NavoyNostos

Hanoi vs Samarkand

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Hanoi edges it, 56 to 49, winning 6 of the 9 factors. Hanoi is stronger on quality of life, climate; Samarkand on nothing outright. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Cost of living: 7.8 of 56 points (scores 70/100)Safety: 7.5 of 56 points (scores 68/100)Healthcare: 7.4 of 56 points (scores 67/100)Internet: 6.8 of 56 points (scores 61/100)Visa ease: 3.9 of 56 points (scores 35/100)Getting there & around: 6.1 of 56 points (scores 55/100)Climate: 6.5 of 56 points (scores 58/100)Air quality: 3.5 of 56 points (scores 32/100)Quality of life: 6.5 of 56 points (scores 58/100)56
Hanoi
out of 100

Old Quarter charm and lakeside cafés

Full Hanoi profile →Where to stay in Hanoi →
Safety: 8.8 of 49 points (scores 70/100)Healthcare: 8.6 of 49 points (scores 69/100)Internet: 7.2 of 49 points (scores 58/100)Visa ease: 4.1 of 49 points (scores 33/100)Getting there & around: 6.0 of 49 points (scores 48/100)Climate: 5.2 of 49 points (scores 42/100)Air quality: 4.0 of 49 points (scores 32/100)Quality of life: 5.1 of 49 points (scores 41/100)49
Samarkand
out of 100

Timurid Silk Road city with the Registan at its heart

Full Samarkand profile →Where to stay in Samarkand →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricHanoiSamarkand
Cost of living70no data
Safety6870 ✓
Healthcare6769 ✓
Internet61 ✓58
Visa ease35 ✓33
Getting there & around55 ✓48
Climate58 ✓42
Air quality32 ✓32
Quality of life58 ✓41

Cost

MetricHanoiSamarkand
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one city$768no data
Central one-bedroom rentno datano data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricHanoiSamarkand
Homicides per 100k1.91.4 ✓
Political stability (0–100)67.7 ✓67.4
UHC service coverage (0–100)7179 ✓
Life expectancy73.8 yrs ✓72.2 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricHanoiSamarkand
Download20.3 Mbps ✓16.3 Mbps
Upload19 Mbps ✓18.5 Mbps

Visa

MetricHanoiSamarkand
Nomad visanone listednone listed
Minimum income for the visano datano data
Entry, US passporte-visa requirede-visa required
Entry, EU passport45 days ✓30 days
Entry, UK passport45 days ✓30 days

Getting there and around

MetricHanoiSamarkand
Non-stop airport destinations89 ✓28
Walkability (1–5, editorial)23 ✓
Transit (1–5, editorial)22

Climate and air

MetricHanoiSamarkand
Comfortable months per year7 ✓5
Annual mean PM2.535.7 µg/m³ ✓35.8 µg/m³

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Hanoi or Samarkand?
We lack a monthly cost figure for one of the two cities.
Is Hanoi or Samarkand safer?
Samarkand scores higher on safety (70 vs 68), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Hanoi or Samarkand?
Hanoi: a measured median of 20.3 Mbps versus 16.3 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); 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); 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.