CityMatch

Best internet cities in South America

Ranked purely on internet and connectivity infrastructure. Limited to cities in South America.

30 cities ranked

Overview

Santiago tops our ranking of best internet cities in south america at 8.0/10, just ahead of Montevideo and Sao Paulo. "Best internet cities in South America" is one of the most searched relocation questions we track — and most articles answering it are written from a single traveler's memory, not from consistent data across cities. Ranked purely on internet and connectivity infrastructure. We isolated every city in South America from the full 303-city database and sorted that regional subset purely by best internet, so the comparison stays fair within the region instead of getting diluted by cities on other continents. It's worth noting the spread: scores here range from 8.0 down to 6.0, so position #1 and position #30 aren't just marginally different — they represent genuinely different day-to-day experiences. The gap between the #1 and #3 spots is often smaller than it looks: a 0.3-point difference in an aggregate score can come from a single criterion, so it's worth opening a city's full scorecard rather than trusting the headline number alone. If you've already decided on South America and just need to narrow it down by best internet, this is the fastest way to do it — for a fuller picture, cross-reference with the overall livability ranking for the same region. Below is the complete list with every underlying score, plus links through to a full breakdown for each city.

Top pick
Santiago
8.0/10 overall
Most affordable here
La Paz
9/10 cost score
Average safety score
5.1/10
across 30 cities

Full ranking

Curious how the top two stack up criterion by criterion? Compare Santiago vs Montevideo directly →

  1. 01SantiagoChile · South America8.0Score
  2. 02MontevideoUruguay · South America8.0Score
  3. 03Sao PauloBrazil · South America8.0Score
  4. 04CuritibaBrazil · South America8.0Score
  5. 05BrasiliaBrazil · South America8.0Score
  6. 06Porto AlegreBrazil · South America8.0Score
  7. 07Buenos AiresArgentina · South America7.0Score
  8. 08MedellinColombia · South America7.0Score
  9. 09BogotaColombia · South America7.0Score
  10. 10Rio de JaneiroBrazil · South America7.0Score
  11. 11LimaPeru · South America7.0Score
  12. 12FlorianopolisBrazil · South America7.0Score
  13. 13SalvadorBrazil · South America7.0Score
  14. 14RecifeBrazil · South America7.0Score
  15. 15FortalezaBrazil · South America7.0Score
  16. 16CaliColombia · South America7.0Score
  17. 17BarranquillaColombia · South America7.0Score
  18. 18ValparaisoChile · South America7.0Score
  19. 19RosarioArgentina · South America7.0Score
  20. 20Punta del EsteUruguay · South America7.0Score
  21. 21CartagenaColombia · South America6.0Score
  22. 22QuitoEcuador · South America6.0Score
  23. 23GuayaquilEcuador · South America6.0Score
  24. 24La PazBolivia · South America6.0Score
  25. 25Santa Cruz de la SierraBolivia · South America6.0Score
  26. 26AsuncionParaguay · South America6.0Score
  27. 27CaracasVenezuela · South America6.0Score
  28. 28ManausBrazil · South America6.0Score
  29. 29UshuaiaArgentina · South America6.0Score
  30. 30CuscoPeru · South America6.0Score

Methodology

Same single-criterion method as our worldwide rankings (only best internet counts), applied only to cities within South America so the comparison isn't skewed by cities on other continents. Want different priorities? Set your own weights in the recommender.

Understanding the criteria

Same logic as our worldwide single-criterion rankings: only best internet decides the order, just filtered down to one region so you're not comparing across continents you've already ruled out.

Tips for using this ranking

  • Compare the top pick here against the equivalent worldwide ranking — a city that leads its continent can still trail the global top 10 by a wide margin.
  • Use this list to narrow down within South America, then switch to the recommender to weigh in your other priorities before committing.

Who this ranking is for

This ranking is most useful for Budget-conscious movers — movers for whom affordability outweighs every other factor, Safety-first movers — people relocating somewhere unfamiliar who weigh personal safety above all and Balanced movers — people without a single dominant priority, weighing all criteria evenly. If none of those match your situation, the recommender tool lets you set your own weights instead of relying on any preset list.

Strengths & limitations of this ranking

What this method gets right

  • +Comparing only within one region avoids the trap of comparing, say, a Southeast Asian city's cost of living to a Scandinavian one.
  • +The single-criterion method means the ranking is fully reproducible from the underlying scores.

What it doesn't capture

  • It says nothing about how these cities compare globally — a regional #1 can still trail the worldwide top 10 by a wide margin.
  • Only one criterion counts here, so a city's other strengths or weaknesses are invisible in this specific ranking.

How are these scores calculated?

Every city on CityMatch is scored 1-10 on seven criteria — cost of living, safety, environment, transport, climate, healthcare and internet — and those seven numbers are combined into the overall score shown throughout the site using a consistent, automated formula (an equal-weighted average by default, or your own weighting via the recommender tool). The same method is applied identically to every city, so scores are comparable across the full database.

Sources & data provenance

The current dataset is an internally curated starter dataset built for this version of the site, reflecting each city's general reputation on each criterion rather than a live feed from a single external provider. It is not yet sourced from a specific third-party API. If that changes, this section will be updated to name the exact sources in use.

Last updated: 17 July 2026

Frequently asked questions

Which city ranks #1 for "best internet cities in south america"?

Santiago tops this list with a score of 8.0/10. The next best are Santiago, Montevideo, Sao Paulo.

What's the most affordable city on this list?

La Paz is the most affordable, scoring 9/10 on cost of living (10 = cheapest).

What's the safest city on this list?

Punta del Este posts the strongest safety score here at 8/10, ahead of the 29 other cities on this list.

How is this ranking calculated?

Every city gets a 1-10 score on cost of living, safety, environment, transport, climate, healthcare and internet. This list's average safety score is 5.1/10 and average cost-of-living score is 7.1/10 across 30 cities.

Is this ranking kept up to date?

Yes — every score on this page is recalculated automatically from the same underlying dataset each time the site is rebuilt, so the ranking always reflects the current numbers rather than a static, one-off list. See the "How are these scores calculated?" section for the full methodology.

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