Key Takeaways
- Valletta tops the cities with a local price, at 76 out of 100. Faro (75) and Lisbon (74) follow, out of 413 cities scored on nine open-data factors with equal weights.
- Famous nomad hubs land in the bottom third. Chiang Mai ranks 300th of 413, Canggu 312th, Mexico City 315th and Medellín 335th.
- Each region has a different leader. Valletta leads Europe, Buenos Aires leads Latin America and Taipei leads Asia.
- Your passport changes the result. With an Indian passport, Mexico City's visa score falls from 90 to 6 and its overall score from 56 to 46.7.
- On a budget, Budapest comes first. It is the best-scoring city under $1,500 a month, at $1,198 for one person including rent.
The best cities for digital nomads in 2026, by the numbers and among cities with a city-level price, are Valletta in Malta, Faro in Portugal's Algarve and Lisbon, which score 76, 75 and 74 out of 100. We ranked 413 cities with Nostos, Navoy's free city chooser, on nine open-data factors given equal weight. Brisbane, Perth, Budapest, Taipei, Barcelona, Malmö and The Hague complete the top ten.
A lot of people are making this choice. MBO Partners' 2025 State of Independence research counted 18.5 million American workers who meet its definition of a digital nomad, staying an average of 6.4 weeks in each place. Six weeks is long enough for a bad pick to hurt, so below you will find the scores, where the famous hubs really land, and how to re-rank the list for your own passport and budget. Once you have a shortlist, you can plan the trip with Navoy.
Which cities score highest for digital nomads in 2026?
Valletta comes first with 76, followed by Faro (75) and Lisbon (74). No city wins every factor: Valletta is the strongest all-rounder, Perth has the best climate of the ten, and Budapest is by far the cheapest.
| # | City | Country | Score | Monthly cost | Safety | Internet | Climate | Nomad visa |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Valletta | Malta | 76 | $2,136 | 91 | 80 | 75 | Yes |
| 2 | Faro (Algarve) | Portugal | 75 | $1,719 | 87 | 70 | 67 | Yes |
| 3 | Lisbon | Portugal | 74 | $2,499 | 87 | 66 | 67 | Yes |
| 4 | Brisbane | Australia | 74 | $2,806 | 87 | 65 | 92 | No |
| 5 | Perth | Australia | 73 | $2,656 | 87 | 63 | 100 | No |
| 6 | Budapest | Hungary | 73 | $1,198 | 81 | 82 | 42 | Yes |
| 7 | Taipei | Taiwan | 73 | $1,719 | 91 | 69 | 58 | Yes |
| 8 | Barcelona | Spain | 73 | $2,694 | 82 | 77 | 50 | Yes |
| 9 | Malmö | Sweden | 73 | $1,957 | 87 | 83 | 25 | No |
| 10 | The Hague | Netherlands | 73 | $2,843 | 86 | 85 | 33 | No |
The table shows that the top ten are separated by just three points, and that each city gives something up, usually cost or climate. Source: Nostos Top 10 cities for digital nomads, dataset 2026.10.4, 7 October 2026. Monthly cost is for one person, rent included; the other columns are 0 to 100 factor scores.
Six of the ten have a dedicated digital nomad visa. The four that do not (Brisbane, Perth, Malmö and The Hague) make the list on other strengths: climate for the two Australian cities, and internet scores of 83 and 85 for Malmö and The Hague.
One note on the island cities. On their own city pages, a few Spanish and Portuguese islands score even higher: Santa Cruz de Tenerife has 77.5 and is ranked 1 of 413. Their cost figure is a national estimate rather than a local price, though, so the Top 10 lists rank cities with a city-level price first. If the Canaries or Madeira appeal, treat their cost as a rough guide.
How did we score the cities?
Every city gets nine scores from 0 to 100, and the overall score is their plain average. The same formulas run on the same open data for all 413 cities, and nothing is adjusted by hand. The full Nostos methodology lists every formula and threshold.
