NavoyNostos

Riyadh vs Santiago

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Santiago edges it, 59 to 57, winning 5 of the 9 factors. Riyadh is stronger on safety; Santiago on visa ease, quality of life, getting there & around. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Cost of living: 3.9 of 57 points (scores 35/100)Safety: 8.1 of 57 points (scores 73/100)Healthcare: 8.6 of 57 points (scores 78/100)Internet: 6.9 of 57 points (scores 62/100)Visa ease: 3.8 of 57 points (scores 34/100)Getting there & around: 6.4 of 57 points (scores 57/100)Climate: 5.6 of 57 points (scores 50/100)Air quality: 6.5 of 57 points (scores 59/100)Quality of life: 7.1 of 57 points (scores 64/100)57
Riyadh
out of 100

Saudi Arabia's fast-changing capital

Full Riyadh profile →Where to stay in Riyadh →
Cost of living: 4.9 of 59 points (scores 45/100)Safety: 6.3 of 59 points (scores 56/100)Healthcare: 9.1 of 59 points (scores 82/100)Internet: 6.5 of 59 points (scores 59/100)Visa ease: 5.1 of 59 points (scores 46/100)Getting there & around: 7.5 of 59 points (scores 67/100)Climate: 5.6 of 59 points (scores 50/100)Air quality: 6.1 of 59 points (scores 55/100)Quality of life: 8.3 of 59 points (scores 74/100)59
Santiago
out of 100

Andes backdrop and a stable economy

Full Santiago profile →Where to stay in Santiago →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricRiyadhSantiago
Cost of living3545 ✓
Safety73 ✓56
Healthcare7882 ✓
Internet62 ✓59
Visa ease3446 ✓
Getting there & around5767 ✓
Climate5050
Air quality59 ✓55
Quality of life6474 ✓

Cost

MetricRiyadhSantiago
Monthly cost, one person$1,896$1,490 ✓
Central one-bedroom rent$1,809$745 ✓

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricRiyadhSantiago
Homicides per 100k0.8 ✓6.11
Political stability (0–100)65.968.6 ✓
UHC service coverage (0–100)8384 ✓
Life expectancy76.4 yrs79 yrs ✓

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricRiyadhSantiago
Download24.9 Mbps ✓20 Mbps
Upload10.2 Mbps10.4 Mbps ✓

Visa

MetricRiyadhSantiago
Nomad visanone listednone listed
Minimum income for the visano datano data
Entry, US passportvisa on arrival90 days ✓
Entry, EU passportvisa on arrival90 days ✓
Entry, UK passportvisa on arrival90 days ✓

Getting there and around

MetricRiyadhSantiago
Non-stop airport destinations117 ✓70
Walkability (1–5, editorial)13 ✓
Transit (1–5, editorial)34 ✓

Climate and air

MetricRiyadhSantiago
Comfortable months per year66
Annual mean PM2.523.6 µg/m³ ✓25.4 µg/m³

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Riyadh or Santiago?
Santiago is cheaper: about $1,490 per month versus $1,896 for one person.
Is Riyadh or Santiago safer?
Riyadh scores higher on safety (73 vs 56), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Riyadh or Santiago?
Riyadh: a measured median of 24.9 Mbps versus 20 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.