Cost of living comparison

Sweden

compared to

Spain

San Sebastian vs. Karlstad Cost of Living Summary

San Sebastian is 12.1% more expensive than Karlstad.

Restaurants: pay 5.5% more in San Sebastian
Groceries: pay 14.1% less in San Sebastian
Transportation: pay 18.1% less in San Sebastian
Housing: pay 56.4% more in San Sebastian
Childcare: pay 3.5 times more in San Sebastian
Entertainment and Sports: pay 39.0% less in San Sebastian
Clothing: pay 14.5% less in San Sebastian

The cost of childcare, housing, and restaurants in San Sebastian are more expensive than in Karlstad. Expenses including entertainment and sports, transportation, clothing, and groceries are lower in San Sebastian. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in San Sebastian.

Planning a move to Spain? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

San Sebastian vs. Karlstad Cost Breakdown

If you lived in San Sebastian instead of Karlstad, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 5.5% more for restaurants

	Karlstad	San Sebastian
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$15.00 SEK148.65	$16.80 €14.95	+12.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.00 SEK99.10	$10.64 €9.47	+6.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.50 SEK24.77	$2.80 €2.49	+12.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.17 SEK21.47	$1.60 €1.42	-26.3%
Average			+5.5%

Karlstad vs. San Sebastian - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 14.1% less for groceries

	Karlstad	San Sebastian
Bread 1 loaf	$2.87 SEK28.49	$1.03 €0.92	-64.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.02 SEK49.80	$11.34 €10.09	+125.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.62 SEK55.75	$4.42 €3.93	-21.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.47 SEK44.31	$3.64 €3.24	-18.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$6.40 SEK63.47	$3.68 €3.28	-42.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.31 SEK13.02	$1.16 €1.04	-11.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.18 SEK11.68	$1.07 €0.95	-9.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.38 SEK13.69	$1.49 €1.32	+7.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.38 SEK23.60	$1.30 €1.16	-45.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.85 SEK8.38	$0.95 €0.84	+11.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.76 SEK7.48	$0.90 €0.81	+19.9%
Average			-14.1%

Karlstad vs. San Sebastian - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 18.1% less for transportation

	Karlstad	San Sebastian
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.64 SEK65.80	$6.62 €5.89	-0.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$79.88 SEK791.80	$33.59 €29.90	-57.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$32,980.57 SEK327K	$36,315.82 €32,322.39	+10.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$15.80 SEK156.58	$14.15 €12.60	-10.4%
Average			-18.1%

Karlstad vs. San Sebastian - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 56.4% more for housing

	Karlstad	San Sebastian
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$44.12 SEK437.36	$35.27 €31.39	-20.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$849.76 SEK8,423.39	$1,404.47 €1,250.03	+65.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$574.84 SEK5,698.17	$973.61 €866.55	+69.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$76.74 SEK760.73	$104.82 €93.29	+36.6%
Average			+56.4%

Karlstad vs. San Sebastian - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 3.5 times more for childcare

	Karlstad	San Sebastian
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$126.21 SEK1,251.12	$447.89 €398.64	+254.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	??	$13,784.69 €12,268.87
Average			+254.9%

Karlstad vs. San Sebastian - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 39.0% less for entertainment and sports

	Karlstad	San Sebastian
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$7.95 SEK78.78	$3.36 €2.99	-57.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.72 SEK46.82	$2.05 €1.83	-56.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$7.10 SEK70.36	$6.16 €5.48	-13.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$45.46 SEK450.59	$42.83 €38.12	-5.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.00 SEK138.75	$8.45 €7.52	-39.6%
Average			-39.0%

Karlstad vs. San Sebastian - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 14.5% less for clothing

	Karlstad	San Sebastian
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$104.94 SEK1,040.29	$72.78 €64.78	-30.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$39.89 SEK395.40	$32.19 €28.65	-19.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$74.88 SEK742.25	$74.46 €66.27	-0.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$139.86 SEK1,386.39	$134.37 €119.59	-3.9%
Average			-14.5%

Karlstad vs. San Sebastian - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Karlstad vs. San Sebastian

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in San Sebastian?

More cost comparisons

Karlstad vs.

Moscow

Karlstad vs.

Paris

Karlstad vs.

Berlin

Karlstad vs.

Shanghai

Karlstad vs.

Warsaw

Karlstad vs.

Athens

Karlstad vs.

Bangkok

Karlstad vs.

Cairo

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Sweden vs. Spain. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Sweden and Spain.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Karlstad

Add prices for San Sebastian

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about San Sebastian or Karlstad. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.