)Internet: 4.4 of 39 points (scores 40/100)Visa ease: 4.2 of 39 points (scores 38/100)Getting there & around: 5.0 of 39 points (scores 45/100)Climate: 0.9 of 39 points (scores 8/100)Air quality: 0.0 of 39 points (scores 0/100)Quality of life: 5.3 of 39 points (scores 48/100)39
Ulaanbaatar
out of 100

World's coldest capital, with the steppe at the edge of town

Full Ulaanbaatar profile →Where to stay in Ulaanbaatar →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricAstanaUlaanbaatar
Cost of livingno data46
Safety6162 ✓
Healthcare69 ✓61
Internet42 ✓40
Visa ease60 ✓38
Getting there & around56 ✓45
Climate25 ✓8
Air quality00
Quality of life61 ✓48

Cost

MetricAstanaUlaanbaatar
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one cityno data$1,435
Central one-bedroom rentno datano data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricAstanaUlaanbaatar
Homicides per 100k2.55 ✓5.64
Political stability (0–100)6275.5 ✓
UHC service coverage (0–100)83 ✓70
Life expectancy70.3 yrs ✓70.1 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricAstanaUlaanbaatar
Download7.3 Mbps ✓7 Mbps
Upload6.1 Mbps ✓4.3 Mbps

Visa

MetricAstanaUlaanbaatar
Nomad visaNeo Nomad visa (B12-1) ✓none listed
Minimum income for the visa$3,000/mono data
Entry, US passport30 days90 days ✓
Entry, EU passport30 days30 days
Entry, UK passport30 days30 days

Getting there and around

MetricAstanaUlaanbaatar
Non-stop airport destinations60 ✓35
Walkability (1–5, editorial)22
Transit (1–5, editorial)3 ✓2

Climate and air

MetricAstanaUlaanbaatar
Comfortable months per year3 ✓1
Annual mean PM2.560 µg/m³60 µg/m³

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Astana or Ulaanbaatar?
We lack a monthly cost figure for one of the two cities.
Is Astana or Ulaanbaatar safer?
Ulaanbaatar scores higher on safety (62 vs 61), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Astana or Ulaanbaatar?
Astana: a measured median of 7.3 Mbps versus 7 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).

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); 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.