Cheap Cities With Fast Internet for Digital Nomads in 2026

The best cheap cities with fast internet for digital nomads in 2026 are Hoi An ($911 a month, 164 Mbps), Udon Thani ($977, 238 Mbps) and Chiang Mai ($1,106, 238 Mbps). In our data, 112 cities cost a remote worker under $1,500 a month and still have a typical speed of 100 Mbps or more, so you do not have to choose between a low budget and a connection that handles video calls and large uploads. This guide ranks 12 of them that are realistic places to live, with the numbers behind each one.

The short version: Udon Thani gives you the most speed per dollar, Hoi An is the cheapest, Bangkok is the fastest, and Chiang Mai is the best all-round bet. The rest of the article explains how we chose, what each city is like, and where the cheap-and-fast formula breaks down.

How did we choose the 12 cheapest cities with fast internet?

We started with every city in our database where the monthly cost for a digital nomad is under $1,500 and the typical city internet speed is at least 100 Mbps. That gave 112 cities, and every one of them is in Asia or Latin America, with dozens in China and Brazil. No city in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Oceania or North America clears both bars, so the shortlist below is an Asia and Latin America list. We say that plainly because a list that pretended otherwise would be wrong.

From the 112 we applied four rules to pick 12 places a remote worker could realistically live in:

• Monthly nomad cost under $1,500 and city internet speed of 100 Mbps or more.
• Safety level not Low wherever our data has one. Two cities (Hoi An and Medellín) have no safety level in our data and are included because they have an established nomad scene.
• A population of roughly 100,000 or more, so there is a real choice of apartments, cafes and services.
• No more than three cities from one country, so the list is not twelve versions of the same place.

The result covers seven countries: Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Taiwan, Colombia, Ecuador and Brazil. Cities are ordered from cheapest to most expensive. We also kept one Malaysian city, Penang, rather than several.

Which are the cheap cities with fast internet for digital nomads? The master table

Two things stand out. First, the cheapest city on the list, Hoi An, still has 164 Mbps, which is plenty for any remote job. Second, speed and price barely correlate here: Bangkok (272 Mbps) and Chiang Mai (238 Mbps) are both fast, but Chiang Mai costs $384 less a month.

Which city gives the most internet speed per dollar?

A raw speed number ignores what you pay for it, so we divided each city's monthly nomad cost by its internet speed. The result is dollars of monthly budget per Mbps. Lower is better.

Thailand takes the top three spots on value, and Vietnam is close behind. Cuenca is the outlier at $11.76 per Mbps: it is not expensive, but it is the slowest city here at 110 Mbps, so you get the least connection for your money. This metric is a comparison tool, not a promise. A city with a low cost per Mbps is not automatically a better place to live, which is why the next section looks at each one.

What is it like to live in each of these cities?

Hoi An, Vietnam: $911 a month, 164 Mbps

Hoi An is the cheapest city on the list and the one the photo at the top of this page shows. Its monthly cost for a nomad is $911, with $597 for an expat budget and $292 on a local-style budget. With about 120,000 residents it is small, walkable and built around a historic old town, with the beach a short ride away. Our data has no safety level for it, but it is a small tourist town with a long-established foreign community. The catch is size: coworking options and specialist services are thinner than in nearby Da Nang, about 30 kilometres north, where many Hoi An residents go for airport, hospital and bigger shops. Expect heavy rain and flood risk in the autumn months.

Udon Thani, Thailand: $977 a month, 238 Mbps

Udon Thani is the best value in the dataset at $4.10 per Mbps. A one-bedroom in the centre costs $179 a month and $102 outside it, a 60 Mbps home internet plan costs $18, and safety is rated High. It is a regional city of 135,600 in Thailand's northeast, far from the beach and island scene, with a much smaller nomad community than Chiang Mai. You will cook, eat local food and work from cafes with few other remote workers around. It suits someone who values a quiet, cheap base. Skip it if you need a social scene or coworking events.

Bucaramanga, Colombia: $1,040 a month, 166 Mbps

Bucaramanga is a city of 502,654 known for its parks and mild climate, which our data rates High. A central one-bedroom is $172 a month, a 60 Mbps plan is $15, and a cappuccino is $0.91. It is the cheapest Latin American city in our data that passes both bars, and it is far calmer than Bogotá or Medellín. Safety is Medium, so normal big-city care applies after dark. Spanish helps a lot because English is less common than in the Asian cities on this list.

