NavoyNostos

Roatán vs Utila

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights the two cities tie. Roatán is stronger on nothing outright; Utila on nothing outright. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Safety: 3.9 of 46 points (scores 32/100)Healthcare: 6.9 of 46 points (scores 55/100)Internet: 6.5 of 46 points (scores 52/100)Visa ease: 4.1 of 46 points (scores 33/100)Getting there & around: 4.1 of 46 points (scores 33/100)Climate: 4.2 of 46 points (scores 33/100)Air quality: 11.4 of 46 points (scores 92/100)Quality of life: 5.1 of 46 points (scores 41/100)46
Roatán
out of 100

Caribbean dive island with a large expat crowd

Full Roatán profile →Where to stay in Roatán →
Safety: 3.9 of 46 points (scores 32/100)Healthcare: 6.9 of 46 points (scores 55/100)Internet: 6.5 of 46 points (scores 52/100)Visa ease: 4.1 of 46 points (scores 33/100)Getting there & around: 4.3 of 46 points (scores 34/100)Climate: 4.2 of 46 points (scores 33/100)Air quality: 11.3 of 46 points (scores 90/100)Quality of life: 5.1 of 46 points (scores 41/100)46
Utila
out of 100

Tiny Bay Island where dive certifications are among the world's cheapest

Full Utila profile →Where to stay in Utila →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricRoatánUtila
Cost of livingno datano data
Safety3232
Healthcare5555
Internet5252
Visa ease3333
Getting there & around3334 ✓
Climate3333
Air quality92 ✓90
Quality of life4141

Cost

MetricRoatánUtila
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one cityno datano data
Central one-bedroom rentno datano data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricRoatánUtila
Homicides per 100k23.9223.92
Political stability (0–100)5858
UHC service coverage (0–100)6464
Life expectancy69 yrs69 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricRoatánUtila
Download14.2 Mbps14.2 Mbps
Upload7.2 Mbps7.2 Mbps

Visa

MetricRoatánUtila
Nomad visanone listednone listed
Minimum income for the visano datano data
Entry, US passport90 days90 days
Entry, EU passport90 days90 days
Entry, UK passportvisa requiredvisa required

Getting there and around

MetricRoatánUtila
Non-stop airport destinations16 ✓7
Walkability (1–5, editorial)24 ✓
Transit (1–5, editorial)11

Climate and air

MetricRoatánUtila
Comfortable months per year44
Annual mean PM2.58.8 µg/m³ ✓9.4 µg/m³

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Roatán or Utila?
We lack a monthly cost figure for one of the two cities.
Is Roatán or Utila safer?
Roatán scores higher on safety (32 vs 32), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Roatán or Utila?
Roatán: a measured median of 14.2 Mbps versus 14.2 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); 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); Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.10.7. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.