NavoyNostos

Baños vs Manaus

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Baños edges it, 54 to 49, winning 5 of the 9 factors. Baños is stronger on air quality, climate; Manaus on safety. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Cost of living: 5.4 of 54 points (scores 48/100)Safety: 2.5 of 54 points (scores 23/100)Healthcare: 7.9 of 54 points (scores 71/100)Internet: 7.3 of 54 points (scores 66/100)Visa ease: 8.6 of 54 points (scores 78/100)Getting there & around: 5.7 of 54 points (scores 52/100)Climate: 2.8 of 54 points (scores 25/100)Air quality: 7.8 of 54 points (scores 70/100)Quality of life: 5.8 of 54 points (scores 52/100)54
Baños
out of 100

Adventure town under a volcano, with hot springs and waterfalls

Full Baños profile →Hotels in Ecuador →
Cost of living: 5.5 of 49 points (scores 50/100)Safety: 3.9 of 49 points (scores 35/100)Healthcare: 8.0 of 49 points (scores 72/100)Internet: 7.0 of 49 points (scores 63/100)Visa ease: 8.6 of 49 points (scores 77/100)Getting there & around: 4.7 of 49 points (scores 42/100)Climate: 0.9 of 49 points (scores 8/100)Air quality: 4.2 of 49 points (scores 38/100)Quality of life: 6.0 of 49 points (scores 54/100)49
Manaus
out of 100

Amazon's river metropolis, hot year-round, with a free-trade-zone economy

Full Manaus profile →Where to stay in Manaus →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricBañosManaus
Cost of living4850 ✓
Safety2335 ✓
Healthcare7172 ✓
Internet66 ✓63
Visa ease78 ✓77
Getting there & around52 ✓42
Climate25 ✓8
Air quality70 ✓38
Quality of life5254 ✓

Cost

MetricBañosManaus
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one city$1,350$1,300 ✓
Central one-bedroom rentno datano data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricBañosManaus
Homicides per 100k38.9418.69 ✓
Political stability (0–100)54.458.9 ✓
UHC service coverage (0–100)7884 ✓
Life expectancy74 yrs ✓72.4 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricBañosManaus
Download26.2 Mbps ✓25 Mbps
Upload23.4 Mbps ✓13.2 Mbps

Visa

MetricBañosManaus
Nomad visaDigital nomad temporary residence visa (rentista for remote work)Digital nomad temporary visa (VITEM XIV)
Minimum income for the visa$1,446/mo ✓$1,500/mo
Entry, US passport90 days90 days
Entry, EU passport90 days90 days
Entry, UK passport90 days90 days

Getting there and around

MetricBañosManaus
Non-stop airport destinations2426 ✓
Walkability (1–5, editorial)4 ✓2
Transit (1–5, editorial)22

Climate and air

MetricBañosManaus
Comfortable months per year3 ✓1
Annual mean PM2.518.3 µg/m³ ✓32.9 µg/m³

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Baños or Manaus?
Manaus is cheaper: about $1,300 per month versus $1,350 for one person.
Is Baños or Manaus safer?
Manaus scores higher on safety (35 vs 23), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Baños or Manaus?
Baños: a measured median of 26.2 Mbps versus 25 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 2026.10.7. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.