Cost of living comparison

Sweden

compared to

Germany

Berlin vs. Malmo Cost of Living Summary

Berlin is 23.3% more expensive than Malmo.

Restaurants: pay 11.5% more in Berlin
Groceries: pay 3.6% more in Berlin
Transportation: pay 14.4% more in Berlin
Housing: pay 52.8% more in Berlin
Childcare: pay 99.7% more in Berlin
Entertainment and Sports: pay 10.5% less in Berlin
Clothing: pay 3.7% less in Berlin

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

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

Berlin vs. Malmo Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Berlin instead of Malmo, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 11.5% more for restaurants

	Malmo	Berlin
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$15.00 SEK149.95	$16.80 €14.99	+12.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$12.00 SEK119.96	$13.44 €11.99	+12.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.38 SEK33.82	$3.44 €3.07	+1.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.64 SEK26.39	$3.10 €2.77	+17.5%
Average			+11.5%

Malmo vs. Berlin - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 3.6% more for groceries

	Malmo	Berlin
Bread 1 loaf	$2.89 SEK28.89	$2.40 €2.14	-16.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.44 SEK64.36	$8.59 €7.67	+33.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.40 SEK63.95	$4.72 €4.21	-26.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.06 SEK40.60	$4.47 €3.99	+10.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.43 SEK54.33	$5.44 €4.85	+0.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.35 SEK13.52	$1.61 €1.44	+19.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.15 SEK11.51	$0.90 €0.81	-21.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.37 SEK13.68	$1.52 €1.36	+11.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.95 SEK19.45	$1.70 €1.51	-12.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.75 SEK7.49	$0.94 €0.84	+25.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.68 SEK6.82	$0.98 €0.87	+43.4%
Average			+3.6%

Malmo vs. Berlin - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 14.4% more for transportation

	Malmo	Berlin
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.65 SEK66.52	$8.66 €7.73	+30.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$63.38 SEK633.77	$70.54 €62.97	+11.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$32,980.57 SEK330K	$32,914.63 €29,380.19	-0.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$25.79 SEK257.91	$30.29 €27.04	+17.4%
Average			+14.4%

Malmo vs. Berlin - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 52.8% more for housing

	Malmo	Berlin
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$36.88 SEK368.82	$48.20 €43.02	+30.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,058.59 SEK10,585.01	$1,478.95 €1,320.13	+39.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$818.37 SEK8,183.00	$1,114.14 €994.50	+36.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$106.12 SEK1,061.10	$295.08 €263.40	+178.1%
Average			+52.8%

Malmo vs. Berlin - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 99.7% more for childcare

	Malmo	Berlin
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$169.95 SEK1,699.38	$144.45 €128.93	-15.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,379.03 SEK33,787.63	$15,853.22 €14,150.87	+369.2%
Average			+99.7%

Malmo vs. Berlin - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 10.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Malmo	Berlin
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$8.50 SEK84.97	$5.43 €4.85	-36.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.85 SEK48.53	$4.34 €3.87	-10.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$7.90 SEK78.97	$10.53 €9.40	+33.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$40.28 SEK402.74	$40.06 €35.76	-0.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$17.40 SEK173.94	$15.68 €13.99	-9.9%
Average			-10.5%

Malmo vs. Berlin - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 3.7% less for clothing

	Malmo	Berlin
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$99.89 SEK998.85	$95.44 €85.19	-4.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$45.09 SEK450.88	$47.03 €41.98	+4.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$111.08 SEK1,110.66	$104.60 €93.36	-5.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$153.83 SEK1,538.21	$141.17 €126.01	-8.2%
Average			-3.7%

Malmo vs. Berlin - 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: Malmo vs. Berlin

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Berlin?

More cost comparisons

Malmo vs.

Copenhagen

Malmo vs.

Washington

Malmo vs.

Madrid

Malmo vs.

Bangkok

Malmo vs.

Beijing

Malmo vs.

Reykjavik

Malmo vs.

Vienna

Malmo vs.

Quito

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

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

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 Malmo

Add prices for Berlin

Ask the Elsewhere Community

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