NavoyNostos

Canggu (Bali) vs Playa del Carmen

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Playa del Carmen edges it, 63 to 58, winning 6 of the 9 factors. Canggu (Bali) is stronger on safety, cost of living; Playa del Carmen on visa ease, getting there & around, internet. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Cost of living: 8.2 of 58 points (scores 74/100)Safety: 7.4 of 58 points (scores 67/100)Healthcare: 7.2 of 58 points (scores 65/100)Internet: 6.3 of 58 points (scores 57/100)Visa ease: 6.0 of 58 points (scores 54/100)Getting there & around: 1.0 of 58 points (scores 9/100)Climate: 7.4 of 58 points (scores 67/100)Air quality: 9.4 of 58 points (scores 85/100)Quality of life: 5.4 of 58 points (scores 49/100)58
Canggu (Bali)
out of 100

Surf, cafés and coworking on Bali's west coast

Full Canggu (Bali) profile →Plan a trip to Canggu (Bali) →
Cost of living: 6.6 of 63 points (scores 60/100)Safety: 3.2 of 63 points (scores 28/100)Healthcare: 8.4 of 63 points (scores 75/100)Internet: 7.6 of 63 points (scores 69/100)Visa ease: 10.0 of 63 points (scores 90/100)Getting there & around: 3.8 of 63 points (scores 34/100)Climate: 6.5 of 63 points (scores 58/100)Air quality: 10.2 of 63 points (scores 92/100)Quality of life: 6.3 of 63 points (scores 57/100)63
Playa del Carmen
out of 100

Caribbean beach town on the nomad circuit

Full Playa del Carmen profile →Plan a trip to Playa del Carmen →

Where they differ

  • Safety. Canggu (Bali) leads on safety, 67 to 28, against Playa del Carmen. Homicides per 100,000: 0.41 vs 25.64.
  • Visa ease. Playa del Carmen leads on visa ease, 90 to 54, against Canggu (Bali).
  • Getting there & around. Playa del Carmen leads on getting there & around, 34 to 9, against Canggu (Bali). Non-stop airport destinations: 65 vs 133.

Where they are close. They are not close on any factor.

Pick Canggu (Bali) if you want

  • to spend about $352 less a month
  • the safer country figures
  • a dedicated digital-nomad visa

Pick Playa del Carmen if you want

  • faster internet (34.6 Mbps measured)
  • stronger healthcare
  • more flights and easier getting around

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricCanggu (Bali)Playa del Carmen
Cost of living74 ✓60
Safety67 ✓28
Healthcare6575 ✓
Internet5769 ✓
Visa ease5490 ✓
Getting there & around934 ✓
Climate67 ✓58
Air quality8592 ✓
Quality of life4957 ✓

Cost

MetricCanggu (Bali)Playa del Carmen
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one city$1,000 ✓$1,352
Central one-bedroom rent$881$726 ✓

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricCanggu (Bali)Playa del Carmen
Homicides per 100k0.41 ✓25.64
Political stability (0–100)52.755 ✓
UHC service coverage (0–100)6779 ✓
Life expectancy72.7 yrs75.3 yrs ✓

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricCanggu (Bali)Playa del Carmen
Download17.9 Mbps34.6 Mbps ✓
Upload9.4 Mbps16.8 Mbps ✓

Visa

MetricCanggu (Bali)Playa del Carmen
Nomad visaRemote worker visa (E33G) ✓none listed
Minimum income for the visa$5,000/mono data
Entry, US passportvisa on arrival180 days ✓
Entry, EU passportvisa on arrival180 days ✓
Entry, UK passportvisa on arrival180 days ✓

Getting there and around

MetricCanggu (Bali)Playa del Carmen
Non-stop airport destinations65133 ✓
Walkability (1–5, editorial)14 ✓
Transit (1–5, editorial)11

Climate and air

MetricCanggu (Bali)Playa del Carmen
Comfortable months per year8 ✓7
Annual mean PM2.511.9 µg/m³8.7 µg/m³ ✓

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Canggu (Bali) or Playa del Carmen?
Canggu (Bali) is cheaper: about $1,000 per month versus $1,352 for one person.
Is Canggu (Bali) or Playa del Carmen safer?
Canggu (Bali) scores higher on safety (67 vs 28), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Canggu (Bali) or Playa del Carmen?
Playa del Carmen: a measured median of 34.6 Mbps versus 17.9 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); 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); WhereNext city cost estimates 2026 (city pages); OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API); Nostos long-stay visa guides; Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.11.3. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.