Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Helsingborg

For one person, living is cheaper in Helsingborg: $1,723 a month against $4,086 in London, rent and utilities included – about $28,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

196

Cost of Living Index in London
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London Living Index
82

Cost of Living Index in Helsingborg
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Helsingborg Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,086

/mo nomad

Helsingborg

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,723

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Helsingborg

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

A single person spends $4,086 per month in London vs $1,723 in Helsingborg, rent included.

London $4,086
Helsingborg $1,723

A couple spends around $5,816 per month in London vs $2,599 in Helsingborg, rent included.

London $5,816
Helsingborg $2,599

A family of three spends $7,546 per month in London vs $3,474 in Helsingborg, rent included.

London $7,546
Helsingborg $3,474

London costs about 137% more than Helsingborg, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both London and Helsingborg sit above the global median – London by 205%, Helsingborg by 29%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.62 £20.11

$12.83 SEK 128

107.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$108 £81.3

$69.0 SEK 689

56.04%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.39 £7.85

$12.36 SEK 124

-15.94%

Cappuccino

$5.79 £4.38

$4.61 SEK 46.08

25.60%

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

$3.01 £2.27

$2.91 SEK 29.10

3.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 £1.63

$2.32 SEK 23.17

-7.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.35 £7.06

$6.77 SEK 67.7

38.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.84 £5.93

$6.09 SEK 60.9

28.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.79 £1.35

$1.43 SEK 14.28

25.17%

White Bread (500g)

$2.06 £1.56

$2.70 SEK 27.00

-23.70%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.31 £1.74

$3.01 SEK 30.05

-23.26%

Eggs

$5.05 £3.82

$3.86 SEK 38.60

30.83%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.57 £9.50

$11.17 SEK 112

12.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.66 £8.05

$10.95 SEK 109

-2.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.13 £12.94

$14.75 SEK 147

16.14%

Apples (1kg)

$3.03 £2.29

$3.01 SEK 30.06

0.66%

Banana (1kg)

$1.41 £1.07

$2.44 SEK 24.37

-42.21%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.05 £2.31

$3.02 SEK 30.14

0.99%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.38 £2.56

$4.41 SEK 44.11

-23.36%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 £1.26

$1.63 SEK 16.28

2.45%

Onion (1kg)

$1.73 £1.31

$1.52 SEK 15.19

13.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.41 £1.07

$1.81 SEK 18.08

-22.10%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 £1.35

$1.65 SEK 16.45

8.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.22 £17.55

$8.19 SEK 81.8

183.52%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.99 £9.82

$9.30 SEK 92.9

39.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.18 £2.40

$2.03 SEK 20.33

56.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 £3.33

$2.16 SEK 21.59

104.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.87 £2.93

$3.13 SEK 31.24

23.64%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$250 £189

$62.6 SEK 626

299.50%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.71 £4.31

$6.20 SEK 62.0

-7.90%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 £2.51

$1.69 SEK 16.94

97.04%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$57.9 £43.76

$59.5 SEK 594

-2.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.04 £1.54

$1.75 SEK 17.53

16.57%

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

$37.5K £28.4K

$32.2K SEK 322.2K

16.48%

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

$40.9K £30.9K

$33.0K SEK 329.7K

23.96%

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

$376 £284

$104 SEK 1,041

260.93%

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

$17.88 £13.51

$19.28 SEK 193

-7.26%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.01 £30.24

$33.29 SEK 333

20.19%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$61.2 £46.22

$37.67 SEK 377

62.36%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.07 £15.93

$21.86 SEK 218

-3.61%

Cinema Ticket

$17.95 £13.57

$14.85 SEK 148

20.88%

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

$2,865 £2,165

$172 SEK 1,721

1564.41%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.3K £26.7K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$116 £87.7

$78.7 SEK 786

47.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.1 £40.87

$33.25 SEK 332

62.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 £95.7

$85.8 SEK 858

47.52%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$159 £120

$109 SEK 1,091

45.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,853 £2,156

$830 SEK 8,294

243.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,301 £1,739

$632 SEK 6,315

264.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,201 £3,931

$1,362 SEK 13.6K

281.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,723 £2,813

$1,061 SEK 10.6K

251.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$19.0K £14.4K

$3,047 SEK 30.5K

523.88%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,881 £5,955

$2,288 SEK 22.9K

244.45%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,818 £3,641

$2,855 SEK 28.5K

68.72%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.65

3.06

51.96%

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

Last update for London: October 4, 2026

Last update for Helsingborg: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.3K 56.5%

Helsingborg

$632 37.6% 72.5% $1.7K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$434 10.7%

Helsingborg

$157 9.3% 63.9% $277

Eating Out

London

$397 9.7%

Helsingborg

$262 15.6% 33.9% $135

Groceries & Markets

London

$349 8.6%

Helsingborg

$333 19.8% 4.7% $16

Getting Around

London

$288 7.1%

Helsingborg

$90 5.4% 68.8% $198

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5%

Helsingborg

$138 8.2% 32.7% $67

Sport & Entertainment

London

$97 2.4%

Helsingborg

$67 4% 30.6% $30

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,853 in London versus $830 in Helsingborg. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 69% higher in London, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $108 in London versus $69.0 in Helsingborg. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $349 vs $333 – making Helsingborg the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇸🇪 Helsingborg

🕒 Local time

05:57 5:57 AM

06:57 6:57 AM

1 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

93,838

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

100 SEK = 10.01 USD

100 SEK = 8.92 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SEK, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.848 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 9.99 SEK (1 SEK = 0.1 USD). 1 EUR = 11.21 SEK (100 SEK = 8.92 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

London Helsingborg 980 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

London
Helsingborg

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

London vs Helsingborg: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $4,086 in London, $1,723 in Helsingborg – roughly 137% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $6,129 per month in London and $2,585 in Helsingborg. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Helsingborg, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Public transport costs about 300% less in Helsingborg. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $2,865 per month in London and $172 in Helsingborg. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $3,000 monthly budget goes further in Helsingborg, where all-in costs run around $1,723, than in London at $4,086. In Helsingborg it covers expenses comfortably, while in London it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. London has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,723 in Helsingborg to $4,086 in London. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Helsingborg. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, London makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.