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Fethiye vs Kandy

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Kandy edges it, 61 to 59, winning 6 of the 9 factors. Fethiye is stronger on nothing outright; Kandy on safety. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Cost of living: 7.4 of 59 points (scores 66/100)Safety: 5.9 of 59 points (scores 53/100)Healthcare: 8.1 of 59 points (scores 73/100)Internet: 5.6 of 59 points (scores 50/100)Visa ease: 8.1 of 59 points (scores 73/100)Getting there & around: 5.9 of 59 points (scores 53/100)Climate: 5.6 of 59 points (scores 50/100)Air quality: 6.6 of 59 points (scores 59/100)Quality of life: 6.4 of 59 points (scores 57/100)59
Fethiye
out of 100

Turquoise Coast harbour town and base for the Lycian Way

Full Fethiye profile →Where to stay in Fethiye →
Cost of living: 7.8 of 61 points (scores 70/100)Safety: 7.0 of 61 points (scores 63/100)Healthcare: 8.0 of 61 points (scores 72/100)Internet: 6.2 of 61 points (scores 56/100)Visa ease: 7.1 of 61 points (scores 64/100)Getting there & around: 6.1 of 61 points (scores 55/100)Climate: 6.5 of 61 points (scores 58/100)Air quality: 6.7 of 61 points (scores 60/100)Quality of life: 5.8 of 61 points (scores 52/100)61
Kandy
out of 100

Sri Lanka's hill-country capital around a lake

Full Kandy profile →Where to stay in Kandy →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricFethiyeKandy
Cost of living6670 ✓
Safety5363 ✓
Healthcare73 ✓72
Internet5056 ✓
Visa ease73 ✓64
Getting there & around5355 ✓
Climate5058 ✓
Air quality5960 ✓
Quality of life57 ✓52

Cost

MetricFethiyeKandy
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one city$850$768 ✓
Central one-bedroom rentno datano data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricFethiyeKandy
Homicides per 100k2.41 ✓2.51
Political stability (0–100)50.264.9 ✓
UHC service coverage (0–100)77 ✓72
Life expectancy75.3 yrs77.2 yrs ✓

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricFethiyeKandy
Download13.4 Mbps16.1 Mbps ✓
Upload5.2 Mbps10.2 Mbps ✓

Visa

MetricFethiyeKandy
Nomad visaDigital nomad visaDigital nomad visa
Minimum income for the visa$3,000/mo$2,000/mo ✓
Entry, US passport90 days ✓visa on arrival
Entry, EU passport90 days ✓visa on arrival
Entry, UK passport90 days ✓visa on arrival

Getting there and around

MetricFethiyeKandy
Non-stop airport destinations4755 ✓
Walkability (1–5, editorial)33
Transit (1–5, editorial)22

Climate and air

MetricFethiyeKandy
Comfortable months per year67 ✓
Annual mean PM2.523.3 µg/m³22.8 µg/m³ ✓

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Fethiye or Kandy?
Kandy is cheaper: about $768 per month versus $850 for one person.
Is Fethiye or Kandy safer?
Kandy scores higher on safety (63 vs 53), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Fethiye or Kandy?
Kandy: a measured median of 16.1 Mbps versus 13.4 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).

More comparisons

Sources: Cost of Living Global 2026 (city rows); 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level); 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); 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); WhereNext city cost estimates 2026 (city pages); OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API); Nostos long-stay visa guides; Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.10.7. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.