Which is cheaper, Colima or Manta?

Manta is cheaper: about $1,350 per month versus $1,400 for one person.

Is Colima or Manta safer?

Colima scores higher on safety (28 vs 23), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.

Where is the internet faster, Colima or Manta?

Colima: a measured median of 27.4 Mbps versus 25.3 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).

Colima vs Manta

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Colima edges it, 60 to 59, winning 4 of the 9 factors. Colima is stronger on visa ease; Manta on nothing outright. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Colima

out of 100

Small, green state capital under an active volcano

Full Colima profile →Plan a trip to Colima →

Manta

out of 100

Ecuador's tuna port with a long malecón and cheap Pacific beaches

Full Manta profile →Plan a trip to Manta →

Where they differ

Visa ease. Colima leads on visa ease, 90 to 78, against Manta.
Climate. Manta leads on climate, 83 to 75, against Colima. Comfortable months: 9 vs 10.
Safety. Colima leads on safety, 28 to 23, against Manta. Homicides per 100,000: 25.64 vs 38.94.

Where they are close. Within five points on air quality, healthcare, cost of living, quality of life, internet.

Pick Colima if you want

the safer country figures

Pick Manta if you want

to spend about $50 less a month
a dedicated digital-nomad visa

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

Metric	Colima	Manta
Cost of living	58	60 ✓
Safety	28 ✓	23
Healthcare	75	78 ✓
Internet	64	65 ✓
Visa ease	90 ✓	78
Getting there & around	16 ✓	10
Climate	75	83 ✓
Air quality	74	78 ✓
Quality of life	57 ✓	55

Cost

Metric	Colima	Manta
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one city	$1,400	$1,350 ✓
Central one-bedroom rent	no data	no data

Safety and health (country-level)

Metric	Colima	Manta
Homicides per 100k	25.64 ✓	38.94
Political stability (0–100)	55 ✓	54.4
UHC service coverage (0–100)	79 ✓	78
Life expectancy	75.3 yrs	77.6 yrs ✓

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

Metric	Colima	Manta
Download	27.4 Mbps ✓	25.3 Mbps
Upload	12.1 Mbps	21.3 Mbps ✓

Visa

Metric	Colima	Manta
Nomad visa	none listed	Digital nomad temporary residence visa (rentista for remote work) ✓
Minimum income for the visa	no data	$1,446/mo
Entry, US passport	180 days ✓	90 days
Entry, EU passport	180 days ✓	90 days
Entry, UK passport	180 days ✓	90 days

Getting there and around

Metric	Colima	Manta
Non-stop airport destinations	8 ✓	2
Walkability (1–5, editorial)	3 ✓	2
Transit (1–5, editorial)	2	2

Climate and air

Metric	Colima	Manta
Comfortable months per year	9	10 ✓
Annual mean PM2.5	16.7 µg/m³	14.9 µg/m³ ✓

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Colima or Manta?: Manta is cheaper: about $1,350 per month versus $1,400 for one person.
Is Colima or Manta safer?: Colima scores higher on safety (28 vs 23), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Colima or Manta?: Colima: a measured median of 27.4 Mbps versus 25.3 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); 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. Dataset 2026.11.2. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.