Which is cheaper, Kota Kinabalu or Tamarindo?

Kota Kinabalu is cheaper: about $1,094 per month versus $2,006 for one person.

Is Kota Kinabalu or Tamarindo safer?

Kota Kinabalu scores higher on safety (70 vs 62), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.

Where is the internet faster, Kota Kinabalu or Tamarindo?

M-Lab has no reliable measurement for one of the two cities.

Kota Kinabalu vs Tamarindo

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Kota Kinabalu edges it, 57 to 56, winning 4 of the 9 factors. Kota Kinabalu is stronger on cost of living; Tamarindo on visa ease, healthcare. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Kota Kinabalu

out of 100

Borneo's easy-going capital between islands and Mount Kinabalu

Full Kota Kinabalu profile →

Tamarindo

out of 100

Costa Rica's surf town with a nomad village feel

Full Tamarindo profile →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

Metric	Kota Kinabalu	Tamarindo
Cost of living	63 ✓	37
Safety	70 ✓	62
Healthcare	69	81 ✓
Internet	59	no data
Visa ease	74	89 ✓
Getting there & around	20 ✓	14
Climate	17	25 ✓
Air quality	70	71 ✓
Quality of life	72 ✓	68

Cost

Metric	Kota Kinabalu	Tamarindo
Monthly cost, one person	$1,094 ✓	$2,006
Central one-bedroom rent	no data	$1,529

Safety and health (country-level)

Metric	Kota Kinabalu	Tamarindo
Homicides per 100k	2.6 ✓	13.5
Political stability (0–100)	72.5	86 ✓
UHC service coverage (0–100)	80	84 ✓
Life expectancy	72.8 yrs	78.6 yrs ✓

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

Metric	Kota Kinabalu	Tamarindo
Download	27.1 Mbps	no data
Upload	16.9 Mbps	no data

Visa

Metric	Kota Kinabalu	Tamarindo
Nomad visa	DE Rantau Sarawak	Estancia para Trabajador y Prestador Remoto de Servicios
Minimum income for the visa	$1,999/mo ✓	$2,999/mo
Visa-free days, US passport	90 days	180 days ✓
Visa-free days, EU passport	90 days	180 days ✓
Visa-free days, UK passport	90 days	180 days ✓

Getting there and around

Metric	Kota Kinabalu	Tamarindo
Non-stop airport destinations	34 ✓	31
Walkability (1–5, editorial)	3	3
Transit (1–5, editorial)	2 ✓	1

Climate and air

Metric	Kota Kinabalu	Tamarindo
Comfortable months per year	2	3 ✓
Annual mean PM2.5	18.7 µg/m³	18.2 µg/m³ ✓

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Kota Kinabalu or Tamarindo?: Kota Kinabalu is cheaper: about $1,094 per month versus $2,006 for one person.
Is Kota Kinabalu or Tamarindo safer?: Kota Kinabalu scores higher on safety (70 vs 62), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Kota Kinabalu or Tamarindo?: M-Lab has no reliable measurement for one of the two cities.

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); WhereNext city cost estimates 2026 (city pages). Dataset 2026.09.4. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.