NavoyNostos

Isfahan vs Shiraz

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Shiraz edges it, 46 to 39, winning 3 of the 9 factors. Isfahan is stronger on nothing outright; Shiraz on air quality. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Safety: 5.1 of 39 points (scores 41/100)Healthcare: 9.3 of 39 points (scores 74/100)Internet: 3.8 of 39 points (scores 30/100)Visa ease: 1.9 of 39 points (scores 15/100)Getting there & around: 6.7 of 39 points (scores 54/100)Climate: 5.2 of 39 points (scores 42/100)Air quality: 0.0 of 39 points (scores 0/100)Quality of life: 6.9 of 39 points (scores 56/100)39
Isfahan
out of 100

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

Full Isfahan profile →Hotels in Iran →
Safety: 5.1 of 46 points (scores 41/100)Healthcare: 9.3 of 46 points (scores 74/100)Internet: 3.8 of 46 points (scores 30/100)Visa ease: 1.9 of 46 points (scores 15/100)Getting there & around: 7.0 of 46 points (scores 56/100)Climate: 6.3 of 46 points (scores 50/100)Air quality: 5.6 of 46 points (scores 45/100)Quality of life: 6.9 of 46 points (scores 56/100)46
Shiraz
out of 100

City of poets and gardens with Persepolis an hour away

Full Shiraz profile →Hotels in Iran →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricIsfahanShiraz
Cost of livingno datano data
Safety4141
Healthcare7474
Internet3030
Visa ease1515
Getting there & around5456 ✓
Climate4250 ✓
Air quality045 ✓
Quality of life5656

Cost

MetricIsfahanShiraz
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one cityno datano data
Central one-bedroom rentno datano data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricIsfahanShiraz
Homicides per 100k2.92.9
Political stability (0–100)3636
UHC service coverage (0–100)8181
Life expectancy74.7 yrs74.7 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricIsfahanShiraz
Download6.1 Mbps6.1 Mbps
Upload0.6 Mbps0.6 Mbps

Visa

MetricIsfahanShiraz
Nomad visanone listednone listed
Minimum income for the visano datano data
Entry, US passportvisa requiredvisa required
Entry, EU passportvisa on arrivalvisa on arrival
Entry, UK passportvisa requiredvisa required

Getting there and around

MetricIsfahanShiraz
Non-stop airport destinations3036 ✓
Walkability (1–5, editorial)33
Transit (1–5, editorial)33

Climate and air

MetricIsfahanShiraz
Comfortable months per year56 ✓
Annual mean PM2.556.1 µg/m³29.8 µg/m³ ✓

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Isfahan or Shiraz?
We lack a monthly cost figure for one of the two cities.
Is Isfahan or Shiraz 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 Shiraz?
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.