NavoyNostos

Pokhara vs Siem Reap

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Pokhara edges it, 46 to 43, winning 5 of the 9 factors. Pokhara is stronger on cost of living; Siem Reap on safety. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Cost of living: 9.5 of 46 points (scores 85/100)Safety: 6.6 of 46 points (scores 60/100)Healthcare: 6.5 of 46 points (scores 58/100)Internet: 6.2 of 46 points (scores 56/100)Visa ease: 3.8 of 46 points (scores 34/100)Getting there & around: 1.3 of 46 points (scores 12/100)Climate: 4.6 of 46 points (scores 42/100)Air quality: 3.4 of 46 points (scores 31/100)Quality of life: 3.8 of 46 points (scores 35/100)46
Pokhara
out of 100

Lake town under the Annapurnas

Full Pokhara profile →Plan a trip to Pokhara →
Cost of living: 8.0 of 43 points (scores 72/100)Safety: 7.9 of 43 points (scores 71/100)Healthcare: 6.6 of 43 points (scores 59/100)Internet: 6.0 of 43 points (scores 54/100)Visa ease: 3.8 of 43 points (scores 34/100)Getting there & around: 1.3 of 43 points (scores 12/100)Climate: 3.7 of 43 points (scores 33/100)Air quality: 3.2 of 43 points (scores 29/100)Quality of life: 2.9 of 43 points (scores 26/100)43
Siem Reap
out of 100

Angkor's town, with a friendly expat community

Full Siem Reap profile →Plan a trip to Siem Reap →

Where they differ

  • Cost of living. Pokhara leads on cost of living, 85 to 72, against Siem Reap. Monthly cost, one person: $800 vs $1,050.
  • Safety. Siem Reap leads on safety, 71 to 60, against Pokhara. Homicides per 100,000: 2.13 vs 1.8.
  • Climate. Pokhara leads on climate, 42 to 33, against Siem Reap. Comfortable months: 5 vs 4.

Where they are close. Within five points on air quality, internet, healthcare, getting there & around, visa ease.

Pick Pokhara if you want

  • to spend about $250 less a month

Pick Siem Reap if you want

  • the safer country figures

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricPokharaSiem Reap
Cost of living85 ✓72
Safety6071 ✓
Healthcare5859 ✓
Internet56 ✓54
Visa ease3434
Getting there & around1212 ✓
Climate42 ✓33
Air quality31 ✓29
Quality of life35 ✓26

Cost

MetricPokharaSiem Reap
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one city$800 ✓$1,050
Central one-bedroom rentno datano data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricPokharaSiem Reap
Homicides per 100k2.131.8 ✓
Political stability (0–100)57.871.5 ✓
UHC service coverage (0–100)5862 ✓
Life expectancy72.1 yrs ✓71.2 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricPokharaSiem Reap
Download14.7 Mbps15 Mbps ✓
Upload15.8 Mbps ✓9.9 Mbps

Visa

MetricPokharaSiem Reap
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

MetricPokharaSiem Reap
Non-stop airport destinations1214 ✓
Walkability (1–5, editorial)33
Transit (1–5, editorial)11

Climate and air

MetricPokharaSiem Reap
Comfortable months per year5 ✓4
Annual mean PM2.536.1 µg/m³ ✓37 µg/m³

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Pokhara or Siem Reap?
Pokhara is cheaper: about $800 per month versus $1,050 for one person.
Is Pokhara or Siem Reap safer?
Siem Reap scores higher on safety (71 vs 60), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Pokhara or Siem Reap?
Siem Reap: a measured median of 15 Mbps versus 14.7 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; 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); 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); Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.11.3. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.