The nine factors, and what they actually measure:
- Cost of living: monthly cost for one person including a one-bedroom flat outside the centre, city-level for most cities.
- Safety: World Bank political stability plus the national homicide rate. Country-level.
- Healthcare: the WHO universal health coverage index plus life expectancy. Country-level.
- Internet: median measured download and upload speed from M-Lab user tests in 2024. These run below advertised plan speeds everywhere, so compare cities rather than reading them as your future connection.
- Visa ease: how easy entry is, plus whether there is a long-stay route such as a nomad visa. By default it averages a US, a German and a British passport.
- Getting there and around: the number of non-stop airport destinations, plus walkability and transit ratings that Navoy curates.
- Climate: the share of months that are comfortable (mean 15 to 28 °C, at most 150 mm of rain and 85% humidity), from NASA POWER normals for 2001 to 2020.
- Air quality: annual average PM2.5, where the WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³ scores 100.
- Quality of life: the UN Human Development Index plus English proficiency. Country-level.
Equal weights are a starting point, not a verdict. If you care twice as much about internet as about climate, the order changes, and the ranker lets you set that.
What are the best cities for digital nomads in Europe, Latin America and Asia?
Valletta leads Europe, Buenos Aires leads Latin America and Taipei leads Asia. Europe's leaders score highest overall, while Latin America's are cheaper but score lower on safety.
Europe
Of 152 European cities scored, the Top 10 cities in Europe are Valletta, Faro, Lisbon, Budapest, Barcelona, Malmö, The Hague, Madrid, Porto and Valencia, all scoring 72 to 76. Spain and Portugal take six of the ten places. Budapest stands out on value: $1,198 a month, an internet score of 82 and a nomad visa, the White Card. Its weak spot is climate, at 42.
Latin America
Of 61 cities, the Top 10 cities in Latin America start with Buenos Aires (70), Montevideo (68), Valparaíso (65), Córdoba (65) and Punta del Este (65). Buenos Aires wins on cost ($781 a month) and scores 78 on quality of life, but its measured median download is only 16.3 Mbps. Montevideo is the safer, faster pick, with safety 75 and an internet score of 82, at about twice the cost ($1,582). Playa del Carmen and Tulum make the list too, but both have a safety score of 37.
Asia
Of 93 cities, the Top 10 cities in Asia are led by Taipei (73), Hong Kong (72) and Fukuoka (69). Japan has four of the ten places, Taiwan three and South Korea two. Fukuoka is the standout for focused work: safety 99, an internet score of 85 and $1,433 a month. Its climate scores just 8, because cool winters and very wet summers leave only October inside the comfort range. No Southeast Asian city makes Asia's top ten under equal weights.
Which famous nomad hubs score lower than you would think?
Chiang Mai, Canggu, Mexico City and Medellín all rank in the bottom third of 413 cities. They are cheap and have large nomad communities, but cost is only one factor in nine, and they lose points on safety, air, climate, transport links or quality of life.
| City | Score | Rank of 413 | Monthly cost | Weakest factors (score) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valletta (for comparison) | 75.6 | 5 | $2,136 | Cost (31) |
| Chiang Mai | 57 | 300 | $984 | Getting there (38), quality of life (49), air (52) |
| Canggu (Bali) | 56.1 | 312 | $1,042 | Getting there (41), quality of life (45), internet (49) |
| Mexico City | 56 | 315 | $1,318 | Climate (25), safety (37), cost (50) |
| Medellín | 54.9 | 335 | $677 | Climate (0), safety (30) |
The table shows that each famous hub falls more than 18 points behind the leaders, for different reasons. Source: Nostos city pages, dataset 2026.10.4, 7 October 2026; ranks are under equal weights across all 413 cities.
