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Leiden vs Malmö

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Malmö edges it, 73 to 72, winning 5 of the 9 factors. Leiden is stronger on nothing outright; Malmö on cost of living. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Cost of living: 2.3 of 72 points (scores 21/100)Safety: 9.0 of 72 points (scores 81/100)Healthcare: 9.5 of 72 points (scores 86/100)Internet: 9.6 of 72 points (scores 87/100)Visa ease: 6.7 of 72 points (scores 61/100)Getting there & around: 10.1 of 72 points (scores 91/100)Climate: 3.7 of 72 points (scores 33/100)Air quality: 10.3 of 72 points (scores 93/100)Quality of life: 10.7 of 72 points (scores 96/100)72
Leiden
out of 100

Canal city of the Netherlands' oldest university, 15 minutes from Schiphol

Full Leiden profile →Where to stay in Leiden →
Cost of living: 3.8 of 73 points (scores 34/100)Safety: 9.2 of 73 points (scores 83/100)Healthcare: 9.8 of 73 points (scores 88/100)Internet: 9.5 of 73 points (scores 86/100)Visa ease: 6.7 of 73 points (scores 61/100)Getting there & around: 9.7 of 73 points (scores 88/100)Climate: 2.8 of 73 points (scores 25/100)Air quality: 10.5 of 73 points (scores 95/100)Quality of life: 10.7 of 73 points (scores 97/100)73
Malmö
out of 100

Sweden's youngest city, a bridge from Copenhagen

Full Malmö profile →Where to stay in Malmö →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricLeidenMalmö
Cost of living2134 ✓
Safety8183 ✓
Healthcare8688 ✓
Internet87 ✓86
Visa ease6161
Getting there & around91 ✓88
Climate33 ✓25
Air quality9395 ✓
Quality of life9697 ✓

Cost

MetricLeidenMalmö
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one city$2,750$1,957 ✓
Central one-bedroom rentno data$1,009

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricLeidenMalmö
Homicides per 100k0.66 ✓0.87
Political stability (0–100)7580.5 ✓
UHC service coverage (0–100)8585
Life expectancy81.1 yrs82.7 yrs ✓

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricLeidenMalmö
Download90.8 Mbps ✓84.9 Mbps
Upload39.1 Mbps41.3 Mbps ✓

Visa

MetricLeidenMalmö
Nomad visanone listednone listed
Minimum income for the visano datano data
Entry, US passport90 days90 days
Entry, EU passportunlimitedunlimited
Entry, UK passport90 days90 days

Getting there and around

MetricLeidenMalmö
Non-stop airport destinations289 ✓203
Walkability (1–5, editorial)55
Transit (1–5, editorial)44

Climate and air

MetricLeidenMalmö
Comfortable months per year4 ✓3
Annual mean PM2.58.3 µg/m³7.3 µg/m³ ✓

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Leiden or Malmö?
Malmö is cheaper: about $1,957 per month versus $2,750 for one person.
Is Leiden or Malmö safer?
Malmö scores higher on safety (83 vs 81), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Leiden or Malmö?
Leiden: a measured median of 90.8 Mbps versus 84.9 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); Airport destinations (Wikipedia airline and destination tables); NASA POWER climatology (2001–2020 monthly means); WHO Ambient Air Quality Database, June 2026 update (V8); 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); Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.10.7. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.