Manado vs Ternate
for digital nomads
Under balanced weights the two cities tie at 52. Neither leads on any factor by 10 points or more. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.
North Sulawesi's capital and the gateway to Bunaken diving
Full Manado profile →Plan a trip to Manado →Volcanic spice island in North Maluku with a sultan's palace
Full Ternate profile →Plan a trip to Ternate →Where they differ
- Internet. Ternate leads on internet, 46 to 37, against Manado. Measured download: 6.6 Mbps vs 9.6 Mbps.
- Getting there & around. Manado leads on getting there & around, 13 to 7, against Ternate. Non-stop airport destinations: 20 vs 12.
Where they are close. Within five points on air quality, cost of living, safety, healthcare, visa ease, climate, quality of life.
Pick Manado if you want
- no clear edge over Ternate in the data
Pick Ternate if you want
- faster internet (9.6 Mbps measured)
Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)
| Metric | Manado | Ternate |
|---|---|---|
| Cost of living | 74 | 74 |
| Safety | 67 | 67 |
| Healthcare | 65 | 65 |
| Internet | 37 | 46 ✓ |
| Visa ease | 54 | 54 |
| Getting there & around | 13 ✓ | 7 |
| Climate | 25 | 25 |
| Air quality | 84 | 86 ✓ |
| Quality of life | 49 | 49 |
Cost
| Metric | Manado | Ternate |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Manado | Ternate |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Manado | Ternate |
|---|---|---|
| Download | 6.6 Mbps | 9.6 Mbps ✓ |
| Upload | 2.7 Mbps | 6.1 Mbps ✓ |
Visa
| Metric | Manado | Ternate |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Manado | Ternate |
|---|---|---|
| Non-stop airport destinations | 20 ✓ | 12 |
| Walkability (1–5, editorial) | 2 | 2 |
| Transit (1–5, editorial) | 2 ✓ | 1 |
Climate and air
| Metric | Manado | Ternate |
|---|---|---|
| Comfortable months per year | 3 | 3 |
| Annual mean PM2.5 | 12.1 µg/m³ | 11.5 µg/m³ ✓ |
✓ marks the better value in each row; ties and missing data are left unmarked.
Frequently asked
- Which is cheaper, Manado or Ternate?
- Manado and Ternate cost about the same: roughly $1,000 per month for one person.
- Is Manado or Ternate safer?
- Manado and Ternate score the same on safety (67), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
- Where is the internet faster, Manado or Ternate?
- Ternate: a measured median of 9.6 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); 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); Nostos long-stay visa guides; Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.11.2. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.