NavoyNostos

Cali vs Lima

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Lima edges it, 63 to 62, winning 5 of the 9 factors. Cali is stronger on air quality, healthcare; Lima on safety, climate. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Cost of living: 6.6 of 62 points (scores 59/100)Safety: 2.7 of 62 points (scores 25/100)Healthcare: 8.3 of 62 points (scores 74/100)Internet: 6.9 of 62 points (scores 62/100)Visa ease: 8.6 of 62 points (scores 77/100)Getting there & around: 5.5 of 62 points (scores 49/100)Climate: 9.3 of 62 points (scores 83/100)Air quality: 8.5 of 62 points (scores 77/100)Quality of life: 6.0 of 62 points (scores 54/100)62
Cali
out of 100

Salsa capital with a warm climate

Full Cali profile →Where to stay in Cali →
Cost of living: 6.0 of 63 points (scores 54/100)Safety: 4.9 of 63 points (scores 44/100)Healthcare: 6.9 of 63 points (scores 62/100)Internet: 7.4 of 63 points (scores 67/100)Visa ease: 8.4 of 63 points (scores 75/100)Getting there & around: 5.8 of 63 points (scores 52/100)Climate: 11.1 of 63 points (scores 100/100)Air quality: 6.9 of 63 points (scores 62/100)Quality of life: 6.1 of 63 points (scores 55/100)63
Lima
out of 100

Coastal capital with a world-famous food scene

Full Lima profile →Where to stay in Lima →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricCaliLima
Cost of living59 ✓54
Safety2544 ✓
Healthcare74 ✓62
Internet6267 ✓
Visa ease77 ✓75
Getting there & around4952 ✓
Climate83100 ✓
Air quality77 ✓62
Quality of life5455 ✓

Cost

MetricCaliLima
Monthly cost, one person$1,025 ✓$1,178
Central one-bedroom rentno datano data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricCaliLima
Homicides per 100k24.358.6 ✓
Political stability (0–100)48.956.9 ✓
UHC service coverage (0–100)82 ✓68
Life expectancy74.5 yrs ✓71.7 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricCaliLima
Download22.6 Mbps29.4 Mbps ✓
Upload14.9 Mbps20 Mbps ✓

Visa

MetricCaliLima
Nomad visaDigital nomad visitor visa (Visa V) ✓none listed
Minimum income for the visa$1,605/mono data
Entry, US passport90 days180 days ✓
Entry, EU passport90 days90 days
Entry, UK passport90 days180 days ✓

Getting there and around

MetricCaliLima
Non-stop airport destinations3268 ✓
Walkability (1–5, editorial)22
Transit (1–5, editorial)3 ✓2

Climate and air

MetricCaliLima
Comfortable months per year1012 ✓
Annual mean PM2.515.5 µg/m³ ✓22.2 µg/m³

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Cali or Lima?
Cali is cheaper: about $1,025 per month versus $1,178 for one person.
Is Cali or Lima safer?
Lima scores higher on safety (44 vs 25), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Cali or Lima?
Lima: a measured median of 29.4 Mbps versus 22.6 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.