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Dili vs Nusa Penida

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Nusa Penida edges it, 57 to 48, winning 5 of the 9 factors. Dili is stronger on nothing outright; Nusa Penida on healthcare, visa ease, quality of life. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Safety: 9.2 of 48 points (scores 65/100)Healthcare: 6.9 of 48 points (scores 48/100)Visa ease: 5.4 of 48 points (scores 38/100)Getting there & around: 1.6 of 48 points (scores 11/100)Climate: 8.3 of 48 points (scores 58/100)Air quality: 11.6 of 48 points (scores 81/100)Quality of life: 5.2 of 48 points (scores 37/100)48
Dili
out of 100

Timor-Leste's small seaside capital, dollar-based and off the radar

Full Dili profile →Plan a trip to Dili →
Cost of living: 8.2 of 57 points (scores 74/100)Safety: 7.4 of 57 points (scores 67/100)Healthcare: 7.2 of 57 points (scores 65/100)Internet: 6.3 of 57 points (scores 57/100)Visa ease: 6.0 of 57 points (scores 54/100)Getting there & around: 1.0 of 57 points (scores 9/100)Climate: 6.5 of 57 points (scores 58/100)Air quality: 9.4 of 57 points (scores 85/100)Quality of life: 5.4 of 57 points (scores 49/100)57
Nusa Penida
out of 100

Rugged island of cliffs and manta rays, 45 minutes from Sanur

Full Nusa Penida profile →Plan a trip to Nusa Penida →

Where they differ

  • Healthcare. Nusa Penida leads on healthcare, 65 to 48, against Dili. Health coverage index: 48 vs 67.
  • Visa ease. Nusa Penida leads on visa ease, 54 to 38, against Dili.
  • Quality of life. Nusa Penida leads on quality of life, 49 to 37, against Dili.

Where they are close. Within five points on air quality, getting there & around, safety, climate.

Pick Dili if you want

  • no clear edge over Nusa Penida in the data

Pick Nusa Penida if you want

  • stronger healthcare
  • a dedicated digital-nomad visa

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricDiliNusa Penida
Cost of livingno data74
Safety6567 ✓
Healthcare4865 ✓
Internetno data57
Visa ease3854 ✓
Getting there & around11 ✓9
Climate5858
Air quality8185 ✓
Quality of life3749 ✓

Cost

MetricDiliNusa Penida
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one cityno data$1,000
Central one-bedroom rentno datano data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricDiliNusa Penida
Homicides per 100k5.10.41 ✓
Political stability (0–100)76.9 ✓52.7
UHC service coverage (0–100)4867 ✓
Life expectancy69.3 yrs72.7 yrs ✓

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricDiliNusa Penida
Downloadno data17.9 Mbps
Uploadno data9.4 Mbps

Visa

MetricDiliNusa Penida
Nomad visanone listedRemote worker visa (E33G) ✓
Minimum income for the visano data$5,000/mo
Entry, US passportvisa on arrivalvisa on arrival
Entry, EU passport90 days ✓visa on arrival
Entry, UK passportvisa on arrivalvisa on arrival

Getting there and around

MetricDiliNusa Penida
Non-stop airport destinations1065 ✓
Walkability (1–5, editorial)3 ✓1
Transit (1–5, editorial)11

Climate and air

MetricDiliNusa Penida
Comfortable months per year77
Annual mean PM2.513.4 µg/m³11.9 µg/m³ ✓

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Dili or Nusa Penida?
We lack a monthly cost figure for one of the two cities.
Is Dili or Nusa Penida safer?
Nusa Penida scores higher on safety (67 vs 65), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Dili or Nusa Penida?
M-Lab has no reliable measurement for one of the two cities.

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; 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); 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.