Cost of living comparison

compared to

Sweden vs. United Kingdom Cost of Living Summary

Sweden is 22.9% cheaper than United Kingdom overall.

Restaurants
pay 14.7% less in Sweden
Groceries
pay 19.0% more in Sweden
Transportation
pay 14.7% less in Sweden
Housing
pay 38.1% less in Sweden
Childcare
pay 82.4% less in Sweden
Entertainment and Sports
pay 10.9% less in Sweden
Clothing
pay 12.8% more in Sweden

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

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

Sweden vs. United Kingdom Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Sweden instead of United Kingdom, you would:

pay 14.7% less for restaurants

 
United Kingdom
Sweden
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $21.32
£16.10
$14.04
SEK140.37
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
 $10.25
£7.74
$10.77
SEK107.65
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.54
£1.92
$2.49
SEK24.90
Improve prices ·

pay 19.0% more for groceries

 
United Kingdom
Sweden
Bread
1 loaf
 $1.67
£1.26
$2.82
SEK28.21
Local cheese (8 oz) $4.62
£3.49
$5.72
SEK57.23
Milk (1 gallon) $6.01
£4.54
$6.07
SEK60.70
Improve prices ·

pay 14.7% less for transportation

 
United Kingdom
Sweden
Gasoline (1 gallon) $7.59
£5.73
$6.65
SEK66.45
Monthly public transit pass $99.20
£74.91
$77.78
SEK777.72
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $37,629.43
£28,417.79
$31,975.58
SEK320K
Improve prices ·

pay 38.1% less for housing

 
United Kingdom
Sweden
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
 $41.42
£31.28
$38.16
SEK381.56
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,299.59
£981.45
$883.11
SEK8,830.36
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,069.01
£807.32
$671.43
SEK6,713.73
Improve prices ·

pay 82.4% less for childcare

 
United Kingdom
Sweden
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,589.10
£1,200.09
$155.03
SEK1,550.21
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $23,025.39
£17,388.80
$7,341.74
SEK73,411.57
Improve prices ·

pay 10.9% less for entertainment and sports

 
United Kingdom
Sweden
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $6.50
£4.91
$7.36
SEK73.62
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.66
£3.52
$4.45
SEK44.47
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
 $22.34
£16.87
$7.55
SEK75.45
Improve prices ·

pay 12.8% more for clothing

 
United Kingdom
Sweden
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
 $85.37
£64.47
$91.37
SEK913.67
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
 $44.93
£33.93
$44.99
SEK449.82
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
 $95.35
£72.01
$95.04
SEK950.29
Improve prices ·

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

Change currency:

Compare further: United Kingdom vs. Sweden

Salary Calculator · Free tool
What salary would you need in Sweden?
→
Quality of Life Comparison · 15 statistics
Be 82.9% more likely to be unemployed in Sweden
→
Size Comparison · See true size
United Kingdom is about 1.9 times smaller than Sweden.
→
Moving from United Kingdom to Sweden · OECD 2023
915 people moved from United Kingdom to Sweden.
→
City Size Comparison · See true size
Compare the size of London vs Stockholm
→
Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in London vs. Stockholm

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 Sweden

Ask the Elsewhere Community

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