Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Gothenburg and Manchester

For one person, living is cheaper in Gothenburg: $2,008 a month against $2,499 in Manchester, rent and utilities included – about $5,900 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Manchester outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

97

Cost of Living Index in Gothenburg
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Gothenburg Living Index
121

Cost of Living Index in Manchester
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Manchester Living Index

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Gothenburg

🇸🇪 Sweden

$2,008

/mo nomad

Manchester

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,499

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Gothenburg and in Manchester

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Gothenburg and in Manchester actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,008 in Gothenburg versus $2,499 in Manchester.

Gothenburg $2,008
Manchester $2,499

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,067 in Gothenburg versus $3,623 in Manchester.

Gothenburg $3,067
Manchester $3,623

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,127 in Gothenburg versus $4,747 in Manchester.

Gothenburg $4,127
Manchester $4,747

Living in Gothenburg costs roughly 20% less than in Manchester, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Gothenburg 48% above, Manchester 84% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.67 SEK 134

$20.22 £15.11

-32.39%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$86.7 SEK 851

$86.0 £64.3

0.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.40 SEK 122

$10.74 £8.02

15.46%

Cappuccino

$5.04 SEK 49.51

$4.68 £3.50

7.69%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.99 SEK 29.33

$2.44 £1.82

22.54%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.33 SEK 22.91

$1.62 £1.21

43.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.88 SEK 67.6

$7.78 £5.81

-11.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.57 SEK 74.4

$6.70 £5.01

12.99%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 SEK 16.98

$1.51 £1.12

14.57%

White Bread (500g)

$2.79 SEK 27.38

$1.88 £1.41

48.40%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.26 SEK 31.99

$1.94 £1.45

68.04%

Eggs

$3.90 SEK 38.28

$4.08 £3.04

-4.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.25 SEK 110

$9.61 £7.18

17.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.57 SEK 114

$8.98 £6.71

28.84%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.43 SEK 161

$15.41 £11.51

6.62%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 SEK 29.56

$3.09 £2.31

-2.59%

Banana (1kg)

$2.45 SEK 24.08

$1.58 £1.18

55.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.90 SEK 28.49

$2.95 £2.20

-1.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.49 SEK 44.12

$3.35 £2.50

34.03%

Potato (1kg)

$1.83 SEK 17.96

$1.51 £1.13

21.19%

Onion (1kg)

$1.67 SEK 16.37

$1.35 £1.01

23.70%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.05 SEK 20.12

$1.26 £0.94

62.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.60 SEK 15.73

$1.23 £0.92

30.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.35 SEK 82.0

$24.05 £17.96

-65.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.18 SEK 149

$10.88 £8.13

39.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.04 SEK 20.05

$2.43 £1.81

-16.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 SEK 22.13

$3.17 £2.37

-29.02%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.83 SEK 37.58

$2.73 £2.04

40.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$86.4 SEK 848

$108 £80.6

-19.95%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.21 SEK 60.9

$4.52 £3.37

37.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.67 SEK 16.39

$2.22 £1.66

-24.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$59.2 SEK 581

$30.82 £23.03

92.05%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.75 SEK 17.21

$2.14 £1.60

-18.22%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$33.4K SEK 328.1K

$38.5K £28.7K

-13.13%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$33.8K SEK 331.9K

$40.0K £29.9K

-15.61%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$104 SEK 1,017

$252 £189

-58.95%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$19.70 SEK 193

$16.23 £12.12

21.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.35 SEK 337

$39.58 £29.57

-13.21%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.01 SEK 334

$42.67 £31.88

-20.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.39 SEK 240

$18.05 £13.49

35.12%

Cinema Ticket

$16.98 SEK 167

$13.44 £10.04

26.34%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$222 SEK 2,182

$1,494 £1,116

-85.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,336 SEK 42.6K

$19.7K £14.7K

-78.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.7 SEK 871

$83.5 £62.4

6.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.91 SEK 323

$42.97 £32.10

-23.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$87.8 SEK 862

$95.0 £71.0

-7.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$134 SEK 1,316

$106 £79.1

26.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,107 SEK 10.9K

$1,785 £1,334

-37.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$874 SEK 8,580

$1,222 £913

-28.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 SEK 18.3K

$2,930 £2,189

-36.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,400 SEK 13.7K

$1,899 £1,419

-26.26%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,415 SEK 63.0K

$4,668 £3,487

37.42%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,026 SEK 39.5K

$4,397 £3,285

-8.45%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,521 SEK 34.6K

$3,395 £2,536

3.72%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.06

4.82

-36.51%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Gothenburg: October 27, 2026

Last update for Manchester: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Gothenburg

$874 43.5%

Manchester

$1.2K 48.9% 39.9% $349

Groceries & Markets

Gothenburg

$360 17.9%

Manchester

$299 12% 17% $61

Eating Out

Gothenburg

$278 13.8%

Manchester

$319 12.8% 14.7% $41

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Gothenburg

$158 7.9%

Manchester

$308 12.3% 95.5% $151

Clothing & Footwear

Gothenburg

$155 7.7%

Manchester

$147 5.9% 4.7% $7.2

Getting Around

Gothenburg

$116 5.8%

Manchester

$134 5.4% 15.7% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Gothenburg

$68 3.4%

Manchester

$70 2.8% 2.3% $1.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,107 in Gothenburg and $1,785 in Manchester. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Gothenburg pays 4% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $87 in Gothenburg vs $86 in Manchester for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $360 vs $299 per month, with Manchester cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇪 Gothenburg

🇬🇧 Manchester

🕒 Local time

06:25 6:25 AM

05:25 5:25 AM

1 h behind Gothenburg

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

607,882

503,100

💱 Currency

Swedish Krona SEK kr

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 SEK = 10.18 USD

100 SEK = 9.12 EUR

1 GBP = 1.34 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GBP, USD, EUR to SEK – Swedish Krona Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇪 Swedish Krona (kr)

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 9.82 SEK (1 SEK = 0.102 USD). 1 EUR = 10.96 SEK (100 SEK = 9.12 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.747 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

USD to SEK in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Gothenburg Manchester 1,010 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Gothenburg
Manchester

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Gothenburg vs Manchester: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Gothenburg wins on cost – living expenses run 20% lower than in Manchester. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Gothenburg the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 4% higher in Gothenburg, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,107 in Gothenburg versus $1,785 in Manchester. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $222 in Gothenburg versus $1,494 in Manchester. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

A monthly transit pass in Gothenburg runs roughly 20% less than in Manchester. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Both cities are expensive relative to $2,000. Gothenburg is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

Both work as nomad bases, but Gothenburg delivers better value at $2,008 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Gothenburg hard to pass up.