---
title: "Cotonou vs Porto-Novo for digital nomads"
url: https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/cotonou-vs-porto-novo
description: "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."
dataset: 2026.11.2 (2026-11-09)
license: CC BY 4.0
---

# 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.

## 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 | Better |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Cost of living | no data | no data | — |
| Safety | 50 | 50 | tie |
| Healthcare | 36 | 36 | tie |
| Internet | 30 | 31 | Porto-Novo |
| Visa ease | 32 | 32 | tie |
| Getting there & around | 7 | 12 | Porto-Novo |
| Climate | 42 | 42 | tie |
| Air quality | 40 | 32 | Cotonou |
| Quality of life | 15 | 15 | tie |

## Cost

| Metric | Cotonou | Porto-Novo | Better |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly cost, one person | no data | no data | — |
| Central one-bedroom rent | no data | no data | — |

## Safety and health (country-level)

| Metric | Cotonou | Porto-Novo | Better |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Homicides per 100k | 5.8 | 5.8 | tie |
| Political stability (0–100) | 58.6 | 58.6 | tie |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 38 | 38 | tie |
| Life expectancy | 65 yrs | 65 yrs | tie |

## Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

| Metric | Cotonou | Porto-Novo | Better |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Download | 4.6 Mbps | 4.9 Mbps | Porto-Novo |
| Upload | 1.9 Mbps | 2 Mbps | Porto-Novo |

## Visa

| Metric | Cotonou | Porto-Novo | Better |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Nomad visa | none listed | none listed | tie |
| Minimum income for the visa | no data | no data | — |
| Entry, US passport | e-visa required | e-visa required | tie |
| Entry, EU passport | e-visa required | e-visa required | tie |
| Entry, UK passport | e-visa required | e-visa required | tie |

## Getting there and around

| Metric | Cotonou | Porto-Novo | Better |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Non-stop airport destinations | 13 | 13 | tie |
| Walkability (1–5, editorial) | 2 | 3 | Porto-Novo |
| Transit (1–5, editorial) | 1 | 1 | tie |

## Climate and air

| Metric | Cotonou | Porto-Novo | Better |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Comfortable months per year | 5 | 5 | tie |
| Annual mean PM2.5 | 31.9 µg/m³ | 35.6 µg/m³ | Cotonou |

## FAQ

### 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).

City pages: [Cotonou](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/cotonou) · [Porto-Novo](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/porto-novo). 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.

HTML page: https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/cotonou-vs-porto-novo