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Banda Aceh vs Yogyakarta

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Banda Aceh edges it, 57 to 56, winning 2 of the 9 factors. Neither leads on any factor by 10 points or more. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Cost of living: 8.2 of 57 points (scores 74/100)Safety: 7.4 of 57 points (scores 67/100)Healthcare: 7.2 of 57 points (scores 65/100)Internet: 5.8 of 57 points (scores 52/100)Visa ease: 6.0 of 57 points (scores 54/100)Getting there & around: 1.8 of 57 points (scores 16/100)Climate: 6.5 of 57 points (scores 58/100)Air quality: 8.4 of 57 points (scores 76/100)Quality of life: 5.4 of 57 points (scores 49/100)57
Banda Aceh
out of 100

Aceh's capital, rebuilt after the 2004 tsunami, and the gateway to Weh Island

Full Banda Aceh profile →Plan a trip to Banda Aceh →
Cost of living: 8.2 of 56 points (scores 74/100)Safety: 7.4 of 56 points (scores 67/100)Healthcare: 7.2 of 56 points (scores 65/100)Internet: 5.3 of 56 points (scores 48/100)Visa ease: 6.0 of 56 points (scores 54/100)Getting there & around: 2.0 of 56 points (scores 18/100)Climate: 5.6 of 56 points (scores 50/100)Air quality: 8.5 of 56 points (scores 77/100)Quality of life: 5.4 of 56 points (scores 49/100)56
Yogyakarta
out of 100

Java's cultural capital on a student budget

Full Yogyakarta profile →Plan a trip to Yogyakarta →

Where they differ

  • Climate. Banda Aceh leads on climate, 58 to 50, against Yogyakarta. Comfortable months: 7 vs 6.

Where they are close. Within five points on internet, getting there & around, air quality, cost of living, safety, healthcare, visa ease, quality of life.

Pick Banda Aceh if you want

  • faster internet (15.8 Mbps measured)

Pick Yogyakarta if you want

  • no clear edge over Banda Aceh in the data

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricBanda AcehYogyakarta
Cost of living7474
Safety6767
Healthcare6565
Internet52 ✓48
Visa ease5454
Getting there & around1618 ✓
Climate58 ✓50
Air quality7677 ✓
Quality of life4949

Cost

MetricBanda AcehYogyakarta
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one city$1,000$1,000
Central one-bedroom rentno datano data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricBanda AcehYogyakarta
Homicides per 100k0.410.41
Political stability (0–100)52.752.7
UHC service coverage (0–100)6767
Life expectancy72.7 yrs72.7 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricBanda AcehYogyakarta
Download15.8 Mbps ✓11.4 Mbps
Upload4.9 Mbps5.7 Mbps ✓

Visa

MetricBanda AcehYogyakarta
Nomad visaRemote worker visa (E33G)Remote worker visa (E33G)
Minimum income for the visa$5,000/mo$5,000/mo
Entry, US passportvisa on arrivalvisa on arrival
Entry, EU passportvisa on arrivalvisa on arrival
Entry, UK passportvisa on arrivalvisa on arrival

Getting there and around

MetricBanda AcehYogyakarta
Non-stop airport destinations920 ✓
Walkability (1–5, editorial)33
Transit (1–5, editorial)22

Climate and air

MetricBanda AcehYogyakarta
Comfortable months per year7 ✓6
Annual mean PM2.516 µg/m³15.4 µg/m³ ✓

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Banda Aceh or Yogyakarta?
Banda Aceh and Yogyakarta cost about the same: roughly $1,000 per month for one person.
Is Banda Aceh or Yogyakarta safer?
Banda Aceh and Yogyakarta score the same on safety (67), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Banda Aceh or Yogyakarta?
Banda Aceh: a measured median of 15.8 Mbps versus 11.4 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); 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 2026.11.2. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.