Which is cheaper, Isfahan or Mashhad?

We lack a monthly cost figure for one of the two cities.

Is Isfahan or Mashhad safer?

Isfahan scores higher on safety (41 vs 41), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.

Where is the internet faster, Isfahan or Mashhad?

Isfahan: a measured median of 6.1 Mbps versus 6.1 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).

Isfahan vs Mashhad

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Mashhad edges it, 44 to 39, winning 2 of the 9 factors. Isfahan is stronger on nothing outright; Mashhad on air quality, getting there & around. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Isfahan

out of 100

Persia's showcase square, mosques and bridges, closed to foreign cards

Full Isfahan profile →Hotels in Iran →

Mashhad

out of 100

Iran's pilgrimage city around the Imam Reza shrine

Full Mashhad profile →Hotels in Iran →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

Metric	Isfahan	Mashhad
Cost of living	no data	no data
Safety	41	41
Healthcare	74	74
Internet	30	30
Visa ease	15	15
Getting there & around	54	64 ✓
Climate	42	42
Air quality	0	28 ✓
Quality of life	56	56

Cost

Metric	Isfahan	Mashhad
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one city	no data	no data
Central one-bedroom rent	no data	no data

Safety and health (country-level)

Metric	Isfahan	Mashhad
Homicides per 100k	2.9	2.9
Political stability (0–100)	36	36
UHC service coverage (0–100)	81	81
Life expectancy	74.7 yrs	74.7 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

Metric	Isfahan	Mashhad
Download	6.1 Mbps	6.1 Mbps
Upload	0.6 Mbps	0.6 Mbps

Visa

Metric	Isfahan	Mashhad
Nomad visa	none listed	none listed
Minimum income for the visa	no data	no data
Entry, US passport	visa required	visa required
Entry, EU passport	visa on arrival	visa on arrival
Entry, UK passport	visa required	visa required

Getting there and around

Metric	Isfahan	Mashhad
Non-stop airport destinations	30	52 ✓
Walkability (1–5, editorial)	3	3
Transit (1–5, editorial)	3	4 ✓

Climate and air

Metric	Isfahan	Mashhad
Comfortable months per year	5	5
Annual mean PM2.5	56.1 µg/m³	37.6 µg/m³ ✓

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Isfahan or Mashhad?: We lack a monthly cost figure for one of the two cities.
Is Isfahan or Mashhad safer?: Isfahan scores higher on safety (41 vs 41), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Isfahan or Mashhad?: Isfahan: a measured median of 6.1 Mbps versus 6.1 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; 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); OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API); Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.10.7. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.