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Olbia vs Palermo

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Palermo edges it, 69 to 68, winning 3 of the 9 factors. Olbia is stronger on nothing outright; Palermo on nothing outright. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Cost of living: 3.1 of 68 points (scores 28/100)Safety: 8.9 of 68 points (scores 81/100)Healthcare: 9.5 of 68 points (scores 86/100)Internet: 6.6 of 68 points (scores 60/100)Visa ease: 9.0 of 68 points (scores 81/100)Getting there & around: 6.5 of 68 points (scores 58/100)Climate: 5.6 of 68 points (scores 50/100)Air quality: 9.7 of 68 points (scores 87/100)Quality of life: 8.9 of 68 points (scores 80/100)68
Olbia
out of 100

Sardinia's gateway port with an airport in town and the Costa Smeralda next door

Full Olbia profile →Hotels in Italy →
Cost of living: 3.1 of 69 points (scores 28/100)Safety: 8.9 of 69 points (scores 81/100)Healthcare: 9.5 of 69 points (scores 86/100)Internet: 7.7 of 69 points (scores 69/100)Visa ease: 9.0 of 69 points (scores 81/100)Getting there & around: 6.8 of 69 points (scores 61/100)Climate: 6.5 of 69 points (scores 58/100)Air quality: 9.1 of 69 points (scores 82/100)Quality of life: 8.9 of 69 points (scores 80/100)69
Palermo
out of 100

Sicilian capital with a raw, rich street life

Full Palermo profile →Where to stay in Palermo →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricOlbiaPalermo
Cost of living2828
Safety8181
Healthcare8686
Internet6069 ✓
Visa ease8181
Getting there & around5861 ✓
Climate5058 ✓
Air quality87 ✓82
Quality of life8080

Cost

MetricOlbiaPalermo
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one city$2,300$2,300
Central one-bedroom rentno datano data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricOlbiaPalermo
Homicides per 100k0.570.57
Political stability (0–100)73.673.6
UHC service coverage (0–100)8282
Life expectancy82.2 yrs82.2 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricOlbiaPalermo
Download27.1 Mbps37.1 Mbps ✓
Upload3.9 Mbps13.5 Mbps ✓

Visa

MetricOlbiaPalermo
Nomad visaDigital nomad and remote worker visaDigital nomad and remote worker visa
Minimum income for the visa$2,385/mo$2,385/mo
Entry, US passport90 days90 days
Entry, EU passportunlimitedunlimited
Entry, UK passport90 days90 days

Getting there and around

MetricOlbiaPalermo
Non-stop airport destinations77105 ✓
Walkability (1–5, editorial)33
Transit (1–5, editorial)22

Climate and air

MetricOlbiaPalermo
Comfortable months per year67 ✓
Annual mean PM2.510.9 µg/m³ ✓13.2 µg/m³

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Olbia or Palermo?
Palermo is cheaper: about $2,300 per month versus $2,300 for one person.
Is Olbia or Palermo safer?
Olbia scores higher on safety (81 vs 81), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Olbia or Palermo?
Palermo: a measured median of 37.1 Mbps versus 27.1 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 2026.10.7. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.