NavoyNostos

Samarkand vs Surat

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Samarkand edges it, 49 to 48, winning 5 of the 9 factors. Samarkand is stronger on safety, healthcare; Surat on nothing outright. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Safety: 8.8 of 49 points (scores 70/100)Healthcare: 8.6 of 49 points (scores 69/100)Internet: 7.2 of 49 points (scores 58/100)Visa ease: 4.1 of 49 points (scores 33/100)Getting there & around: 6.0 of 49 points (scores 48/100)Climate: 5.2 of 49 points (scores 42/100)Air quality: 4.0 of 49 points (scores 32/100)Quality of life: 5.1 of 49 points (scores 41/100)49
Samarkand
out of 100

Timurid Silk Road city with the Registan at its heart

Full Samarkand profile →Where to stay in Samarkand →
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)

MetricSamarkandSurat
Cost of livingno data71
Safety70 ✓55
Healthcare69 ✓56
Internet5865 ✓
Visa ease33 ✓32
Getting there & around48 ✓40
Climate4242
Air quality3233 ✓
Quality of life41 ✓39

Cost

MetricSamarkandSurat
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one cityno data$750
Central one-bedroom rentno datano data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricSamarkandSurat
Homicides per 100k1.4 ✓2.72
Political stability (0–100)67.4 ✓55
UHC service coverage (0–100)79 ✓69
Life expectancy72.2 yrs ✓67.3 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricSamarkandSurat
Download16.3 Mbps30.6 Mbps ✓
Upload18.5 Mbps ✓9.7 Mbps

Visa

MetricSamarkandSurat
Nomad visanone listednone listed
Minimum income for the visano datano data
Entry, US passporte-visa requirede-visa required
Entry, EU passport30 days ✓e-visa required
Entry, UK passport30 days ✓e-visa required

Getting there and around

MetricSamarkandSurat
Non-stop airport destinations28 ✓12
Walkability (1–5, editorial)3 ✓2
Transit (1–5, editorial)23 ✓

Climate and air

MetricSamarkandSurat
Comfortable months per year55
Annual mean PM2.535.8 µg/m³35 µg/m³ ✓

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Samarkand or Surat?
We lack a monthly cost figure for one of the two cities.
Is Samarkand or Surat safer?
Samarkand scores higher on safety (70 vs 55), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Samarkand or Surat?
Surat: a measured median of 30.6 Mbps versus 16.3 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); 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.