NavoyNostos

Nairobi vs Windhoek

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Windhoek edges it, 59 to 58, winning 4 of the 9 factors. Nairobi is stronger on climate; Windhoek on safety, visa ease. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Cost of living: 6.2 of 58 points (scores 55/100)Safety: 4.8 of 58 points (scores 43/100)Healthcare: 5.3 of 58 points (scores 48/100)Internet: 4.8 of 58 points (scores 43/100)Visa ease: 7.0 of 58 points (scores 63/100)Getting there & around: 5.0 of 58 points (scores 45/100)Climate: 11.1 of 58 points (scores 100/100)Air quality: 9.1 of 58 points (scores 82/100)Quality of life: 4.9 of 58 points (scores 44/100)58
Nairobi
out of 100

East Africa's startup hub with safari weekends

Full Nairobi profile →Where to stay in Nairobi →
Safety: 7.0 of 59 points (scores 56/100)Healthcare: 5.5 of 59 points (scores 44/100)Internet: 4.5 of 59 points (scores 36/100)Visa ease: 9.5 of 59 points (scores 76/100)Getting there & around: 5.1 of 59 points (scores 41/100)Climate: 10.4 of 59 points (scores 83/100)Air quality: 10.8 of 59 points (scores 87/100)Quality of life: 6.2 of 59 points (scores 50/100)59
Windhoek
out of 100

Clean, safe base for Namibia's deserts

Full Windhoek profile →Where to stay in Windhoek →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricNairobiWindhoek
Cost of living55no data
Safety4356 ✓
Healthcare48 ✓44
Internet43 ✓36
Visa ease6376 ✓
Getting there & around45 ✓41
Climate100 ✓83
Air quality8287 ✓
Quality of life4450 ✓

Cost

MetricNairobiWindhoek
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one city$1,127no data
Central one-bedroom rent$541no data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricNairobiWindhoek
Homicides per 100k4.65 ✓11.21
Political stability (0–100)4678.6 ✓
UHC service coverage (0–100)5766 ✓
Life expectancy66.8 yrs ✓60.4 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricNairobiWindhoek
Download8.9 Mbps ✓6.2 Mbps
Upload4.1 Mbps ✓2.6 Mbps

Visa

MetricNairobiWindhoek
Nomad visaDigital nomad work permit (Class N)Digital nomad visa
Minimum income for the visa$4,583/mo$2,000/mo ✓
Entry, US passporteTA required (online, before travel)90 days ✓
Entry, EU passporteTA required (online, before travel)90 days ✓
Entry, UK passporteTA required (online, before travel)90 days ✓

Getting there and around

MetricNairobiWindhoek
Non-stop airport destinations58 ✓22
Walkability (1–5, editorial)12 ✓
Transit (1–5, editorial)22

Climate and air

MetricNairobiWindhoek
Comfortable months per year12 ✓10
Annual mean PM2.513.1 µg/m³11 µg/m³ ✓

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Nairobi or Windhoek?
We lack a monthly cost figure for one of the two cities.
Is Nairobi or Windhoek safer?
Windhoek scores higher on safety (56 vs 43), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Nairobi or Windhoek?
Nairobi: a measured median of 8.9 Mbps versus 6.2 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); WhereNext city cost estimates 2026 (city pages); OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API); Nostos long-stay visa guides; Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.10.7. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.