Chiang Mai is cheap and has a nomad scene that goes back more than a decade. The data catches its known problem: an annual average PM2.5 of 26.5 µg/m³, more than five times the WHO guideline, with smoke from crop burning worst from February to April. Its airport serves 28 non-stop destinations, and walkability and transit ratings are low.
Canggu has a social scene that few places match, but its measured median download is 17.9 Mbps, walkability and transit are both rated 1 out of 5, and Indonesia's remote worker visa (E33G) asks for income of at least US$60,000 a year (about $5,000 a month), according to Indonesia's Directorate General of Immigration as of October 2026. Most visitors enter on a visa on arrival instead.
Mexico City has the best visa score of the four (90), because US, British and German passports get up to 180 days visa-free. It loses on climate: at its altitude, NASA normals put the monthly mean below 15 °C in eight months, so only three count as comfortable.
Medellín is one of the cheapest cities with a local price in the dataset, at $677 a month, but its climate score is 0. The NASA normals put every month at 17 to 18 °C, comfortably inside the range, yet relative humidity sits at 86 to 91%, just over the 85% limit, and most months exceed 150 mm of rain. NASA POWER reports a grid cell roughly 55 km across, so a valley city can read more humid than its centre feels. If that rule does not match your experience, turn climate down in the ranker. Safety (30) is the harder problem: Colombia's homicide rate is about 25 per 100,000 (World Bank, 2023), though like all safety data here it is a national figure.
Do the rankings change by passport?
Yes. The visa factor is recalculated for whichever passport you choose, and for passports with fewer visa-free options the European leaders lose the most. Open the ranker with an Indian passport selected to see the effect.
| City | Default score | US passport | German passport | Indian passport | Nigerian passport |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valletta | 75.6 | 74.9 | 77.0 | 70.4 | 70.4 |
| Lisbon | 73.6 | 72.9 | 75.0 | 68.5 | 68.5 |
| Brisbane | 73.5 | 73.5 | 73.5 | 72.4 | 72.4 |
| Tbilisi | 62.4 | 62.4 | 62.4 | 55.9 | 55.9 |
| Mexico City | 56.0 | 56.0 | 56.0 | 46.7 | 46.7 |
| Chiang Mai | 57.0 | 57.0 | 57.0 | 57.0 | 53.3 |
The table shows overall scores under equal weights when only the passport changes. Source: Nostos ranker calculations on dataset 2026.10.4, 7 October 2026, using Passport Index entry data (dataset last updated January 2025, so newer rule changes such as Thailand's in September 2026 are not in it).
The biggest swing is Mexico City. In the data, US, British and German passports get 180 days visa-free, while Indian and Nigerian passports need a visa in advance, so its visa score falls from 90 to 6. Valletta's falls from 74 to 28 for the same reason: Malta is in the Schengen area, and both passports need a visa in advance.
Brisbane hardly moves, because Australia asks every one of these passports to apply online before travel. With an Indian passport, Brisbane and Perth move to the top of the cities with local prices, and Port Louis in Mauritius (90 days visa-free in the data) climbs into the top three. Chiang Mai keeps its score for Indian passports in the data, which still reflects Thailand's old 60-day exemption; since 15 September 2026 Indian passports get 30 days, so treat that score as generous. It drops for Nigerian passports.
Entry rules change often. Treat these as entry rules as of October 2026 and confirm on the destination government's own website before you book.
How do you re-rank the cities for your budget?
Set a monthly budget filter or choose the "Budget first" preset in the ranker. Under $1,500 a month, Budapest, Seville and Athens score highest; under $1,000, Buenos Aires, Sofia and Chișinău lead.
The Top 10 nomad cities under $1,500 a month draws on 102 cities with a local price under that line. Budapest ($1,198), Seville ($1,458) and Athens ($1,458) take the first three places with scores of 72 to 73, ahead of Port Louis, Buenos Aires and Fukuoka. Under $1,000, 33 cities qualify, and Buenos Aires ($781, score 70) and Sofia ($781, 67) are the clear leaders.
