Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Karlstad

For one person, living is cheaper in Karlstad: $1,713 a month against $3,986 in London, rent and utilities included – about $27,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

194

Cost of Living Index in London
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London Living Index
83

Cost of Living Index in Karlstad
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Karlstad Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,986

/mo nomad

Karlstad

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,713

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Karlstad

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 Karlstad actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $3,986 per month in London vs $1,713 in Karlstad, rent included.

London $3,986
Karlstad $1,713

A couple spends around $5,791 per month in London vs $2,643 in Karlstad, rent included.

London $5,791
Karlstad $2,643

A family of three spends $7,595 per month in London vs $3,572 in Karlstad, rent included.

London $7,595
Karlstad $3,572

London costs about 133% more than Karlstad, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both London and Karlstad sit above the global median – London by 195%, Karlstad by 27%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$25.93 £19.45

$14.97 SEK 148

73.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$107 £79.9

$78.2 SEK 775

36.21%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.71 £8.03

$9.66 SEK 95.7

10.87%

Cappuccino

$5.47 £4.11

$4.80 SEK 47.60

13.96%

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

$2.97 £2.23

$2.54 SEK 25.21

16.93%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 £1.65

$2.12 SEK 20.98

3.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.13 £6.85

$7.69 SEK 76.2

18.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.94 £5.96

$6.45 SEK 63.9

23.10%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.86 £1.40

$1.51 SEK 15.00

23.18%

White Bread (500g)

$2.07 £1.55

$2.89 SEK 28.64

-28.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 £1.81

$3.68 SEK 36.48

-34.24%

Eggs

$5.09 £3.82

$4.50 SEK 44.60

13.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.87 £9.66

$9.84 SEK 97.5

30.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.43 £7.82

$14.17 SEK 140

-26.39%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.87 £12.66

$17.97 SEK 178

-6.12%

Apples (1kg)

$3.11 £2.33

$2.82 SEK 27.95

10.28%

Banana (1kg)

$1.40 £1.05

$2.64 SEK 26.12

-46.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.08 £2.31

$3.09 SEK 30.57

-0.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.27 £2.45

$5.09 SEK 50.4

-35.76%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 £1.19

$1.91 SEK 18.88

-17.28%

Onion (1kg)

$1.74 £1.31

$1.67 SEK 16.58

4.19%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.40 £1.05

$2.61 SEK 25.90

-46.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.80 £1.35

$1.31 SEK 12.95

37.40%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.28 £17.46

$6.89 SEK 68.3

237.88%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.03 £9.77

$9.86 SEK 97.7

32.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.17 £2.38

$2.37 SEK 23.46

33.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.42 £3.32

$2.09 SEK 20.69

111.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.07 £3.05

$3.16 SEK 31.32

28.80%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$247 £185

$79.9 SEK 792

208.87%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.58 £4.18

$5.42 SEK 53.7

2.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.36 £2.52

$1.33 SEK 13.16

152.63%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$56.8 £42.58

$61.5 SEK 609

-7.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.13 £1.60

$1.77 SEK 17.50

20.34%

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

$38.2K £28.6K

$32.2K SEK 319.4K

18.47%

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

$40.9K £30.7K

$32.7K SEK 323.8K

25.13%

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

$372 £279

$101 SEK 1,001

268.29%

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

$17.82 £13.37

$15.82 SEK 157

12.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.37 £30.29

$44.59 SEK 442

-9.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$60.0 £44.99

$44.52 SEK 441

34.70%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.29 £15.97

$16.95 SEK 168

25.60%

Cinema Ticket

$17.74 £13.31

$13.91 SEK 138

27.53%

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

$2,864 £2,149

$123 SEK 1,223

2220.28%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.3K £26.5K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$114 £85.5

$105 SEK 1,039

8.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.3 £40.71

$38.98 SEK 386

39.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$124 £93.2

$73.5 SEK 728

69.06%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$163 £122

$142 SEK 1,403

15.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,869 £2,152

$834 SEK 8,264

244.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,233 £1,675

$567 SEK 5,617

293.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,266 £3,951

$1,154 SEK 11.4K

356.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,778 £2,835

$861 SEK 8,528

338.99%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$18.3K £13.8K

$3,710 SEK 36.8K

394.18%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,024 £6,020

$2,794 SEK 27.7K

187.20%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,037 £3,779

$3,220 SEK 31.9K

56.43%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.74

3.8

24.74%

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

Last update for London: October 10, 2026

Last update for Karlstad: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.2K 56%

Karlstad

$567 33.1% 74.6% $1.7K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$430 10.8%

Karlstad

$161 9.4% 62.5% $269

Eating Out

London

$388 9.7%

Karlstad

$276 16.1% 28.7% $111

Groceries & Markets

London

$349 8.8%

Karlstad

$370 21.6% 5.8% $20

Getting Around

London

$285 7.2%

Karlstad

$105 6.1% 63.4% $181

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5.1%

Karlstad

$161 9.4% 21.2% $44

Sport & Entertainment

London

$95 2.4%

Karlstad

$72 4.2% 24.2% $23

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,869 in London versus $834 in Karlstad. 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 56% 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 $107 in London versus $78.0 in Karlstad. Groceries tell a different story – $349 in London vs $370 in Karlstad – so London wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇸🇪 Karlstad

🕒 Local time

17:02 5:02 PM

18:02 6:02 PM

1 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

62,797

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 SEK = 10.09 USD

100 SEK = 8.98 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 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 9.91 SEK (1 SEK = 0.101 USD). 1 EUR = 11.14 SEK (100 SEK = 8.98 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

London Karlstad 1,220 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

London
Karlstad

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 Karlstad: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – London is pricier by about 133%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $5,979 per month in London and $2,569 in Karlstad. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

A mid-range dinner for two costs $107 in London and $78.0 in Karlstad. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $3,986 in London and $1,713 in Karlstad. That's a gap of about 133%.

A $2,500 monthly budget goes further in Karlstad, where all-in costs run around $1,713, than in London at $3,986. In Karlstad it covers expenses comfortably, while in London it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Karlstad – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

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 Karlstad. 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.