Which is cheaper, Kathmandu or Visakhapatnam?

Kathmandu is cheaper: about $666 per month versus $750 for one person.

Is Kathmandu or Visakhapatnam safer?

Kathmandu scores higher on safety (60 vs 55), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.

Where is the internet faster, Kathmandu or Visakhapatnam?

Visakhapatnam: a measured median of 27 Mbps versus 17.1 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).

Kathmandu vs Visakhapatnam

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Kathmandu edges it, 47 to 45, winning 6 of the 9 factors. Kathmandu is stronger on nothing outright; Visakhapatnam on nothing outright. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Kathmandu

out of 100

Gateway to the Himalayas

Full Kathmandu profile →Where to stay in Kathmandu →

Visakhapatnam

out of 100

Port city with beaches and a growing IT sector on the Bay of Bengal

Full Visakhapatnam profile →Hotels in India →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

Metric	Kathmandu	Visakhapatnam
Cost of living	76 ✓	71
Safety	60 ✓	55
Healthcare	53	56 ✓
Internet	58	64 ✓
Visa ease	34 ✓	32
Getting there & around	44 ✓	36
Climate	42 ✓	33
Air quality	29 ✓	20
Quality of life	30	39 ✓

Cost

Metric	Kathmandu	Visakhapatnam
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one city	$666 ✓	$750
Central one-bedroom rent	no data	no data

Safety and health (country-level)

Metric	Kathmandu	Visakhapatnam
Homicides per 100k	2.13 ✓	2.72
Political stability (0–100)	57.8 ✓	55
UHC service coverage (0–100)	58	69 ✓
Life expectancy	70 yrs ✓	67.3 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

Metric	Kathmandu	Visakhapatnam
Download	17.1 Mbps	27 Mbps ✓
Upload	16.2 Mbps ✓	13.9 Mbps

Visa

Metric	Kathmandu	Visakhapatnam
Nomad visa	none listed	none listed
Minimum income for the visa	no data	no data
Entry, US passport	visa on arrival ✓	e-visa required
Entry, EU passport	visa on arrival ✓	e-visa required
Entry, UK passport	visa on arrival ✓	e-visa required

Getting there and around

Metric	Kathmandu	Visakhapatnam
Non-stop airport destinations	50 ✓	8
Walkability (1–5, editorial)	2	2
Transit (1–5, editorial)	1	3 ✓

Climate and air

Metric	Kathmandu	Visakhapatnam
Comfortable months per year	5 ✓	4
Annual mean PM2.5	37 µg/m³ ✓	41 µg/m³

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Kathmandu or Visakhapatnam?: Kathmandu is cheaper: about $666 per month versus $750 for one person.
Is Kathmandu or Visakhapatnam safer?: Kathmandu scores higher on safety (60 vs 55), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Kathmandu or Visakhapatnam?: Visakhapatnam: a measured median of 27 Mbps versus 17.1 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); 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); OpenFlights airports and routes; 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.