NavoyNostos

Pakse vs Sihanoukville

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Sihanoukville edges it, 47 to 46, winning 4 of the 9 factors. Pakse is stronger on nothing outright; Sihanoukville on air quality, safety. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Cost of living: 7.0 of 46 points (scores 63/100)Safety: 6.7 of 46 points (scores 61/100)Healthcare: 6.0 of 46 points (scores 54/100)Internet: 5.9 of 46 points (scores 53/100)Visa ease: 3.8 of 46 points (scores 34/100)Getting there & around: 2.9 of 46 points (scores 26/100)Climate: 4.6 of 46 points (scores 42/100)Air quality: 6.0 of 46 points (scores 54/100)Quality of life: 2.6 of 46 points (scores 23/100)46
Pakse
out of 100

Southern Laos hub for the Bolaven Plateau and the 4,000 islands

Full Pakse profile →Where to stay in Pakse →
Cost of living: 6.4 of 47 points (scores 57/100)Safety: 7.9 of 47 points (scores 71/100)Healthcare: 6.0 of 47 points (scores 54/100)Internet: 6.0 of 47 points (scores 54/100)Visa ease: 3.8 of 47 points (scores 34/100)Getting there & around: 3.2 of 47 points (scores 29/100)Climate: 3.7 of 47 points (scores 33/100)Air quality: 7.7 of 47 points (scores 69/100)Quality of life: 2.4 of 47 points (scores 22/100)47
Sihanoukville
out of 100

Port city rebuilt by casinos, mostly a transit point for the islands

Full Sihanoukville profile →Where to stay in Sihanoukville →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricPakseSihanoukville
Cost of living63 ✓57
Safety6171 ✓
Healthcare54 ✓54
Internet5354 ✓
Visa ease3434
Getting there & around2629 ✓
Climate42 ✓33
Air quality5469 ✓
Quality of life23 ✓22

Cost

MetricPakseSihanoukville
Monthly cost, one person$922 ✓$1,076
Central one-bedroom rentno datano data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricPakseSihanoukville
Homicides per 100k6.41.8 ✓
Political stability (0–100)75.3 ✓71.5
UHC service coverage (0–100)64 ✓62
Life expectancy68.2 yrs68.9 yrs ✓

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricPakseSihanoukville
Download15.2 Mbps ✓15 Mbps
Upload6.9 Mbps9.9 Mbps ✓

Visa

MetricPakseSihanoukville
Nomad visanone listednone listed
Minimum income for the visano datano data
Entry, US passportvisa on arrivalvisa on arrival
Entry, EU passportvisa on arrivalvisa on arrival
Entry, UK passportvisa on arrivalvisa on arrival

Getting there and around

MetricPakseSihanoukville
Non-stop airport destinations511 ✓
Walkability (1–5, editorial)3 ✓2
Transit (1–5, editorial)11

Climate and air

MetricPakseSihanoukville
Comfortable months per year5 ✓4
Annual mean PM2.525.6 µg/m³19 µg/m³ ✓

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Pakse or Sihanoukville?
Pakse is cheaper: about $922 per month versus $1,076 for one person.
Is Pakse or Sihanoukville safer?
Sihanoukville scores higher on safety (71 vs 61), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Pakse or Sihanoukville?
Pakse: a measured median of 15.2 Mbps versus 15 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); Estimates of rates of homicides per 100 000 population; 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); Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.10.7. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.