Which is cheaper, Cartagena or Paraty?

Cartagena is cheaper: about $1,025 per month versus $1,300 for one person.

Is Cartagena or Paraty safer?

Paraty scores higher on safety (35 vs 25), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.

Where is the internet faster, Cartagena or Paraty?

Paraty: a measured median of 36.2 Mbps versus 28.9 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).

Cartagena vs Paraty

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Paraty edges it, 61 to 58, winning 6 of the 9 factors. Cartagena is stronger on nothing outright; Paraty on climate, safety. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Cartagena

out of 100

Caribbean walled city with a nomad visa

Full Cartagena profile →Where to stay in Cartagena →

Paraty

out of 100

UNESCO colonial harbour town between rainforest and the Costa Verde

Full Paraty profile →Where to stay in Paraty →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

Metric	Cartagena	Paraty
Cost of living	59 ✓	50
Safety	25	35 ✓
Healthcare	74 ✓	72
Internet	66	72 ✓
Visa ease	77	77 ✓
Getting there & around	54	56 ✓
Climate	33	50 ✓
Air quality	75	83 ✓
Quality of life	54 ✓	54

Cost

Metric	Cartagena	Paraty
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one city	$1,025 ✓	$1,300
Central one-bedroom rent	no data	no data

Safety and health (country-level)

Metric	Cartagena	Paraty
Homicides per 100k	24.35	18.69 ✓
Political stability (0–100)	48.9	58.9 ✓
UHC service coverage (0–100)	82	84 ✓
Life expectancy	74.5 yrs ✓	72.4 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

Metric	Cartagena	Paraty
Download	28.9 Mbps	36.2 Mbps ✓
Upload	14.3 Mbps	29.4 Mbps ✓

Visa

Metric	Cartagena	Paraty
Nomad visa	Digital nomad visitor visa (Visa V)	Digital nomad temporary visa (VITEM XIV)
Minimum income for the visa	$1,605/mo	$1,500/mo ✓
Entry, US passport	90 days	90 days
Entry, EU passport	90 days	90 days
Entry, UK passport	90 days	90 days

Getting there and around

Metric	Cartagena	Paraty
Non-stop airport destinations	31	59 ✓
Walkability (1–5, editorial)	4	4
Transit (1–5, editorial)	2 ✓	1

Climate and air

Metric	Cartagena	Paraty
Comfortable months per year	4	6 ✓
Annual mean PM2.5	16.1 µg/m³	12.8 µg/m³ ✓

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Cartagena or Paraty?: Cartagena is cheaper: about $1,025 per month versus $1,300 for one person.
Is Cartagena or Paraty safer?: Paraty scores higher on safety (35 vs 25), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Cartagena or Paraty?: Paraty: a measured median of 36.2 Mbps versus 28.9 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 2026.10.7. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.