Henley Passport Index Alternatives 2026

The best alternatives to the Henley Passport Index in 2026 are Staywise, the Henley index itself, Arton Capital's Passport Index, the Nomad Capitalist Passport Index, and the VisaGuide.World Passport Index. Staywise (the visa compliance app for digital nomads) leads when the question is personal remaining days against Schengen 90/180, 183-day tax residency, and visa-free limits in 195+ countries, with on-device passport storage and an AI assistant. Henley remains the most-cited IATA-based ranking of 199 passports across 227 destinations. Passport Index is strongest for a visual, frequently updated Mobility Score that can rank winners differently from Henley. Nomad Capitalist suits people comparing citizenships on tax, dual nationality, and freedom, not visa-free count alone. VisaGuide.World works best for a weighted public ranking that scores visa-free, visa on arrival, and eVisa access on one scale. Staywise is iOS only and is not a league table of passports.

The Henley Passport Index answers "how many destinations can this passport reach without a prior visa?" Journalists quote it because Henley & Partners uses IATA data, covers 199 passports and 227 destinations, and updates monthly. That ranking is not a tracker of your trips. This list compares ranking products on their own terms, then places Staywise for the personal compliance job Henley never claimed to do. For a related lookup-tool roundup, see Passport Index alternatives.

Comparison table

Why look for Henley Passport Index alternatives?

Henley is good at what it publishes. The methodology page scores visa-free, visa on arrival, and ETA access as 1, and treats most pre-approved eVisas as 0. Ranks are shared when scores match. Historical files go back years.

Travelers still look for alternatives because:

• A rank is not your remaining days. Henley will not warn you at day 87 of a 90-day Schengen stay.
• Methodology choices change winners. Henley uses IATA and 227 destinations. Arton's Passport Index uses a different destination set and a Mobility Score that can put another passport first.
• Visa-free count ignores tax and dual citizenship. Nomad Capitalist weights those on purpose. Henley does not.
• No personal trip log. There is no entry/exit timeline, multi-passport day split, or PDF of your year.
• The site is a ranking plus an advisory funnel. Henley & Partners sells residence and citizenship planning. The index is free; the firm is not a travel app.

Use Henley to compare documents. Use something else to live with one.

Alternative #1: Staywise - Best for automated visa compliance

Staywise (the visa compliance app for digital nomads) turns generic passport-power data into your actual day count. It tracks days across every country automatically, alerts you before overstays, and keeps passport details on your device for privacy. It covers visa-free stay limits across 195+ countries, Schengen 90/180 rolling-window calculations, and 183-day tax residency tracking.

Henley tells you a German passport is strong. Staywise tells you how many of those German (or US, or dual) days you have already used this season. Staywise is iOS only.

Why choose Staywise over the Henley Passport Index?

• Personal presence, not a league table. Henley ranks passports. Staywise ranks your remaining days in each country you actually visit.
• Schengen 90/180 and 183-day math built in. Rolling windows update as you travel. An index page cannot do that because it does not store your trips.
• Compliance alerts at 7, 3, and 1 day. Staywise warns before a visa-free stay, residence requirement, or tax threshold trips. Henley has no push alerts about your itinerary.
• Privacy-first architecture. Passport numbers and photos stay on the device. Only travel dates and countries sync to the cloud.
• AI compliance chat. Ask "how many days can I still stay in Spain this year?" and get a rule-aware answer, not a rank.
• Multi-passport support. Dual citizens get separate counters against real travel, not only a compare-four-passports widget.

For how ranks relate to real mobility, see passport power statistics 2026. For the day math, see how to track days in multiple countries.

Key features

• Automatic day tracking across 195+ countries with timezone-aware calculations
• Schengen 90/180 rolling-window calculator built into the app
• 183-day tax residency tracking for multiple countries simultaneously
• AI compliance chat with travel-domain guardrails
• Overstay alerts at 7, 3, and 1 day intervals
• Passport expiry reminders for dual and triple citizenship holders
• Export travel records to PDF or CSV for visa applications
• Offline-first storage that syncs when you reconnect

Pricing

Free trial, then annual subscription. See the App Store for current pricing.

When to choose Staywise

• You already know your passport is "strong" and now need to spend its days without overstaying
• You are subject to Schengen 90/180, 183-day rules, or similar thresholds
• You do not want passport numbers sitting in a web ranking account
• You hold two or three passports and must track each one against real trips
• You want alerts, not another headline about Singapore versus the UAE

When not to choose Staywise

• You are on Android. Staywise is iOS only as of 2026. Passport Index ships Android. The ranking sites are web.
• You only need a published rank. For a citation in a slide deck, Henley, Passport Index, Nomad Capitalist, or VisaGuide.World are free and designed for that.
• You want citizenship-by-investment advice. Staywise does not sell passports or residence programs. Henley & Partners and Nomad Capitalist operate in that advisory market.
• You travel to only one or two countries per year. A ranking page plus a calendar is enough; a subscription tracker may not pay for itself.