Penang, Malaysia: $1,047 a month, 135 Mbps

Penang has 740,000 residents and a safety level of High. George Town is known for its food and street art, and English is widely used in daily life, which makes settling in easier than in most places here. Its 135 Mbps is the second-lowest speed on the list, but that is still plenty for remote work. The cost per Mbps ($7.76) is higher than in Thailand or Vietnam, so you are paying a small premium for convenience and language. Healthcare is rated Medium in our data.

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam: $1,050 a month, 174 Mbps

Ho Chi Minh City is the big-city option at 7,431,000 people. Rent is higher than in the small towns, with a central one-bedroom at $494 and $293 outside the centre, but the rest of daily life is cheap: a transport pass is $5.51, an inexpensive meal is $2.04 and a 60 Mbps plan is $11.48. Healthcare is rated High and safety Medium. It is hot and humid year-round, traffic is heavy, and the rainy season brings afternoon downpours. It suits people who want energy, coworking spaces and restaurant variety.

Da Nang, Vietnam: $1,064 a month, 164 Mbps

Da Nang has about 1,007,000 residents, a long city beach, and a safety level of High. Costs for a nomad are $1,064, an expat budget is $820 and a local-style budget is $517. The connection matches Hoi An at 164 Mbps. It is a good compromise between a beach town and a city with a hospital, an airport and a coworking scene. Typhoon season in the autumn can disrupt plans, so avoid booking long stays for that window without a flexible contract.

Chiang Mai, Thailand: $1,106 a month, 238 Mbps

Chiang Mai pairs 238 Mbps with a safety level of High and healthcare rated High. It has 398,169 residents, one of the most established nomad communities in Asia, and a nomad cost of $1,106 against $724 for an expat budget and $459 for a local-style one. The main drawback is seasonal: the burning season from roughly February to April can bring poor air quality, and many long-term residents leave town for those weeks. Plan around it.

Cuenca, Ecuador: $1,294 a month, 110 Mbps

Cuenca is the slowest and the worst value on the list at 110 Mbps and $11.76 per Mbps. It also has an unusual price quirk: a 60 Mbps plan costs $56 a month, far above the $11 to $22 seen in other cities with data, and utilities for an 85 square metre flat are $153. The compensation is a calm colonial city of 331,888 with a Medium safety level, a climate our data rates High, and a long-standing expat community. Choose it for the lifestyle and the Americas time zone, not for the internet bargain.

Medellín, Colombia: $1,393 a month, 179 Mbps

Medellín is the most established nomad hub in Latin America. A central one-bedroom is $297, a mid-range restaurant meal is $19, a cappuccino is $1.11 and a 60 Mbps plan is $22. With 2,183,557 residents it has everything: coworking, a metro, international flights and a big foreign community. Our data has no safety level for it, so check the neighbourhood: most nomads stay in El Poblado or Laureles. Its 179 Mbps is comfortable, and the time zone suits teams in the Americas.

Kaohsiung, Taiwan: $1,428 a month, 226 Mbps

Kaohsiung is the safest and best-equipped city in the upper half of the budget range: safety High, healthcare High, climate High and 226 Mbps. A central one-bedroom is $345, a 60 Mbps plan is $21 and a transport pass is $33. It has 1,402,914 residents, a metro, a harbour front and a far smaller nomad crowd than Taipei, so you get a quiet and orderly daily life. Summers are hot and humid, and typhoons pass through in the late summer and autumn.

Bangkok, Thailand: $1,490 a month, 272 Mbps

Bangkok is the fastest city on the list at 272 Mbps and has healthcare rated High. It also has the widest range of rents, from $286 for a one-bedroom outside the centre to $595 in the middle, and a 60 Mbps plan is only $15. At $1,490 it sits right under our cost cap, and a comfortable central life pushes past it (see the budget tiers below). The city has 5,782,000 residents, excellent transport and food at every price. Heat, traffic and size are the trade-offs.

Florianópolis, Brazil: $1,494 a month, 188 Mbps

Florianópolis is a beach island city of 249,477 people with 188 Mbps and a safety level of Medium. It is the most expensive city on the list. A central one-bedroom is $356, a mid-range meal is $34 and a 60 Mbps plan is $22. Portuguese is much more useful here than in the Asian cities, and prices rise in the Brazilian summer season. It suits remote workers who want surf and beach life with a connection that can still handle a full workday of calls.

How much do rent and daily costs differ between these cities?

