NavoyNostos

New Delhi vs Kolkata

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Kolkata edges it, 49 to 48, winning 2 of the 9 factors. New Delhi is stronger on nothing outright; Kolkata on nothing outright. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Cost of living: 7.9 of 48 points (scores 71/100)Safety: 6.1 of 48 points (scores 55/100)Healthcare: 6.2 of 48 points (scores 56/100)Internet: 7.6 of 48 points (scores 68/100)Visa ease: 3.6 of 48 points (scores 32/100)Getting there & around: 7.8 of 48 points (scores 70/100)Climate: 4.6 of 48 points (scores 42/100)Air quality: 0.0 of 48 points (scores 0/100)Quality of life: 4.3 of 48 points (scores 39/100)48
New Delhi
out of 100

India's capital: history, food and smog

Full New Delhi profile →Where to stay in New Delhi →
Cost of living: 7.9 of 49 points (scores 71/100)Safety: 6.1 of 49 points (scores 55/100)Healthcare: 6.2 of 49 points (scores 56/100)Internet: 7.1 of 49 points (scores 64/100)Visa ease: 3.6 of 49 points (scores 32/100)Getting there & around: 7.4 of 49 points (scores 67/100)Climate: 5.6 of 49 points (scores 50/100)Air quality: 0.5 of 49 points (scores 4/100)Quality of life: 4.3 of 49 points (scores 39/100)49
Kolkata
out of 100

India's literary capital, cheap and under-visited

Full Kolkata profile →Where to stay in Kolkata →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricNew DelhiKolkata
Cost of living7171
Safety5555
Healthcare5656
Internet68 ✓64
Visa ease3232
Getting there & around70 ✓67
Climate4250 ✓
Air quality04 ✓
Quality of life3939

Cost

MetricNew DelhiKolkata
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one city$750$750
Central one-bedroom rentno datano data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricNew DelhiKolkata
Homicides per 100k2.722.72
Political stability (0–100)5555
UHC service coverage (0–100)6969
Life expectancy67.3 yrs67.3 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricNew DelhiKolkata
Download34.8 Mbps ✓28.2 Mbps
Upload14.6 Mbps ✓9 Mbps

Visa

MetricNew DelhiKolkata
Nomad visanone listednone listed
Minimum income for the visano datano data
Entry, US passporte-visa requirede-visa required
Entry, EU passporte-visa requirede-visa required
Entry, UK passporte-visa requirede-visa required

Getting there and around

MetricNew DelhiKolkata
Non-stop airport destinations153 ✓68
Walkability (1–5, editorial)23 ✓
Transit (1–5, editorial)44

Climate and air

MetricNew DelhiKolkata
Comfortable months per year56 ✓
Annual mean PM2.5107 µg/m³48 µg/m³ ✓

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, New Delhi or Kolkata?
Kolkata is cheaper: about $750 per month versus $750 for one person.
Is New Delhi or Kolkata safer?
New Delhi scores higher on safety (55 vs 55), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, New Delhi or Kolkata?
New Delhi: a measured median of 34.8 Mbps versus 28.2 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); 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); 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.