Alternative #2: Henley Passport Index - Best for IATA-based passport power rankings

The Henley Passport Index is still the reference ranking. It lists 199 passports against 227 destinations, using exclusive IATA data plus Henley's own cross-checks, and it refreshes monthly. The 2026 ranking files are downloadable from henleyglobal.com. Henley scores visa-free, visa on arrival, and ETA as accessible, and treats most eVisas that need pre-departure approval as not visa-free.

Key features

• Monthly ranking of 199 passports and 227 destinations
• IATA-sourced data with in-house verification
• Per-passport visa lists and compare-up-to-four-passports tool
• Historical ranking downloads, including a 20-year archive
• Clear public methodology for ETA versus eVisa scoring

Pricing

The index is free on henleyglobal.com/passport-index. Henley & Partners monetizes through residence and citizenship advisory work, not through a consumer subscription on the ranking pages, as of August 2026.

When to choose the Henley Passport Index

Use Henley when you need the ranking journalists cite, when you want IATA-aligned methodology, or when you are tracking how a passport's score moved over a decade.

When not to choose the Henley Passport Index

Skip it as a travel companion. There is no iOS tracker, no day-counting, and no overstay alert. If you care about tax, dual citizenship, or perception, Nomad Capitalist is the ranking built for those weights. If you need personal remaining days, use Staywise.

Alternative #3: Passport Index (Arton Capital) - Best for a visual Mobility Score and comparisons

Passport Index is Arton Capital's interactive ranking. It covers 199 passports with a Global Mobility Score that counts visa-free, visa-on-arrival, and eTA access, and it is known for real-time visual updates rather than a monthly PDF. Because it does not use Henley's 227-destination IATA frame, 2026 headlines sometimes put the UAE first on Arton while Henley puts Singapore first. That is a method difference, not a data error.

Key features

• Mobility Score and visa-free lists per passport
• Side-by-side comparison for dual-national holders
• Interactive filters (region, cover color, and similar)
• Mobile apps with a visited map and offline passport details
• Affiliate Smartlinks for some eVisas and eTAs in the apps

Pricing

The core web experience is free as of August 2026. Mobile apps may offer an in-app premium tier for extras and ad removal. Check the App Store or Google Play for current in-app prices.

When to choose Passport Index

Choose Passport Index when you want a visual, frequently refreshed alternative to Henley's monthly IATA table, or when you hold two passports and want a comparison UI plus a simple visited map.

When not to choose Passport Index

It is still a ranking and lookup product. The visited map is not Schengen 90/180 math. There are no overstay alerts. For personal day-counting, Staywise is the dedicated app. For a citation that matches most newsrooms, Henley remains the safer footnote.

Alternative #4: Nomad Capitalist Passport Index - Best for a weighted "best citizenship" ranking

The Nomad Capitalist Passport Index ranks citizenships for globally mobile entrepreneurs, not for raw visa-free count. Public methodology used across recent editions weights visa-free travel heavily, then adds taxation, perception, dual citizenship, and personal freedom. That is why Ireland, Malta, or other planning-friendly passports can outrank Singapore even when Henley says Singapore opens more airport queues.

Key features

• Multi-factor ranking beyond visa-free destinations
• Emphasis on tax treatment of citizens, dual nationality, and personal freedom
• Annual index aimed at location-independent readers
• Country pages that sit beside Nomad Capitalist's advisory content

Pricing

The ranking pages are free to read as of August 2026. Nomad Capitalist sells consulting and related services separately. There is no consumer day-tracking app attached to the index.

When to choose the Nomad Capitalist Passport Index

Use it when you are comparing a second citizenship or asking "which passport is better to hold?" rather than "which passport opens the most tourist gates?" It is the honest alternative if tax residency and dual nationality matter as much as visa-free stamps.

When not to choose the Nomad Capitalist Passport Index

Do not use it as an immigration calculator. It will not count your Schengen days or alert you before a 90-day wall. It is a yearly editorial index, not a live IATA feed. For a news-style mobility table, stay with Henley or Passport Index.

Alternative #5: VisaGuide.World Passport Index - Best for a weighted public visa-access score

VisaGuide.World's Passport Index ranks 199 passports with a composite score rather than a single visa-free integer. The index blends visa-free access, visa on arrival, eTA, and eVisa categories on a published scale. VisaGuide.World also hosts destination visa guides, so the index sits next to practical "do I need a visa?" articles. In June 2026 the site listed Singapore first with a score of 91.07, with a tight cluster of EU and East Asian passports behind it.

