Kupang vs Labuan Bajo
for digital nomads
Under balanced weights Labuan Bajo edges it, 56 to 55, winning 2 of the 9 factors. Neither leads on any factor by 10 points or more. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.
Dry, sunny capital of West Timor and gateway to Rote's surf
Full Kupang profile →Plan a trip to Kupang →Harbour town on Flores and the gateway to Komodo
Full Labuan Bajo profile →Plan a trip to Labuan Bajo →Where they differ
Where they are close. Within five points on getting there & around, air quality, internet, cost of living, safety, healthcare, visa ease, climate, quality of life.
Pick Kupang if you want
- no clear edge over Labuan Bajo in the data
Pick Labuan Bajo if you want
- no clear edge over Kupang in the data
Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)
| Metric | Kupang | Labuan Bajo |
|---|---|---|
| Cost of living | 74 | 74 |
| Safety | 67 | 67 |
| Healthcare | 65 | 65 |
| Internet | 44 | 44 ✓ |
| Visa ease | 54 | 54 |
| Getting there & around | 7 | 12 ✓ |
| Climate | 50 | 50 |
| Air quality | 88 ✓ | 87 |
| Quality of life | 49 | 49 |
Cost
| Metric | Kupang | Labuan Bajo |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one city | $1,000 | $1,000 |
| Central one-bedroom rent | no data | no data |
Safety and health (country-level)
| Metric | Kupang | Labuan Bajo |
|---|---|---|
| Homicides per 100k | 0.41 | 0.41 |
| Political stability (0–100) | 52.7 | 52.7 |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 67 | 67 |
| Life expectancy | 72.7 yrs | 72.7 yrs |
Internet (M-Lab measured medians)
| Metric | Kupang | Labuan Bajo |
|---|---|---|
| Download | 9.3 Mbps | 9.5 Mbps ✓ |
| Upload | 4.3 Mbps | 4.5 Mbps ✓ |
Visa
| Metric | Kupang | Labuan Bajo |
|---|---|---|
| Nomad visa | Remote worker visa (E33G) | Remote worker visa (E33G) |
| Minimum income for the visa | $5,000/mo | $5,000/mo |
| Entry, US passport | visa on arrival | visa on arrival |
| Entry, EU passport | visa on arrival | visa on arrival |
| Entry, UK passport | visa on arrival | visa on arrival |
Getting there and around
| Metric | Kupang | Labuan Bajo |
|---|---|---|
| Non-stop airport destinations | 17 ✓ | 13 |
| Walkability (1–5, editorial) | 2 | 3 ✓ |
| Transit (1–5, editorial) | 1 | 1 |
Climate and air
| Metric | Kupang | Labuan Bajo |
|---|---|---|
| Comfortable months per year | 6 | 6 |
| Annual mean PM2.5 | 10.3 µg/m³ ✓ | 10.9 µg/m³ |
✓ marks the better value in each row; ties and missing data are left unmarked.
Frequently asked
- Which is cheaper, Kupang or Labuan Bajo?
- Kupang and Labuan Bajo cost about the same: roughly $1,000 per month for one person.
- Is Kupang or Labuan Bajo safer?
- Kupang and Labuan Bajo score the same on safety (67), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
- Where is the internet faster, Kupang or Labuan Bajo?
- Labuan Bajo: a measured median of 9.5 Mbps versus 9.3 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).
More comparisons
- Kupang vs Kuta (Lombok)
- Kupang vs Uluwatu (Bali)
- Labuan Bajo vs Kuta (Lombok)
- Labuan Bajo vs Yogyakarta
- All comparisons
Sources: Cost of Living Global 2026 (city rows); 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level); 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); 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); OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API); Nostos long-stay visa guides; Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.11.2. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.