Bissau vs Cotonou
for digital nomads
Under balanced weights the two cities tie at 32. Neither leads on any factor by 10 points or more. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.
Small Portuguese-speaking capital and gateway to the Bijagós islands
Full Bissau profile →Plan a trip to Bissau →Benin's economic capital and motorbike city, between a lagoon, the ocean and Ganvié's stilt village
Full Cotonou profile →Plan a trip to Cotonou →Where they differ
- Safety. Cotonou leads on safety, 50 to 43, against Bissau. Homicides per 100,000: 8.6 vs 5.8.
Where they are close. Within five points on getting there & around, healthcare, air quality, visa ease, quality of life, climate.
Pick Bissau if you want
- no clear edge over Cotonou in the data
Pick Cotonou if you want
- the safer country figures
Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)
| Metric | Bissau | Cotonou |
|---|---|---|
| Cost of living | no data | no data |
| Safety | 43 | 50 ✓ |
| Healthcare | 34 | 36 ✓ |
| Internet | no data | 30 |
| Visa ease | 34 ✓ | 32 |
| Getting there & around | 11 ✓ | 7 |
| Climate | 42 | 42 |
| Air quality | 43 ✓ | 40 |
| Quality of life | 14 | 15 ✓ |
Cost
| Metric | Bissau | Cotonou |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one city | no data | no data |
| Central one-bedroom rent | no data | no data |
Safety and health (country-level)
| Metric | Bissau | Cotonou |
|---|---|---|
| Homicides per 100k | 8.6 | 5.8 ✓ |
| Political stability (0–100) | 56.3 | 58.6 ✓ |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 43 ✓ | 38 |
| Life expectancy | 61 yrs | 65 yrs ✓ |
Internet (M-Lab measured medians)
| Metric | Bissau | Cotonou |
|---|---|---|
| Download | no data | 4.6 Mbps |
| Upload | no data | 1.9 Mbps |
Visa
| Metric | Bissau | Cotonou |
|---|---|---|
| Nomad visa | none listed | none listed |
| Minimum income for the visa | no data | no data |
| Entry, US passport | visa on arrival ✓ | e-visa required |
| Entry, EU passport | visa on arrival ✓ | e-visa required |
| Entry, UK passport | visa on arrival ✓ | e-visa required |
Getting there and around
| Metric | Bissau | Cotonou |
|---|---|---|
| Non-stop airport destinations | 6 | 13 ✓ |
| Walkability (1–5, editorial) | 3 ✓ | 2 |
| Transit (1–5, editorial) | 1 | 1 |
Climate and air
| Metric | Bissau | Cotonou |
|---|---|---|
| Comfortable months per year | 5 | 5 |
| Annual mean PM2.5 | 30.8 µg/m³ ✓ | 31.9 µg/m³ |
✓ marks the better value in each row; ties and missing data are left unmarked.
Frequently asked
- Which is cheaper, Bissau or Cotonou?
- We lack a monthly cost figure for one of the two cities.
- Is Bissau or Cotonou safer?
- Cotonou scores higher on safety (50 vs 43), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
- Where is the internet faster, Bissau or Cotonou?
- M-Lab has no reliable measurement for one of the two cities.
More comparisons
- Bissau vs Djibouti City
- Bissau vs Porto-Novo
- Cotonou vs Porto-Novo
- Cotonou vs Djibouti City
- All 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); Estimates of rates of homicides per 100 000 population; 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); Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.11.2. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.