Our monthly nomad figure is a headline number. To see what a lean or a comfortable month looks like, we built two budgets from the individual price columns for the seven cities where our data has them. The lean budget is a one-bedroom outside the centre, 30 inexpensive restaurant meals, a 60 Mbps home plan, utilities and a monthly transport pass. The premium essentials budget is a central one-bedroom, 30 mid-range restaurant meals, 30 cappuccinos, a gym membership, a 60 Mbps plan, utilities and a transport pass. Flights, visas, insurance, travel and nightlife are not included.

The gap between the lean and the nomad column is large in every city, which tells you that the headline cost includes things beyond the bare essentials. The more useful finding is in the last column: in Bangkok ($1,712) and Florianópolis ($1,613) a premium everyday lifestyle can push a month over the $1,500 mark, and Ho Chi Minh City ($1,407) and Kaohsiung ($1,395) come close. In Udon Thani ($906) and Bucaramanga ($690) it stays well inside the budget. If cheap is the priority, the two smaller cities are the safest bets.

How fast does the internet need to be for remote work?

Most remote work needs far less speed than these cities offer, which is why a 100 Mbps cutoff is generous. As a rule of thumb, rather than a precise standard:

• A one-to-one video call runs comfortably on roughly 5 to 10 Mbps each way, and a group call or screen share needs a little more.
• Large uploads, such as video files, design exports and backups, depend on upload speed, which is usually lower than the download figure and often matters more than the headline number.
• Stability beats peak speed: a steady 50 Mbps connection is better for calls than a 300 Mbps one that drops out.
• Cloud development, remote desktops and syncing large repositories are comfortable above about 50 Mbps.

Even the slowest city here, Cuenca at 110 Mbps, offers more than ten times what a single video call needs. The figures in this article are typical city-wide speeds, not a guarantee for one building, so before you sign a lease, ask the landlord to run a speed test on the actual connection, check the upload number and keep a mobile data plan as a backup. Coworking spaces are a safe fallback in every city on the list.

Which cheap cities just miss the cut?

Several cities are cheap and fast but did not make the 12, either because of safety or because they fall outside the budget:

Hanoi and Kuching are very good options if you want more choice. The three over-budget cities are worth a look if you want Europe or the Middle East: Zagreb is the best of them, with a High safety level and 160 Mbps at $1,747, $247 above the cap. Dozens of Chinese cities also pass both thresholds at 244 Mbps and $883 to $1,495, but most have no safety level in our data. Foreign visitors face practical hurdles there, including payment apps, language and restricted foreign services, so we left them off a list aimed at a first move.

Which cheap, fast city fits which type of nomad?

• The lowest budget: Hoi An ($911) or Udon Thani ($977). Both are small towns, with a quiet social life.
• The best value per Mbps: Udon Thani ($4.10) or Chiang Mai ($4.65).
• The fastest connection: Bangkok (272 Mbps), then Chiang Mai and Udon Thani (238 Mbps) and Kaohsiung (226 Mbps).
• The first-time nomad in Asia: Chiang Mai or Da Nang. Both have a safety level of High, a big community of remote workers and coworking spaces.
• The safety-first choice: Chiang Mai, Penang, Da Nang, Udon Thani or Kaohsiung, all with safety rated High.
• Working with clients in the Americas: Medellín or Bucaramanga, whose time zone overlaps with North and South American business hours.
• The city lifestyle: Ho Chi Minh City or Bangkok, with transport, healthcare and food at every price point.
• The beach on a budget: Da Nang, Hoi An or Florianópolis.

Is a cheap city with fast internet worth choosing in 2026?

Yes, with realistic expectations. The data shows that in 2026 a budget of $911 to $1,494 a month gets a remote worker between 110 and 272 Mbps in a place with at least a decent safety record. The tradeoff is not between cheap and fast but between cheap-and-fast and the things the data does not measure: time zone, language, visa rules and how much of a community you need. Check the current visa and stay rules for your passport with each country's official immigration authority before booking, because they change often.

Our pick for most people is Chiang Mai: High safety, High healthcare, 238 Mbps and $1,106 a month. If your budget is tighter, choose Hoi An at $911 and 164 Mbps. If you need the strongest connection, take Bangkok at 272 Mbps and watch your spending, because a premium lifestyle there passes the $1,500 mark. Whichever you choose, the numbers here are a starting point: spend the first month on a short lease, test the connection in your own apartment and then commit.