---
title: "Butuan vs Skardu for digital nomads"
url: https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/butuan-vs-skardu
description: "Under balanced weights Butuan edges it, 48 to 33, winning 7 of the 9 factors. Butuan is stronger on quality of life, visa ease, internet; Skardu on nothing outright. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you."
dataset: 2026.11.2 (2026-11-09)
license: CC BY 4.0
---

# Butuan vs Skardu for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Butuan edges it, 48 to 33, winning 7 of the 9 factors. Butuan is stronger on quality of life, visa ease, internet; Skardu on nothing outright. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

## Where they differ

- **Quality of life.** Butuan leads on quality of life, 61 to 24, against Skardu.
- **Visa ease.** Butuan leads on visa ease, 58 to 42, against Skardu.
- **Internet.** Butuan leads on internet, 43 to 27, against Skardu. Measured download: 10 Mbps vs 3.6 Mbps.

Where they are close: within five points on getting there & around, air quality, climate.

**Pick Butuan if you want** faster internet (10 Mbps measured); the safer country figures; stronger healthcare; a dedicated digital-nomad visa.

**Pick Skardu if you want** no clear edge over Butuan in the data.

## Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

| Metric | Butuan | Skardu | Better |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Cost of living | 67 | no data | — |
| Safety | 47 | 33 | Butuan |
| Healthcare | 63 | 52 | Butuan |
| Internet | 43 | 27 | Butuan |
| Visa ease | 58 | 42 | Butuan |
| Getting there & around | 10 | 6 | Butuan |
| Climate | 0 | 0 | tie |
| Air quality | 83 | 78 | Butuan |
| Quality of life | 61 | 24 | Butuan |

## Cost

| Metric | Butuan | Skardu | Better |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly cost, one person | $1,150 | no data | — |
| Central one-bedroom rent | no data | no data | — |

## Safety and health (country-level)

| Metric | Butuan | Skardu | Better |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Homicides per 100k | 4.31 | 4.33 | Butuan |
| Political stability (0–100) | 51 | 31.4 | Butuan |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 69 | 56 | Butuan |
| Life expectancy | 70.4 yrs | 68.2 yrs | Butuan |

## Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

| Metric | Butuan | Skardu | Better |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Download | 10 Mbps | 3.6 Mbps | Butuan |
| Upload | 2.3 Mbps | 1.9 Mbps | Butuan |

## Visa

| Metric | Butuan | Skardu | Better |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Nomad visa | Digital nomad visa (DNV) | none listed | Butuan |
| Minimum income for the visa | no data | no data | — |
| Entry, US passport | 30 days | eTA required (online, before travel) | Skardu |
| Entry, EU passport | 30 days | eTA required (online, before travel) | Skardu |
| Entry, UK passport | 30 days | eTA required (online, before travel) | Skardu |

## Getting there and around

| Metric | Butuan | Skardu | Better |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Non-stop airport destinations | 2 | 4 | Skardu |
| Walkability (1–5, editorial) | 2 | 2 | tie |
| Transit (1–5, editorial) | 2 | 1 | Butuan |

## Climate and air

| Metric | Butuan | Skardu | Better |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Comfortable months per year | 0 | 0 | tie |
| Annual mean PM2.5 | 12.6 µg/m³ | 14.7 µg/m³ | Butuan |

## FAQ

### Which is cheaper, Butuan or Skardu?

We lack a monthly cost figure for one of the two cities.

### Is Butuan or Skardu safer?

Butuan scores higher on safety (47 vs 33), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.

### Where is the internet faster, Butuan or Skardu?

Butuan: a measured median of 10 Mbps versus 3.6 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).

City pages: [Butuan](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/butuan) · [Skardu](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/skardu). 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); 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); 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.

HTML page: https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/butuan-vs-skardu