NavoyNostos

Pokhara vs Surat

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Surat edges it, 48 to 45, winning 6 of the 9 factors. Pokhara is stronger on nothing outright; Surat on nothing outright. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Cost of living: 7.5 of 45 points (scores 68/100)Safety: 6.6 of 45 points (scores 60/100)Healthcare: 5.9 of 45 points (scores 53/100)Internet: 6.2 of 45 points (scores 56/100)Visa ease: 3.8 of 45 points (scores 34/100)Getting there & around: 3.9 of 45 points (scores 35/100)Climate: 4.6 of 45 points (scores 42/100)Air quality: 3.4 of 45 points (scores 31/100)Quality of life: 3.3 of 45 points (scores 30/100)45
Pokhara
out of 100

Lake town under the Annapurnas

Full Pokhara profile →Where to stay in Pokhara →
Cost of living: 7.9 of 48 points (scores 71/100)Safety: 6.1 of 48 points (scores 55/100)Healthcare: 6.2 of 48 points (scores 56/100)Internet: 7.2 of 48 points (scores 65/100)Visa ease: 3.6 of 48 points (scores 32/100)Getting there & around: 4.4 of 48 points (scores 40/100)Climate: 4.6 of 48 points (scores 42/100)Air quality: 3.7 of 48 points (scores 33/100)Quality of life: 4.3 of 48 points (scores 39/100)48
Surat
out of 100

Diamond and textile boomtown on the Tapi, almost unvisited by foreigners

Full Surat profile →Hotels in India →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricPokharaSurat
Cost of living6871 ✓
Safety60 ✓55
Healthcare5356 ✓
Internet5665 ✓
Visa ease34 ✓32
Getting there & around3540 ✓
Climate4242
Air quality3133 ✓
Quality of life3039 ✓

Cost

MetricPokharaSurat
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one city$820$750 ✓
Central one-bedroom rentno datano data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricPokharaSurat
Homicides per 100k2.13 ✓2.72
Political stability (0–100)57.8 ✓55
UHC service coverage (0–100)5869 ✓
Life expectancy70 yrs ✓67.3 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricPokharaSurat
Download14.7 Mbps30.6 Mbps ✓
Upload15.8 Mbps ✓9.7 Mbps

Visa

MetricPokharaSurat
Nomad visanone listednone listed
Minimum income for the visano datano data
Entry, US passportvisa on arrival ✓e-visa required
Entry, EU passportvisa on arrival ✓e-visa required
Entry, UK passportvisa on arrival ✓e-visa required

Getting there and around

MetricPokharaSurat
Non-stop airport destinations1212
Walkability (1–5, editorial)3 ✓2
Transit (1–5, editorial)13 ✓

Climate and air

MetricPokharaSurat
Comfortable months per year55
Annual mean PM2.536.1 µg/m³35 µg/m³ ✓

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Pokhara or Surat?
Surat is cheaper: about $750 per month versus $820 for one person.
Is Pokhara or Surat safer?
Pokhara scores higher on safety (60 vs 55), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Pokhara or Surat?
Surat: a measured median of 30.6 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); 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); 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.