---
title: "Pretoria vs Welkom for digital nomads"
url: https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/pretoria-vs-welkom
description: "Under balanced weights Pretoria edges it, 56 to 47, winning 3 of the 9 factors. Pretoria is stronger on air quality, getting there & around, climate; Welkom on nothing outright. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you."
dataset: 2026.11.2 (2026-11-09)
license: CC BY 4.0
---

# Pretoria vs Welkom for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Pretoria edges it, 56 to 47, winning 3 of the 9 factors. Pretoria is stronger on air quality, getting there & around, climate; Welkom on nothing outright. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

## Where they differ

- **Air quality.** Pretoria leads on air quality, 59 to 20, against Welkom. PM2.5: 23.4 µg/m³ vs 41 µg/m³.
- **Getting there & around.** Pretoria leads on getting there & around, 28 to 6, against Welkom. Non-stop airport destinations: 87 vs 4.
- **Climate.** Pretoria leads on climate, 83 to 67, against Welkom. Comfortable months: 10 vs 8.

Where they are close: within five points on internet, cost of living, safety, healthcare, visa ease, quality of life.

**Pick Pretoria if you want** a longer comfortable season (10 months against 8); cleaner air; more flights and easier getting around.

**Pick Welkom if you want** no clear edge over Pretoria in the data.

## Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

| Metric | Pretoria | Welkom | Better |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Cost of living | 56 | 56 | tie |
| Safety | 26 | 26 | tie |
| Healthcare | 59 | 59 | tie |
| Internet | 55 | 56 | Welkom |
| Visa ease | 72 | 72 | tie |
| Getting there & around | 28 | 6 | Pretoria |
| Climate | 83 | 67 | Pretoria |
| Air quality | 59 | 20 | Pretoria |
| Quality of life | 64 | 64 | tie |

## Cost

| Metric | Pretoria | Welkom | Better |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly cost, one person | $1,450 | $1,450 | tie |
| Central one-bedroom rent | no data | no data | — |

## Safety and health (country-level)

| Metric | Pretoria | Welkom | Better |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Homicides per 100k | 39.72 | 39.72 | tie |
| Political stability (0–100) | 58.9 | 58.9 | tie |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 74 | 74 | tie |
| Life expectancy | 66 yrs | 66 yrs | tie |

## Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

| Metric | Pretoria | Welkom | Better |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Download | 17.2 Mbps | 17.7 Mbps | Welkom |
| Upload | 7.4 Mbps | 8.8 Mbps | Welkom |

## Visa

| Metric | Pretoria | Welkom | Better |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Nomad visa | Remote work visitor's visa | Remote work visitor's visa | tie |
| Minimum income for the visa | $3,241/mo | $3,241/mo | tie |
| Entry, US passport | 90 days | 90 days | tie |
| Entry, EU passport | 90 days | 90 days | tie |
| Entry, UK passport | 90 days | 90 days | tie |

## Getting there and around

| Metric | Pretoria | Welkom | Better |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Non-stop airport destinations | 87 | 4 | Pretoria |
| Walkability (1–5, editorial) | 2 | 2 | tie |
| Transit (1–5, editorial) | 3 | 1 | Pretoria |

## Climate and air

| Metric | Pretoria | Welkom | Better |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Comfortable months per year | 10 | 8 | Pretoria |
| Annual mean PM2.5 | 23.4 µg/m³ | 41 µg/m³ | Pretoria |

## FAQ

### Which is cheaper, Pretoria or Welkom?

Pretoria and Welkom cost about the same: roughly $1,450 per month for one person.

### Is Pretoria or Welkom safer?

Pretoria and Welkom score the same on safety (26), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.

### Where is the internet faster, Pretoria or Welkom?

Welkom: a measured median of 17.7 Mbps versus 17.2 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).

City pages: [Pretoria](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/pretoria) · [Welkom](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/welkom). 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.

HTML page: https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/pretoria-vs-welkom