Photo: Hanay · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
🇰🇭 Camboya
Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh is one of Asia's cheapest capitals: easy renewable visa, settled expat community and a growing café scene.
Score breakdown
Cost of living
9.0Very cheap
Weight 25%
Internet & work
6.0Improvable but usable
Weight 15%
Safety
5.0Caution with theft
Weight 15%
Nomad community
7.0Veteran expats
Weight 15%
Weather
5.0Constant heat
Weight 10%
Paperwork & visa
9.0Easy renewable visa
Weight 20%
What it really costs
Prices checked on the ground by Zabelers. Each line shows when it was last verified.
Coffee
1,8 €
BKK1
2026-09 · Numbeo
Local meal
2,5 €
Russian Market
2026-09 · Numbeo
Studio
350 €/mes
BKK1
2026-09 · Khmer24
Where to live
BKK1
MedioGood for: Expat area with cafés and coworkings
The catch: Western bubble
Russian Market
BajoGood for: More local and cheap
The catch: Fewer Western services
Riverside
MedioGood for: Riverfront and nightlife
The catch: Touristy
Where to work
Coworkings
- Workspace 190 €/mes
BKK1's nomad classic
Cafés with wifi
- Backyard Café2 € café
Good wifi and brunch
Time zone: UTC+7: good with Asia, poor with Europe
What living here is really like
Editorial synthesis of public experiences
Southeast Asia's easiest visa
- Best part:
- Public accounts repeat that renewing the E visa year after year without leaving the country is the big advantage over Thailand or Vietnam.
- Worst part:
- Agencies handle renewal for ~€50.
Sources: r/cambodia
Editorial synthesis of public experiences
Cheap, but with limits in healthcare and internet
- Best part:
- Long-term residents advise evacuation insurance and a backup SIM; for everything else, life is comfortable and very cheap.
- Worst part:
- Bangkok is a 1 h flight for anything missing.
Sources: Nomad List — Phnom Penh
Day to day
- Internet
- 50–200 Mbps fibre in expat areas; occasional outages
- Safety
- Moderate: pickpockets and motorbike bag-snatching
- Healthcare
- Limited healthcare; evacuation to Bangkok for serious cases
- SIM / eSIM
- SIM with 50 GB for ~€5 (Smart, Cellcard)
- Best season
- November–February: dry and less hot
- Community
- Veteran, welcoming expat community
Living here legally
Tax
Tax resident at 182 days; low rates (0–20%)
Flights & connections
Flights via Bangkok or Singapore; to Europe €600–900 return
Lisbon vs. similar cities
| City | Zabel score | Monthly budget | In short |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bangkok | 7.6 | 900–1.400 € | Better healthcare and flights |
| Ho Chi Minh | 7.9 | 800–1.200 € | Stricter visa |
Transparency
Last checked: 2026-09-24
Official sources
Prices are checked against the dated sources shown. Editorial experience summaries cite their public sources; verified Zabeler accounts are identified separately. Official procedures always take precedence.