NavoyNostos

Ghent vs Malmö

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Malmö edges it, 73 to 69, winning 7 of the 9 factors. Ghent is stronger on nothing outright; Malmö on safety. 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: 3.8 of 73 points (scores 34/100)Safety: 9.2 of 73 points (scores 83/100)Healthcare: 9.8 of 73 points (scores 88/100)Internet: 9.5 of 73 points (scores 86/100)Visa ease: 6.7 of 73 points (scores 61/100)Getting there & around: 9.7 of 73 points (scores 88/100)Climate: 2.8 of 73 points (scores 25/100)Air quality: 10.5 of 73 points (scores 95/100)Quality of life: 10.7 of 73 points (scores 97/100)73
Malmö
out of 100

Sweden's youngest city, a bridge from Copenhagen

Full Malmö profile →Where to stay in Malmö →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricGhentMalmö
Cost of living2534 ✓
Safety7383 ✓
Healthcare8788 ✓
Internet7986 ✓
Visa ease6161
Getting there & around8788 ✓
Climate2525
Air quality9095 ✓
Quality of life9697 ✓

Cost

MetricGhentMalmö
Monthly cost, one person$2,459$1,957 ✓
Central one-bedroom rentno data$1,009

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricGhentMalmö
Homicides per 100k1.080.87 ✓
Political stability (0–100)68.680.5 ✓
UHC service coverage (0–100)86 ✓85
Life expectancy81.5 yrs82.7 yrs ✓

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricGhentMalmö
Download65.2 Mbps84.9 Mbps ✓
Upload18.3 Mbps41.3 Mbps ✓

Visa

MetricGhentMalmö
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

MetricGhentMalmö
Non-stop airport destinations190203 ✓
Walkability (1–5, editorial)55
Transit (1–5, editorial)44

Climate and air

MetricGhentMalmö
Comfortable months per year33
Annual mean PM2.59.5 µg/m³7.3 µg/m³ ✓

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Ghent or Malmö?
Malmö is cheaper: about $1,957 per month versus $2,459 for one person.
Is Ghent or Malmö safer?
Malmö scores higher on safety (83 vs 73), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Ghent or Malmö?
Malmö: a measured median of 84.9 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); 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.