Cost of living comparison

compared to

Stockholm vs. Helsinki Cost of Living Summary

Stockholm is 6.7% more expensive than Helsinki.

Restaurants
pay 6.0% less in Stockholm
Groceries
pay 23.7% more in Stockholm
Transportation
pay 1.7% more in Stockholm
Housing
pay 46.2% more in Stockholm
Childcare
pay 24.0% less in Stockholm
Entertainment and Sports
pay 9.3% less in Stockholm
Clothing
pay 14.3% more in Stockholm

The cost of housing, groceries, clothing, and transportation in Stockholm are more expensive than in Helsinki. Expenses including childcare, entertainment and sports, and restaurants are lower in Stockholm.

Stockholm vs. Helsinki Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Stockholm instead of Helsinki, you would:

pay 6.0% less for restaurants

 
Helsinki
Stockholm
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $17.52
€15.05
$16.93
SEK159.12
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$12.85
€11.03
$11.64
SEK109.39
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $3.33
€2.86
$3.20
SEK30.04

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pay 23.7% more for groceries

 
Helsinki
Stockholm
Bread
1 loaf
$2.59
€2.22
$3.44
SEK32.34
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.00
€4.30
$6.66
SEK62.58
Milk (1 gallon) $5.19
€4.46
$6.75
SEK63.49

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pay 1.7% more for transportation

 
Helsinki
Stockholm
Gasoline (1 gallon) $7.91
€6.80
$6.94
SEK65.21
Monthly public transit pass $84.09
€72.22
$112.14
SEK1,054.16
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $37,056.70
€31,824.70
$33,800.39
SEK317,740.59

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pay 46.2% more for housing

 
Helsinki
Stockholm
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$25.95
€22.28
$44.55
SEK418.82
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,216.29
€1,044.57
$1,570.17
SEK14,760.37
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $911.76
€783.03
$1,035.21
SEK9,731.53

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pay 24.0% less for childcare

 
Helsinki
Stockholm
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $437.97
€376.14
$161.61
SEK1,519.19
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $13,422.45
€11,527.34
$15,445.56
SEK145,196.01

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pay 9.3% less for entertainment and sports

 
Helsinki
Stockholm
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $8.47
€7.27
$8.36
SEK78.56
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.20
€4.47
$5.17
SEK48.56
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$12.96
€11.13
$8.04
SEK75.58

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pay 14.3% more for clothing

 
Helsinki
Stockholm
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$107.25
€92.11
$100.97
SEK949.20
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$43.83
€37.64
$47.01
SEK441.89
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$109.22
€93.80
$123.10
SEK1,157.18

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
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