Cost of living in Sweden
Summary of cost of living in Sweden
- Family of four estimated monthly costs: 41,585 kr
- Single person estimated monthly costs: 21,927 kr
- Cost of living in Sweden is cheaper than in 63% of countries in Western Europe (12 out of 19)
- Cost of living in Sweden is more expensive than in 70% of countries in the World (25 out of 80)
Change the currency:
| Food | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic lunchtime menu (including a drink) in the business district | 120 kr | ||
| Combo meal in fast food restaurant (big mac meal or similar) | 88 kr | ||
| 500 gr (1 lb.) of boneless chicken breast | 59 kr | ||
| 1 liter (1 qt.) of whole fat milk | 14 kr | ||
| 12 eggs, large | 38 kr | ||
| 1 kg (2 lb.) of tomatoes | 34 kr | ||
| 500 gr (16 oz.) of local cheese | 52 kr | ||
| 1 kg (2 lb.) of apples | 27 kr | ||
| 1 kg (2 lb.) of potatoes | 12 kr | ||
| 0.5 l (16 oz) domestic beer in the supermarket | 16 kr | ||
| 1 bottle of red table wine, good quality | 115 kr | ||
| 2 liters of coca-cola | 22 kr | ||
| Bread for 2 people for 1 day | 22 kr | ||
| Housing | |||
| Monthly rent for 85 m2 (900 sqft) furnished accommodation in expensive area | 17,188 kr | ||
| Monthly rent for 85 m2 (900 sqft) furnished accommodation in normal area | 13,337 kr | ||
| Utilities 1 month (heating, electricity, gas ...) for 2 people in 85m2 flat | 1,030 kr | ||
| Monthly rent for a 45 m2 (480 sqft) furnished studio in expensive area | 10,278 kr | ||
| Monthly rent for a 45 m2 (480 sqft) furnished studio in normal area | 7,038 kr | ||
| Utilities 1 month (heating, electricity, gas ...) for 1 person in 45 m2 (480 sqft) studio | 562 kr | ||
| Internet 8 mbps (1 month) | 287 kr | ||
| 40” flat screen tv | 3,242 kr | ||
| Microwave 800/900 watt (bosch, panasonic, lg, sharp, or equivalent brands) | 1,113 kr | ||
| Laundry detergent (3 l. ~ 100 oz.) | 150 kr | ||
| Hourly rate for cleaning help | 164 kr | ||
| Clothes | |||
| 1 pair of jeans (levis 501 or similar) | 863 kr | ||
| 1 summer dress in a high street store (zara, h&m or similar retailers) | 329 kr | ||
| 1 pair of sport shoes (nike, adidas, or equivalent brands) | 887 kr | ||
| 1 pair of men’s leather business shoes | 1,180 kr | ||
| Transportation | |||
| Volkswagen golf 1.4 tsi 150 cv (or equivalent), with no extras, new | 261,139 kr | ||
| 1 liter (1/4 gallon) of gas | 19 kr | ||
| Monthly ticket public transport | 754 kr | ||
| Personal Care | |||
| Cold medicine for 6 days (tylenol, frenadol, coldrex, or equivalent brands) | 70 kr | ||
| 1 box of antibiotics (12 doses) | 100 kr | ||
| Short visit to private doctor (15 minutes) | 249 kr | ||
| 1 box of 32 tampons (tampax, ob, ...) | 33 kr | ||
| Deodorant, roll-on (50ml ~ 1.5 oz.) | 35 kr | ||
| Hair shampoo 2-in-1 (400 ml ~ 12 oz.) | 33 kr | ||
| 4 rolls of toilet paper | 22 kr | ||
| Tube of toothpaste | 20 kr | ||
| Standard men's haircut in expat area of the city | 281 kr | ||
| Entertainment | |||
| Basic dinner out for two in neighborhood pub | 478 kr | ||
| 2 tickets to the movies | 284 kr | ||
| 2 tickets to the theater (best available seats) | 810 kr | ||
| Dinner for two at an italian restaurant in the expat area including appetisers, main course, wine and dessert | 902 kr | ||
| 1 cocktail drink in downtown club | 138 kr | ||
| Cappuccino in expat area of the city | 41 kr | ||
| 1 beer in neighbourhood pub (500ml or 1pt.) | 74 kr | ||
| Ipad wi-fi 128gb | 7,113 kr | ||
| 1 min. of prepaid mobile tariff (no discounts or plans) | 1.62 kr | ||
| 1 month of gym membership in business district | 333 kr | ||
| 1 package of marlboro cigarettes | 66 kr | ||
Moving to Sweden with your children?
