Which is cheaper, Cotonou or Lomé?

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

Is Cotonou or Lomé safer?

Cotonou scores higher on safety (50 vs 39), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.

Where is the internet faster, Cotonou or Lomé?

Lomé: a measured median of 6.1 Mbps versus 4.6 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).

Cotonou vs Lomé

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Lomé edges it, 35 to 33, winning 4 of the 9 factors. Cotonou is stronger on safety; Lomé on getting there & around. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Cotonou

out of 100

Benin's economic capital and motorbike city, between a lagoon, the ocean and Ganvié's stilt village

Full Cotonou profile →Where to stay in Cotonou →

Lomé

out of 100

Togo's low-key seaside capital with a beach boulevard and the Ghana border in town

Full Lomé profile →Where to stay in Lomé →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

Metric	Cotonou	Lomé
Cost of living	no data	no data
Safety	50 ✓	39
Healthcare	32	35 ✓
Internet	30	38 ✓
Visa ease	32	32
Getting there & around	30	44 ✓
Climate	42 ✓	33
Air quality	40	40
Quality of life	9	17 ✓

Cost

Metric	Cotonou	Lomé
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one city	no data	no data
Central one-bedroom rent	no data	no data

Safety and health (country-level)

Metric	Cotonou	Lomé
Homicides per 100k	5.8 ✓	8.5
Political stability (0–100)	58.6 ✓	50.7
UHC service coverage (0–100)	38	42 ✓
Life expectancy	64 yrs ✓	63.9 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

Metric	Cotonou	Lomé
Download	4.6 Mbps	6.1 Mbps ✓
Upload	1.9 Mbps	4.8 Mbps ✓

Visa

Metric	Cotonou	Lomé
Nomad visa	none listed	none listed
Minimum income for the visa	no data	no data
Entry, US passport	e-visa required	e-visa required
Entry, EU passport	e-visa required	e-visa required
Entry, UK passport	e-visa required	e-visa required

Getting there and around

Metric	Cotonou	Lomé
Non-stop airport destinations	13	32 ✓
Walkability (1–5, editorial)	2	3 ✓
Transit (1–5, editorial)	1	1

Climate and air

Metric	Cotonou	Lomé
Comfortable months per year	5 ✓	4
Annual mean PM2.5	31.9 µg/m³	31.9 µg/m³

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Cotonou or Lomé?: We lack a monthly cost figure for one of the two cities.
Is Cotonou or Lomé safer?: Cotonou scores higher on safety (50 vs 39), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Cotonou or Lomé?: Lomé: a measured median of 6.1 Mbps versus 4.6 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).

More comparisons

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); Estimates of rates of homicides per 100 000 population; 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); Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.10.7. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.