The Budget first preset works differently: rather than cutting cities out, it doubles the weight on cost and lowers most other factors. Among cities with a local price, Budapest comes first, then Valletta, Faro, Port Louis and Buenos Aires. Valletta stays near the top despite its $2,136 cost because it scores highly almost everywhere else.
Three practical points:
- Cities priced from a national estimate are marked with an asterisk in the ranker. Treat their cost as approximate.
- The budget filter keeps cities with no cost data rather than hiding them, so check the cost column before you shortlist.
- The monthly cost assumes a one-bedroom flat outside the centre. City pages also show the central rent, which in some cities is much higher.
When you have two or three cities left, look at flights and dates together and compare your options with Navoy.
Related on the Navoy blog: the cheapest digital nomad visa countries, countries where $1,200 a month is comfortable.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest good city for digital nomads in 2026?
Buenos Aires is the best-scoring city under $1,000 a month in the Nostos data, at $781 for one person including rent and an overall score of 70. Sofia costs the same and scores 67. The very cheapest city in the dataset, Dhaka at $365, scores only 44 overall, so the lowest price rarely means the best base.
Is Chiang Mai still good for digital nomads?
It depends on the season. Chiang Mai costs about $984 a month and 7 of its 12 months are comfortable by NASA climate normals, but its annual average PM2.5 is 26.5 µg/m³ and smoke from crop burning peaks from February to April. Under equal weights it ranks 300th of 413, mostly on transport links, air quality and quality-of-life data.
Is Lisbon too expensive for digital nomads now?
Lisbon costs about $2,499 a month for one person, and its cost score is just 25 out of 100. It still scores 73.6 overall because safety (87), healthcare (84), air quality (94) and quality of life (86) are strong. Faro, at $1,719, scores slightly higher and keeps the same Portuguese visa options.
How reliable are the safety scores?
They are country-level: half World Bank political stability, half the national homicide rate. That means every city in a country shares one safety score, and it cannot tell a calm neighbourhood from a risky one. Use it to compare countries, then read local advice for the area you plan to stay in.
Sources
- 2025 Digital Nomads Trends Report (State of Independence), MBO Partners, https://www.mbopartners.com/state-of-independence/digital-nomads, accessed 2026-10-07
- Nostos dataset 2026.10.4 (413 cities), Navoy, https://nostos.navoy.io/data, accessed 2026-10-07
- How Nostos scores a city (methodology), Navoy, https://nostos.navoy.io/methodology, accessed 2026-10-07
- Intentional homicides (per 100,000 people), Colombia, World Bank, https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/VC.IHR.PSRC.P5?locations=CO, accessed 2026-10-15
- Thailand introduces new 30-day and 15-day visa exemption rules from 15 September, Tourism Authority of Thailand, https://www.tatnews.org/2026/09/thailand-introduces-new-30-day-and-15-day-visa-exemption-rules-from-15-september/, accessed 2026-10-15
- Passport Index dataset (visa requirements, 199 passports, last updated 12 January 2025), Ilya Ilyankou, https://github.com/ilyankou/passport-index-dataset, accessed 2026-10-07 via Nostos
- NASA POWER climatology (2001-2020 monthly means), NASA Langley Research Center, https://power.larc.nasa.gov/, accessed 2026-10-07 via Nostos
- E33G Visa Rumah Kedua Pekerja Jarak Jauh, Directorate General of Immigration (Indonesia), https://www.imigrasi.go.id/wna/daftar-visa-indonesia/E33G, accessed 2026-10-07
- M-Lab NDT statistics (city aggregates, 2024), Measurement Lab, https://statistics.measurementlab.net/, accessed 2026-10-07 via Nostos
About the Author
Ranym Garali
Ranym is the Marketing and Content Lead at Navoy. She's been writing about travel for two years and digs into the data behind each piece, flight prices, visa rules and what people are actually searching for , so the advice holds up in practice.
