NavoyNostos

Kep vs Sihanoukville

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Kep edges it, 50 to 47, winning 3 of the 9 factors. Kep is stronger on air quality; Sihanoukville on nothing outright. 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: 6.4 of 47 points (scores 57/100)Safety: 7.9 of 47 points (scores 71/100)Healthcare: 6.0 of 47 points (scores 54/100)Internet: 6.0 of 47 points (scores 54/100)Visa ease: 3.8 of 47 points (scores 34/100)Getting there & around: 3.2 of 47 points (scores 29/100)Climate: 3.7 of 47 points (scores 33/100)Air quality: 7.7 of 47 points (scores 69/100)Quality of life: 2.4 of 47 points (scores 22/100)47
Sihanoukville
out of 100

Port city rebuilt by casinos, mostly a transit point for the islands

Full Sihanoukville profile →Where to stay in Sihanoukville →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricKepSihanoukville
Cost of living58 ✓57
Safety7171
Healthcare5454
Internet5454
Visa ease3434
Getting there & around37 ✓29
Climate3333
Air quality89 ✓69
Quality of life2222

Cost

MetricKepSihanoukville
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one city$1,050 ✓$1,076
Central one-bedroom rentno datano data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricKepSihanoukville
Homicides per 100k1.81.8
Political stability (0–100)71.571.5
UHC service coverage (0–100)6262
Life expectancy68.9 yrs68.9 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricKepSihanoukville
Download15 Mbps15 Mbps
Upload9.9 Mbps9.9 Mbps

Visa

MetricKepSihanoukville
Nomad visanone listednone listed
Minimum income for the visano datano data
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

MetricKepSihanoukville
Non-stop airport destinations15 ✓11
Walkability (1–5, editorial)3 ✓2
Transit (1–5, editorial)11

Climate and air

MetricKepSihanoukville
Comfortable months per year44
Annual mean PM2.510 µg/m³ ✓19 µg/m³

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Kep or Sihanoukville?
Kep is cheaper: about $1,050 per month versus $1,076 for one person.
Is Kep or Sihanoukville safer?
Kep scores higher on safety (71 vs 71), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Kep or Sihanoukville?
Kep: a measured median of 15 Mbps versus 15 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); 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.