NavoyNostos

Kathmandu vs Samarkand

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Samarkand edges it, 49 to 47, winning 5 of the 9 factors. Kathmandu is stronger on nothing outright; Samarkand on healthcare, quality of life, safety. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Cost of living: 8.4 of 47 points (scores 76/100)Safety: 6.6 of 47 points (scores 60/100)Healthcare: 5.9 of 47 points (scores 53/100)Internet: 6.5 of 47 points (scores 58/100)Visa ease: 3.8 of 47 points (scores 34/100)Getting there & around: 4.9 of 47 points (scores 44/100)Climate: 4.6 of 47 points (scores 42/100)Air quality: 3.2 of 47 points (scores 29/100)Quality of life: 3.3 of 47 points (scores 30/100)47
Kathmandu
out of 100

Gateway to the Himalayas

Full Kathmandu profile →Where to stay in Kathmandu →
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)

MetricKathmanduSamarkand
Cost of living76no data
Safety6070 ✓
Healthcare5369 ✓
Internet58 ✓58
Visa ease34 ✓33
Getting there & around4448 ✓
Climate4242
Air quality2932 ✓
Quality of life3041 ✓

Cost

MetricKathmanduSamarkand
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one city$666no data
Central one-bedroom rentno datano data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricKathmanduSamarkand
Homicides per 100k2.131.4 ✓
Political stability (0–100)57.867.4 ✓
UHC service coverage (0–100)5879 ✓
Life expectancy70 yrs72.2 yrs ✓

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricKathmanduSamarkand
Download17.1 Mbps ✓16.3 Mbps
Upload16.2 Mbps18.5 Mbps ✓

Visa

MetricKathmanduSamarkand
Nomad visanone listednone listed
Minimum income for the visano datano data
Entry, US passportvisa on arrival ✓e-visa required
Entry, EU passportvisa on arrival ✓30 days
Entry, UK passportvisa on arrival ✓30 days

Getting there and around

MetricKathmanduSamarkand
Non-stop airport destinations50 ✓28
Walkability (1–5, editorial)23 ✓
Transit (1–5, editorial)12 ✓

Climate and air

MetricKathmanduSamarkand
Comfortable months per year55
Annual mean PM2.537 µg/m³35.8 µg/m³ ✓

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Kathmandu or Samarkand?
We lack a monthly cost figure for one of the two cities.
Is Kathmandu or Samarkand safer?
Samarkand scores higher on safety (70 vs 60), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Kathmandu or Samarkand?
Kathmandu: a measured median of 17.1 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); 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.