International Schools in Sweden
Map of Cost of Living in Sweden
This map shows only the top cities in Sweden. We also have on this page a list of all the cities available in Expatistan:
List of all the cities available in Expatistan
The color of each marker corresponds with the cost of living in the city red markers show more expensive cities green ones show cheaper cities
Moving the mouse on top of a city will show its name and the Cost of Living Index of that city.
What is the Cost of Living Index? To calculate each city's Price Index value, we start by assigning a value of 100 to a
central reference city (that happens to be Prague).
Once the reference point has been established, the Price Index value of every other city in the
database is calculated by comparing their cost of living to the cost of living in Prague.
Therefore, if a city has a Price Index of 134, that means that living there is 34% more expensive than living in Prague.
Cost of Living Ranking in Sweden
(top cities by data quality)
| Ranking | City | Price Index * |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Stockholm | 158 |
| 2nd | Gothenburg | 137 |
| 3rd | Malmo | 128 |
| 4th | Visby | 0 |
Price Index:
To calculate each city's Price Index value, we start by assigning a value of 100 to a central reference city (that happens to be Prague). Once the reference point has been established, the Price Index value of every other city in the database is calculated by comparing their cost of living to the cost of living in Prague.Therefore, if a city has a Price Index of 134, that means that living there is 34% more expensive than living in Prague.
Are you moving to Sweden? Do you know how much money you will need there to maintain your current standard of living?
Find out what is the real equivalent in Sweden of your current salary and improve your chances of a happy relocation.
Get a salary calculation for:
List of all cities available in Sweden
| Borås | Gothenburg | Gävle |
| Halmstad | Helsingborg | Jönköping |
| Karlstad | Lulea | Malmo |
| Norrköping | Pitea | Skelleftea |
| Stockholm | Umeå | Uppsala |
| Visby | Västerås | Växjö |
| Örebro |
Recent Comparisons
- Cost of living in Stockholm is 39% more expensive than in Guatemala City
- Cost of living in Malmo is 34% cheaper than in Chicago, Illinois
- Cost of living in Malmo is 30% cheaper than in Copenhagen
- Cost of living in Stockholm is 90% more expensive than in Warsaw
- Cost of living in Stockholm is 34% cheaper than in London
- Cost of living in Stockholm is 6% more expensive than in Winnipeg
- Cost of living in Stockholm is 19% cheaper than in Oslo
- Cost of living in Stockholm is 41% cheaper than in New York City
- Cost of living in Stockholm is 17% cheaper than in Copenhagen
- Cost of living in Karlstad is 9% more expensive than in Salzburg
- Cost of living in Stockholm is 27% more expensive than in Madrid
- Cost of living in Stockholm is 35% cheaper than in Zurich
- Cost of living in Stockholm is 10% cheaper than in Amsterdam
- Cost of living in Stockholm is 6% cheaper than in Nashville, Tennessee
- Cost of living in Stockholm is 94% more expensive than in Budapest
- Cost of living in Stockholm is about the same as in Munich
- Cost of living in Malmo is 35% cheaper than in Reykjavik
- Cost of living in Stockholm is 57% more expensive than in Prague
- Cost of living in Stockholm is 70% more expensive than in Santiago
- Cost of living in Uppsala is 47% more expensive than in Valdivia
Compare other countries
Prices recently added
- Bread for 2 people for 1 day (250 g) in Malmo costs 25 kr (2 days ago)
- 1 kg of apples in Malmo costs 29 kr (2 days ago)
- 500 g of boneless chicken breast in Malmo costs 90 kr (2 days ago)
- Basic lunchtime menu (including a drink) in the business district in Malmo costs 145 kr (2 days ago)
- Bread for 2 people for 1 day (250 g) in Helsingborg costs 24 kr (5 days ago)
- 2 liters of coca-cola in Helsingborg costs 24 kr (5 days ago)
- 1 bottle of red table wine, good quality in Helsingborg costs 200 kr (5 days ago)
- 500 ml domestic beer in the supermarket in Helsingborg costs 12 kr (5 days ago)
- 1 kg of potatoes in Helsingborg costs 13 kr (5 days ago)
- 6 eggs, large in Helsingborg costs 64 kr (5 days ago)