Blantyre vs Dili
for digital nomads
Under balanced weights Dili edges it, 48 to 42, winning 6 of the 9 factors. Blantyre is stronger on nothing outright; Dili on quality of life. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.
Malawi's hilly commercial capital, near Mulanje and Zomba
Full Blantyre profile →Plan a trip to Blantyre →Timor-Leste's small seaside capital, dollar-based and off the radar
Full Dili profile →Plan a trip to Dili →Where they differ
- Quality of life. Dili leads on quality of life, 37 to 15, against Blantyre.
- Air quality. Dili leads on air quality, 81 to 75, against Blantyre. PM2.5: 16.3 µg/m³ vs 13.4 µg/m³.
- Getting there & around. Dili leads on getting there & around, 11 to 6, against Blantyre. Non-stop airport destinations: 4 vs 10.
Where they are close. Within five points on visa ease, healthcare, safety, climate.
Pick Blantyre if you want
- no clear edge over Dili in the data
Pick Dili if you want
- no clear edge over Blantyre in the data
Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)
| Metric | Blantyre | Dili |
|---|---|---|
| Cost of living | no data | no data |
| Safety | 64 | 65 ✓ |
| Healthcare | 44 | 48 ✓ |
| Internet | 37 | no data |
| Visa ease | 33 | 38 ✓ |
| Getting there & around | 6 | 11 ✓ |
| Climate | 58 | 58 |
| Air quality | 75 | 81 ✓ |
| Quality of life | 15 | 37 ✓ |
Cost
| Metric | Blantyre | Dili |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Blantyre | Dili |
|---|---|---|
| Homicides per 100k | 1.9 ✓ | 5.1 |
| Political stability (0–100) | 62.7 | 76.9 ✓ |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 52 ✓ | 48 |
| Life expectancy | 64.3 yrs | 69.3 yrs ✓ |
Internet (M-Lab measured medians)
| Metric | Blantyre | Dili |
|---|---|---|
| Download | 7.4 Mbps | no data |
| Upload | 1.7 Mbps | no data |
Visa
| Metric | Blantyre | Dili |
|---|---|---|
| Nomad visa | none listed | none listed |
| Minimum income for the visa | no data | no data |
| Entry, US passport | 30 days | visa on arrival ✓ |
| Entry, EU passport | 30 days | 90 days ✓ |
| Entry, UK passport | 30 days | visa on arrival ✓ |
Getting there and around
| Metric | Blantyre | Dili |
|---|---|---|
| Non-stop airport destinations | 4 | 10 ✓ |
| Walkability (1–5, editorial) | 2 | 3 ✓ |
| Transit (1–5, editorial) | 1 | 1 |
Climate and air
| Metric | Blantyre | Dili |
|---|---|---|
| Comfortable months per year | 7 | 7 |
| Annual mean PM2.5 | 16.3 µg/m³ | 13.4 µg/m³ ✓ |
✓ marks the better value in each row; ties and missing data are left unmarked.
Frequently asked
- Which is cheaper, Blantyre or Dili?
- We lack a monthly cost figure for one of the two cities.
- Is Blantyre or Dili safer?
- Dili scores higher on safety (65 vs 64), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
- Where is the internet faster, Blantyre or Dili?
- M-Lab has no reliable measurement for one of the two cities.
More comparisons
- Blantyre vs Lilongwe
- Blantyre vs Dar es Salaam
- Dili vs Paje (Zanzibar)
- Dili vs Zanzibar 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.