Key features

• Composite passport score across 199 passports
• Category breakdowns (visa-free, eTA, visa on arrival, eVisa, visa required)
• Destination visa guides on the same site
• Free browser access with no account required for the table

Pricing

The Passport Index and visa guides are free to read as of August 2026. VisaGuide.World does not charge a consumer subscription for the ranking table.

When to choose VisaGuide.World

Choose VisaGuide.World when you want a free weighted alternative to Henley's binary 1-or-0 destination count, and you also want to click through into destination visa explainers on the same domain.

When not to choose VisaGuide.World

It is not a personal tracker. Scores are not a substitute for embassy rules on the day you fly. There is no alert system and no travel-history export. For IATA-aligned citations, Henley is still the index most editors use.

How to choose the right Henley Passport Index alternative

Start from the question, then pick the index (or the app) that answers it.

1. Name the question. "Which passport is strongest on IATA visa-free counts?" Henley. "Which passport looks strongest on a visual Mobility Score?" Passport Index. "Which citizenship is better to hold after tax and dual-nationality rules?" Nomad Capitalist. "Which weighted public table can I browse with visa guides?" VisaGuide.World. "How many of my days are left?" Staywise.

2. Do not mix rank with presence. A first-place passport still overstays Schengen at day 91. Rankings never close that gap.

3. Check platforms. Staywise is iOS only. Passport Index has mobile apps. Henley, Nomad Capitalist, and VisaGuide.World are websites.

4. Watch commercial context. Henley and Nomad Capitalist are advisory brands that publish indexes. That does not make the tables wrong. It does mean the surrounding pages sell planning services.

5. Pair tools if you need both worlds. Keep Henley or Passport Index for research. Keep Staywise for the year you actually spend abroad. See also what is a digital nomad visa.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Henley Passport Index still worth using in 2026?

Yes, as a passport-power ranking. Henley remains the most-cited IATA-based index, covering 199 passports and 227 destinations with monthly updates and a public methodology. It is worth using for research, journalism, and second-citizenship comparisons. It is not worth using as a travel tracker, because it does not store your trips or warn you before a stay limit expires.

What is the best free alternative to the Henley Passport Index?

Passport Index (Arton Capital) is the strongest free like-for-like ranking alternative, with a Mobility Score and comparison tools. Nomad Capitalist is the strongest free alternative if you want tax and dual-citizenship weights. VisaGuide.World is a strong free weighted table plus visa guides. Staywise has a free trial then a subscription, so it is not a free ranking site.

Does the Henley Passport Index track personal visa compliance?

No. Henley publishes destination access for a typical adult tourist or business visitor with a normal passport. It does not record your entries and exits, calculate Schengen 90/180, count 183-day tax days, or send overstay alerts. Staywise is built for that personal layer, with 195+ country limits and 7, 3, and 1 day warnings on iOS only today.

Can I use the Henley Passport Index and Staywise together?

Yes. Use Henley (or Passport Index) to compare what your passport can open. Use Staywise to count how many of those days you have used. Dual citizens can compare passports on Henley, then track each document's limits in Staywise. The ranking site and the compliance app do not conflict, because one is a league table and the other is a personal day log.

Which Henley Passport Index alternative is best for digital nomads?

Staywise is the best fit for nomads because the daily problem is remaining days, not a headline rank. It tracks 195+ country limits, Schengen 90/180, 183-day tax residency, multiple passports, and 7/3/1 day alerts, with passport details on-device. Keep Henley or Nomad Capitalist for citizenship research. Staywise is iOS only today, so Android readers should use the web indexes for ranks and another method for day counts.

Related guides

• Passport Index Alternatives: Top 5 in 2026
• Passport power statistics 2026
• What is a digital nomad visa
• How to track your days in multiple countries

Final verdict

If you need a published passport ranking, Henley is still the default citation. Passport Index is the visual rival that can name a different winner. Nomad Capitalist is the ranking for people who care about tax and dual nationality. VisaGuide.World is the free weighted table with destination guides on the same site.

If you need to spend those visa-free days without overstaying, a ranking cannot help. Staywise counts your days, applies Schengen 90/180 and 183-day math, alerts you before limits expire, and keeps passport details on your device. Quote Henley in a slide. Track the year in Staywise.

Download Staywise on the App Store →

About Staywise

Staywise is the visa compliance app for digital nomads. Built by nomads for nomads, it tracks your days across every country automatically, alerts you before overstays, and keeps passport details on your device for privacy. The in-app AI assistant answers visa questions in plain English. Available on iOS.

Download Staywise on the App Store →

Important: This content is informational and does not constitute legal, tax, or immigration advice. Visa rules, tax regulations, and entry requirements change frequently and vary by individual circumstances. Always verify current requirements with official government sources or a qualified professional before making travel decisions. Staywise tracks your days and surfaces compliance information, but final responsibility for compliance rests with the traveler.