Cotonou vs Porto-Novo
for digital nomads
Under balanced weights Cotonou edges it, 32 to 31, winning 1 of the 9 factors. Neither leads on any factor by 10 points or more. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.
Benin's economic capital and motorbike city, between a lagoon, the ocean and Ganvié's stilt village
Full Cotonou profile →Plan a trip to Cotonou →Quiet official capital of palaces and Afro-Brazilian houses
Full Porto-Novo profile →Plan a trip to Porto-Novo →Where they differ
- Air quality. Cotonou leads on air quality, 40 to 32, against Porto-Novo. PM2.5: 31.9 µg/m³ vs 35.6 µg/m³.
- Getting there & around. Porto-Novo leads on getting there & around, 12 to 7, against Cotonou. Non-stop airport destinations: 13 vs 13.
Where they are close. Within five points on internet, safety, healthcare, visa ease, climate, quality of life.
Pick Cotonou if you want
- no clear edge over Porto-Novo in the data
Pick Porto-Novo if you want
- no clear edge over Cotonou in the data
Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)
| Metric | Cotonou | Porto-Novo |
|---|---|---|
| Cost of living | no data | no data |
| Safety | 50 | 50 |
| Healthcare | 36 | 36 |
| Internet | 30 | 31 ✓ |
| Visa ease | 32 | 32 |
| Getting there & around | 7 | 12 ✓ |
| Climate | 42 | 42 |
| Air quality | 40 ✓ | 32 |
| Quality of life | 15 | 15 |
Cost
| Metric | Cotonou | Porto-Novo |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Porto-Novo |
|---|---|---|
| Homicides per 100k | 5.8 | 5.8 |
| Political stability (0–100) | 58.6 | 58.6 |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 38 | 38 |
| Life expectancy | 65 yrs | 65 yrs |
Internet (M-Lab measured medians)
| Metric | Cotonou | Porto-Novo |
|---|---|---|
| Download | 4.6 Mbps | 4.9 Mbps ✓ |
| Upload | 1.9 Mbps | 2 Mbps ✓ |
Visa
| Metric | Cotonou | Porto-Novo |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Porto-Novo |
|---|---|---|
| Non-stop airport destinations | 13 | 13 |
| Walkability (1–5, editorial) | 2 | 3 ✓ |
| Transit (1–5, editorial) | 1 | 1 |
Climate and air
| Metric | Cotonou | Porto-Novo |
|---|---|---|
| Comfortable months per year | 5 | 5 |
| Annual mean PM2.5 | 31.9 µg/m³ ✓ | 35.6 µg/m³ |
✓ marks the better value in each row; ties and missing data are left unmarked.
Frequently asked
- Which is cheaper, Cotonou or Porto-Novo?
- We lack a monthly cost figure for one of the two cities.
- Is Cotonou or Porto-Novo safer?
- Cotonou and Porto-Novo score the same on safety (50), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
- Where is the internet faster, Cotonou or Porto-Novo?
- Porto-Novo: a measured median of 4.9 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 2026.11.2. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.