NavoyNostos

Sihanoukville vs Vientiane

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Vientiane edges it, 48 to 47, winning 6 of the 9 factors. Sihanoukville is stronger on air quality, safety; Vientiane on getting there & around. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Cost of living: 6.4 of 47 points (scores 57/100)Safety: 7.9 of 47 points (scores 71/100)Healthcare: 6.0 of 47 points (scores 54/100)Internet: 6.0 of 47 points (scores 54/100)Visa ease: 3.8 of 47 points (scores 34/100)Getting there & around: 3.2 of 47 points (scores 29/100)Climate: 3.7 of 47 points (scores 33/100)Air quality: 7.7 of 47 points (scores 69/100)Quality of life: 2.4 of 47 points (scores 22/100)47
Sihanoukville
out of 100

Port city rebuilt by casinos, mostly a transit point for the islands

Full Sihanoukville profile →Where to stay in Sihanoukville →
Cost of living: 7.0 of 48 points (scores 63/100)Safety: 6.7 of 48 points (scores 61/100)Healthcare: 6.0 of 48 points (scores 54/100)Internet: 6.3 of 48 points (scores 57/100)Visa ease: 3.8 of 48 points (scores 34/100)Getting there & around: 5.3 of 48 points (scores 48/100)Climate: 4.6 of 48 points (scores 42/100)Air quality: 6.0 of 48 points (scores 54/100)Quality of life: 2.6 of 48 points (scores 23/100)48
Vientiane
out of 100

Southeast Asia's sleepiest capital on the Mekong

Full Vientiane profile →Where to stay in Vientiane →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricSihanoukvilleVientiane
Cost of living5763 ✓
Safety71 ✓61
Healthcare5454 ✓
Internet5457 ✓
Visa ease3434
Getting there & around2948 ✓
Climate3342 ✓
Air quality69 ✓54
Quality of life2223 ✓

Cost

MetricSihanoukvilleVientiane
Monthly cost, one person$1,076$922 ✓
Central one-bedroom rentno datano data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricSihanoukvilleVientiane
Homicides per 100k1.8 ✓6.4
Political stability (0–100)71.575.3 ✓
UHC service coverage (0–100)6264 ✓
Life expectancy68.9 yrs ✓68.2 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricSihanoukvilleVientiane
Download15 Mbps19.3 Mbps ✓
Upload9.9 Mbps ✓7.6 Mbps

Visa

MetricSihanoukvilleVientiane
Nomad visanone listednone listed
Minimum income for the visano datano data
Entry, US passportvisa on arrivalvisa on arrival
Entry, EU passportvisa on arrivalvisa on arrival
Entry, UK passportvisa on arrivalvisa on arrival

Getting there and around

MetricSihanoukvilleVientiane
Non-stop airport destinations1146 ✓
Walkability (1–5, editorial)23 ✓
Transit (1–5, editorial)11

Climate and air

MetricSihanoukvilleVientiane
Comfortable months per year45 ✓
Annual mean PM2.519 µg/m³ ✓25.8 µg/m³

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Sihanoukville or Vientiane?
Vientiane is cheaper: about $922 per month versus $1,076 for one person.
Is Sihanoukville or Vientiane safer?
Sihanoukville scores higher on safety (71 vs 61), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Sihanoukville or Vientiane?
Vientiane: a measured median of 19.3 Mbps versus 15 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); Estimates of rates of homicides per 100 000 population; 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.