NavoyNostos

Ghent vs Leuven

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Leuven edges it, 70 to 69, winning 3 of the 9 factors. Ghent is stronger on nothing outright; Leuven on nothing outright. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Cost of living: 2.8 of 69 points (scores 25/100)Safety: 8.1 of 69 points (scores 73/100)Healthcare: 9.7 of 69 points (scores 87/100)Internet: 8.7 of 69 points (scores 79/100)Visa ease: 6.7 of 69 points (scores 61/100)Getting there & around: 9.7 of 69 points (scores 87/100)Climate: 2.8 of 69 points (scores 25/100)Air quality: 10.0 of 69 points (scores 90/100)Quality of life: 10.6 of 69 points (scores 96/100)69
Ghent
out of 100

Flemish university city with a car-free medieval centre

Full Ghent profile →Where to stay in Ghent →
Cost of living: 2.5 of 70 points (scores 22/100)Safety: 8.1 of 70 points (scores 73/100)Healthcare: 9.7 of 70 points (scores 87/100)Internet: 9.1 of 70 points (scores 82/100)Visa ease: 6.7 of 70 points (scores 61/100)Getting there & around: 9.1 of 70 points (scores 82/100)Climate: 3.7 of 70 points (scores 33/100)Air quality: 10.3 of 70 points (scores 93/100)Quality of life: 10.6 of 70 points (scores 96/100)70
Leuven
out of 100

Belgium's big university town, 20 minutes from Brussels and its airport

Full Leuven profile →Where to stay in Leuven →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricGhentLeuven
Cost of living25 ✓22
Safety7373
Healthcare8787
Internet7982 ✓
Visa ease6161
Getting there & around87 ✓82
Climate2533 ✓
Air quality9093 ✓
Quality of life9696

Cost

MetricGhentLeuven
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one city$2,459 ✓$2,650
Central one-bedroom rentno datano data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricGhentLeuven
Homicides per 100k1.081.08
Political stability (0–100)68.668.6
UHC service coverage (0–100)8686
Life expectancy81.5 yrs81.5 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricGhentLeuven
Download65.2 Mbps80.1 Mbps ✓
Upload18.3 Mbps ✓17.4 Mbps

Visa

MetricGhentLeuven
Nomad visanone listednone listed
Minimum income for the visano datano data
Entry, US passport90 days90 days
Entry, EU passportunlimitedunlimited
Entry, UK passport90 days90 days

Getting there and around

MetricGhentLeuven
Non-stop airport destinations190190
Walkability (1–5, editorial)55
Transit (1–5, editorial)4 ✓3

Climate and air

MetricGhentLeuven
Comfortable months per year34 ✓
Annual mean PM2.59.5 µg/m³8.3 µg/m³ ✓

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Ghent or Leuven?
Ghent is cheaper: about $2,459 per month versus $2,650 for one person.
Is Ghent or Leuven safer?
Ghent scores higher on safety (73 vs 73), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Ghent or Leuven?
Leuven: a measured median of 80.1 Mbps versus 65.2 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); 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); Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.10.7. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.