Cost of living comparison
compared to
United Kingdom vs. Sweden Cost of Living Summary
United Kingdom is 97.9% more expensive than Sweden overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 1.0% less in United Kingdom
- Groceries
-
pay 18.8% less in United Kingdom
- Transportation
-
pay 5.9% more in United Kingdom
- Housing
-
pay 58.8% more in United Kingdom
- Childcare
-
pay 7.3 times more in United Kingdom
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 25.7% more in United Kingdom
- Clothing
-
pay 12.3% less in United Kingdom
The cost of childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, and transportation in United Kingdom are more expensive than in Sweden. Expenses including groceries, clothing, and restaurants are lower in United Kingdom. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in United Kingdom.
United Kingdom vs. Sweden Cost Breakdown
If you lived in United Kingdom instead of Sweden, you would:
pay 1.0% less for restaurants
|
Sweden
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$14.38
SEK135.86
|
$20.41
£15.41
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.04
SEK104.36
|
$9.94
£7.51
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.58
SEK24.43
|
$2.32
£1.75
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.22
SEK20.96
|
$1.65
£1.24
|
|
Sweden vs. United Kingdom - Cost of restaurants
pay 18.8% less for groceries
|
Sweden
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.88
SEK27.20
|
$1.59
£1.20
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.00
SEK56.72
|
$4.71
£3.55
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.33
SEK59.85
|
$6.20
£4.68
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.34
SEK41.01
|
$3.87
£2.92
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.57
SEK52.62
|
$3.87
£2.92
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.41
SEK13.35
|
$1.32
£1.00
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.21
SEK11.44
|
$0.73
£0.55
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.36
SEK12.85
|
$1.28
£0.97
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.97
SEK18.66
|
$1.49
£1.13
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.80
SEK7.55
|
$0.72
£0.54
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.79
SEK7.49
|
$0.71
£0.54
|
|
Sweden vs. United Kingdom - Cost of groceries
pay 5.9% more for transportation
|
Sweden
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.32
SEK69.19
|
$7.22
£5.45
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$81.92
SEK774.19
|
$99.05
£74.80
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$31,594.19
SEK298,596.70
|
$36,224.29
£27,355.86
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$24.67
SEK233.17
|
$22.08
£16.67
|
|
Sweden vs. United Kingdom - Cost of transportation
pay 58.8% more for housing
|
Sweden
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$37.43
SEK353.72
|
$41.90
£31.64
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$936.32
SEK8,849.16
|
$1,285.79
£971.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$720.46
SEK6,809.11
|
$1,062.09
£802.07
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$97.92
SEK925.40
|
$233.57
£176.39
|
|
Sweden vs. United Kingdom - Cost of housing
pay 7.3 times more for childcare
|
Sweden
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$155.59
SEK1,470.47
|
$1,530.71
£1,155.97
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$4,116.05
SEK38,900.77
|
$19,375.12
£14,631.70
|
|
Sweden vs. United Kingdom - Cost of childcare
pay 25.7% more for entertainment and sports
|
Sweden
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.74
SEK73.17
|
$6.35
£4.79
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.56
SEK43.10
|
$4.54
£3.43
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$7.64
SEK72.24
|
$19.18
£14.48
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$44.09
SEK416.68
|
$49.26
£37.20
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.46
SEK155.54
|
$13.88
£10.48
|
|
Sweden vs. United Kingdom - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 12.3% less for clothing
|
Sweden
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$94.86
SEK896.55
|
$86.00
£64.94
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$42.53
SEK401.90
|
$44.20
£33.38
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$106.79
SEK1,009.30
|
$95.21
£71.90
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$151.29
SEK1,429.84
|
$101.36
£76.54
|
|
Sweden vs. United Kingdom - Cost of clothing
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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