Which is cheaper, Phnom Penh or Siem Reap?

Phnom Penh is cheaper: about $938 per month versus $1,094 for one person.

Is Phnom Penh or Siem Reap safer?

Phnom Penh scores higher on safety (70 vs 70), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.

Where is the internet faster, Phnom Penh or Siem Reap?

M-Lab has no reliable measurement for one of the two cities.

Phnom Penh vs Siem Reap

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Phnom Penh edges it, 41 to 36, winning 2 of the 9 factors. Phnom Penh is stronger on air quality; Siem Reap on nothing outright. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Phnom Penh

out of 100

Cheap, easy visas, and a growing scene

Full Phnom Penh profile →

Siem Reap

out of 100

Angkor's town, with a friendly expat community

Full Siem Reap profile →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

Metric	Phnom Penh	Siem Reap
Cost of living	70 ✓	63
Safety	70	70
Healthcare	51	51
Internet	49	no data
Visa ease	6	6
Getting there & around	11	12 ✓
Climate	25	33 ✓
Air quality	69 ✓	29
Quality of life	21	21

Cost

Metric	Phnom Penh	Siem Reap
Monthly cost, one person	$938 ✓	$1,094
Central one-bedroom rent	$539	no data

Safety and health (country-level)

Metric	Phnom Penh	Siem Reap
Homicides per 100k	1.8	1.8
Political stability (0–100)	68.1	68.1
UHC service coverage (0–100)	62	62
Life expectancy	68.9 yrs	68.9 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

Metric	Phnom Penh	Siem Reap
Download	17.3 Mbps	no data
Upload	10.8 Mbps	no data

Visa

Metric	Phnom Penh	Siem Reap
Nomad visa	none listed	none listed
Minimum income for the visa	no data	no data
Visa-free days, US passport	visa or e-visa required	visa or e-visa required
Visa-free days, EU passport	visa or e-visa required	visa or e-visa required
Visa-free days, UK passport	visa or e-visa required	visa or e-visa required

Getting there and around

Metric	Phnom Penh	Siem Reap
Non-stop airport destinations	42 ✓	13
Walkability (1–5, editorial)	2	3 ✓
Transit (1–5, editorial)	1	1

Climate and air

Metric	Phnom Penh	Siem Reap
Comfortable months per year	3	4 ✓
Annual mean PM2.5	19 µg/m³ ✓	37 µg/m³

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Phnom Penh or Siem Reap?: Phnom Penh is cheaper: about $938 per month versus $1,094 for one person.
Is Phnom Penh or Siem Reap safer?: Phnom Penh scores higher on safety (70 vs 70), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Phnom Penh or Siem Reap?: M-Lab has no reliable measurement for one of the two cities.

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); 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). Dataset 2026.09.4. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.