Which is cheaper, Bonn or Cologne?

Bonn is cheaper: about $2,500 per month versus $2,562 for one person.

Is Bonn or Cologne safer?

Bonn scores higher on safety (75 vs 75), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.

Where is the internet faster, Bonn or Cologne?

Bonn: a measured median of 54 Mbps versus 42.4 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).

Bonn vs Cologne

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Cologne edges it, 69 to 68, winning 1 of the 9 factors. Bonn is stronger on nothing outright; Cologne on nothing outright. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Bonn

out of 100

Former capital turned UN city, 30 minutes from Cologne

Full Bonn profile →Where to stay in Bonn →

Cologne

out of 100

Cathedral, carnival and a relaxed Rhine city

Full Cologne profile →Where to stay in Cologne →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

Metric	Bonn	Cologne
Cost of living	24 ✓	23
Safety	75	75
Healthcare	86	86
Internet	76 ✓	70
Visa ease	64	64
Getting there & around	77	77
Climate	25	33 ✓
Air quality	93 ✓	93
Quality of life	97	97

Cost

Metric	Bonn	Cologne
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one city	$2,500 ✓	$2,562
Central one-bedroom rent	no data	no data

Safety and health (country-level)

Metric	Bonn	Cologne
Homicides per 100k	0.92	0.92
Political stability (0–100)	69.3	69.3
UHC service coverage (0–100)	87	87
Life expectancy	80.5 yrs	80.5 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

Metric	Bonn	Cologne
Download	54 Mbps ✓	42.4 Mbps
Upload	16.4 Mbps ✓	10.1 Mbps

Visa

Metric	Bonn	Cologne
Nomad visa	none listed	none listed
Minimum income for the visa	no data	no data
Entry, US passport	90 days	90 days
Entry, EU passport	home country	home country
Entry, UK passport	90 days	90 days

Getting there and around

Metric	Bonn	Cologne
Non-stop airport destinations	112	112
Walkability (1–5, editorial)	4	4
Transit (1–5, editorial)	4	4

Climate and air

Metric	Bonn	Cologne
Comfortable months per year	3	4 ✓
Annual mean PM2.5	8.2 µg/m³ ✓	8.3 µg/m³

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Bonn or Cologne?: Bonn is cheaper: about $2,500 per month versus $2,562 for one person.
Is Bonn or Cologne safer?: Bonn scores higher on safety (75 vs 75), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Bonn or Cologne?: Bonn: a measured median of 54 Mbps versus 42.4 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); 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.