Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Karlstad and Calgary

For one person, living is cheaper in Karlstad: $1,727 a month against $2,303 in Calgary, rent and utilities included – about $6,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

83

Cost of Living Index in Karlstad
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Karlstad Living Index
110

Cost of Living Index in Calgary
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Calgary Living Index

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Karlstad

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,727

/mo nomad

Calgary

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,303

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Karlstad and in Calgary

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,727 in Karlstad versus $2,303 in Calgary.

Karlstad $1,727
Calgary $2,303

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,665 in Karlstad versus $3,366 in Calgary.

Karlstad $2,665
Calgary $3,366

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,603 in Karlstad versus $4,428 in Calgary.

Karlstad $3,603
Calgary $4,428

Living in Karlstad costs roughly 25% less than in Calgary, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Karlstad 27% above, Calgary 69% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.14 SEK 149

$17.55 CA$24.52

-13.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$80.5 SEK 790

$70.4 CA$98.4

14.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.07 SEK 98.9

$10.69 CA$14.94

-5.80%

Cappuccino

$4.86 SEK 47.68

$3.89 CA$5.43

24.94%

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

$2.45 SEK 24.01

$2.04 CA$2.85

20.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.16 SEK 21.25

$1.88 CA$2.62

14.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.08 SEK 79.3

$4.90 CA$6.84

64.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.60 SEK 64.7

$5.78 CA$8.08

14.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.45 SEK 14.22

$1.96 CA$2.74

-26.02%

White Bread (500g)

$2.83 SEK 27.80

$2.74 CA$3.83

3.28%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.68 SEK 36.14

$5.46 CA$7.63

-32.60%

Eggs

$4.37 SEK 42.85

$3.69 CA$5.15

18.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.17 SEK 99.8

$11.24 CA$15.71

-9.52%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$13.96 SEK 137

$11.54 CA$16.12

20.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.73 SEK 174

$18.38 CA$25.68

-3.54%

Apples (1kg)

$2.95 SEK 28.91

$4.90 CA$6.85

-39.80%

Banana (1kg)

$2.68 SEK 26.35

$1.42 CA$1.99

88.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.03 SEK 29.71

$4.21 CA$5.88

-28.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.40 SEK 53.0

$4.02 CA$5.62

34.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.92 SEK 18.80

$2.69 CA$3.77

-28.62%

Onion (1kg)

$1.72 SEK 16.84

$2.66 CA$3.72

-35.34%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.64 SEK 25.87

$2.61 CA$3.65

1.15%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 SEK 12.74

$1.60 CA$2.23

-18.75%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.96 SEK 68.3

$14.00 CA$19.57

-50.29%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.17 SEK 99.8

$15.40 CA$21.52

-33.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.42 SEK 23.79

$2.50 CA$3.49

-3.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.04 SEK 19.98

$3.09 CA$4.32

-33.98%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.13 SEK 30.70

$2.93 CA$4.09

6.83%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$80.4 SEK 789

$89.3 CA$125

-9.97%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.46 SEK 53.6

$3.27 CA$4.57

66.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.29 SEK 12.67

$1.35 CA$1.89

-4.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$60.4 SEK 592

$27.39 CA$38.27

120.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.72 SEK 16.90

$1.17 CA$1.64

47.01%

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

$32.6K SEK 320.4K

$27.9K CA$39.0K

16.84%

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

$33.8K SEK 331.2K

$21.0K CA$29.4K

60.44%

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

$99.4 SEK 975

$167 CA$233

-40.39%

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

$15.73 SEK 154

$38.27 CA$53.5

-58.90%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.76 SEK 429

$50.9 CA$71.2

-14.08%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.27 SEK 444

$51.0 CA$71.2

-11.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.66 SEK 163

$18.17 CA$25.39

-8.31%

Cinema Ticket

$14.08 SEK 138

$14.44 CA$20.18

-2.49%

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

$126 SEK 1,236

$545 CA$762

-76.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.2K CA$22.7K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$106 SEK 1,037

$58.9 CA$82.3

79.55%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.85 SEK 391

$39.75 CA$55.6

0.25%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.9 SEK 744

$93.4 CA$130

-18.76%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$141 SEK 1,384

$110 CA$154

28.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$868 SEK 8,518

$1,254 CA$1,752

-30.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$575 SEK 5,638

$1,056 CA$1,476

-45.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,184 SEK 11.6K

$2,022 CA$2,826

-41.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$867 SEK 8,504

$1,629 CA$2,276

-46.79%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,849 SEK 37.8K

$3,600 CA$5,031

6.90%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,779 SEK 27.3K

$3,243 CA$4,531

-14.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,203 SEK 31.4K

$3,115 CA$4,353

2.81%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.09

4.51

-9.31%

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

Last update for Karlstad: October 25, 2026

Last update for Calgary: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Karlstad

$575 33.3%

Calgary

$1.1K 45.9% 83.9% $482

Groceries & Markets

Karlstad

$370 21.4%

Calgary

$393 17.1% 6% $22

Eating Out

Karlstad

$282 16.3%

Calgary

$271 11.8% 3.8% $11

Clothing & Footwear

Karlstad

$163 9.5%

Calgary

$136 5.9% 16.7% $27

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Karlstad

$159 9.2%

Calgary

$256 11.1% 61.1% $97

Getting Around

Karlstad

$105 6.1%

Calgary

$111 4.8% 5.9% $6.2

Sport & Entertainment

Karlstad

$73 4.3%

Calgary

$80 3.5% 8.7% $6.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $868 in Karlstad and $1,254 in Calgary. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Karlstad pays 3% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $81 in Karlstad vs $70 in Calgary. Groceries flip the comparison at $370 vs $393, with Karlstad cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇸🇪 Karlstad

🇨🇦 Calgary

🕒 Local time

19:03 7:03 PM

12:03 12:03 PM

7 h behind Karlstad

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

62,797

1,267,344

💱 Currency

Swedish Krona SEK kr

Canadian Dollar CAD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 SEK = 10.19 USD

100 SEK = 9.13 EUR

1 CAD = 0.716 USD

1 CAD = 0.641 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CAD, USD, EUR to SEK – Swedish Krona Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇪 Swedish Krona (kr)

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 9.81 SEK (1 SEK = 0.102 USD). 1 EUR = 10.96 SEK (100 SEK = 9.13 EUR).

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 1.4 CAD (1 CAD = 0.716 USD). 1 EUR = 1.56 CAD (1 CAD = 0.641 EUR).

USD to SEK in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Karlstad Calgary 6,860 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Karlstad
Calgary

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

Karlstad vs Calgary: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Karlstad is about 25% cheaper overall, especially in utilities, groceries, and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $2,590 in Karlstad and $3,454 in Calgary to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $868 in Karlstad versus $1,254 in Calgary. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Calgary – a meal for two runs $70 versus $81 in Karlstad. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,727 per month in Karlstad versus $2,303 in Calgary – Karlstad is about 25% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.