NavoyNostos

Kep vs Manado

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Manado edges it, 52 to 50, winning 5 of the 9 factors. Kep is stronger on internet; Manado on quality of life, visa ease. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Cost of living: 6.5 of 50 points (scores 58/100)Safety: 7.9 of 50 points (scores 71/100)Healthcare: 6.0 of 50 points (scores 54/100)Internet: 6.0 of 50 points (scores 54/100)Visa ease: 3.8 of 50 points (scores 34/100)Getting there & around: 4.1 of 50 points (scores 37/100)Climate: 3.7 of 50 points (scores 33/100)Air quality: 9.9 of 50 points (scores 89/100)Quality of life: 2.4 of 50 points (scores 22/100)50
Kep
out of 100

Sleepy seaside town of crab shacks and abandoned villas near Kampot

Full Kep profile →Where to stay in Kep →
Cost of living: 6.7 of 52 points (scores 60/100)Safety: 7.4 of 52 points (scores 67/100)Healthcare: 6.2 of 52 points (scores 56/100)Internet: 4.1 of 52 points (scores 37/100)Visa ease: 6.0 of 52 points (scores 54/100)Getting there & around: 4.4 of 52 points (scores 40/100)Climate: 2.8 of 52 points (scores 25/100)Air quality: 9.4 of 52 points (scores 84/100)Quality of life: 5.0 of 52 points (scores 45/100)52
Manado
out of 100

North Sulawesi's capital and the gateway to Bunaken diving

Full Manado profile →Where to stay in Manado →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricKepManado
Cost of living5860 ✓
Safety71 ✓67
Healthcare5456 ✓
Internet54 ✓37
Visa ease3454 ✓
Getting there & around3740 ✓
Climate33 ✓25
Air quality89 ✓84
Quality of life2245 ✓

Cost

MetricKepManado
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one city$1,050$1,000 ✓
Central one-bedroom rentno datano data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricKepManado
Homicides per 100k1.80.41 ✓
Political stability (0–100)71.5 ✓52.7
UHC service coverage (0–100)6267 ✓
Life expectancy68.9 yrs ✓68.3 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricKepManado
Download15 Mbps ✓6.6 Mbps
Upload9.9 Mbps ✓2.7 Mbps

Visa

MetricKepManado
Nomad visanone listedRemote worker visa (E33G) ✓
Minimum income for the visano data$5,000/mo
Entry, US passportvisa on arrivalvisa on arrival
Entry, EU passportvisa on arrivalvisa on arrival
Entry, UK passportvisa on arrivalvisa on arrival

Getting there and around

MetricKepManado
Non-stop airport destinations1520 ✓
Walkability (1–5, editorial)3 ✓2
Transit (1–5, editorial)12 ✓

Climate and air

MetricKepManado
Comfortable months per year4 ✓3
Annual mean PM2.510 µg/m³ ✓12.1 µg/m³

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Kep or Manado?
Manado is cheaper: about $1,000 per month versus $1,050 for one person.
Is Kep or Manado safer?
Kep scores higher on safety (71 vs 67), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Kep or Manado?
Kep: a measured median of 15 Mbps versus 6.6 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); 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); OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API); Nostos long-stay visa guides; Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.10.7. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.