Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Malmo

For one person, living is cheaper in Malmo: $2,046 a month against $4,086 in London, rent and utilities included – about $24,500 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
99

Cost of Living Index in Malmo
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Malmo Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,086

/mo nomad

Malmo

🇸🇪 Sweden

$2,046

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Malmo

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

A single person spends $4,086 per month in London vs $2,046 in Malmo, rent included.

London $4,086
Malmo $2,046

A couple spends around $5,816 per month in London vs $3,083 in Malmo, rent included.

London $5,816
Malmo $3,083

A family of three spends $7,546 per month in London vs $4,121 in Malmo, rent included.

London $7,546
Malmo $4,121

London costs about 100% more than Malmo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both London and Malmo sit above the global median – London by 205%, Malmo by 53%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.62 £20.11

$14.90 SEK 149

78.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$108 £81.3

$74.0 SEK 740

45.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.39 £7.85

$12.18 SEK 122

-14.70%

Cappuccino

$5.79 £4.38

$4.83 SEK 48.23

19.88%

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

$3.01 £2.27

$3.35 SEK 33.52

-10.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 £1.63

$2.70 SEK 26.97

-20.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.35 £7.06

$8.46 SEK 84.5

10.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.84 £5.93

$9.10 SEK 90.9

-13.85%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.79 £1.35

$1.73 SEK 17.26

3.47%

White Bread (500g)

$2.06 £1.56

$2.87 SEK 28.67

-28.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.31 £1.74

$3.32 SEK 33.22

-30.42%

Eggs

$5.05 £3.82

$4.11 SEK 41.10

22.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.57 £9.50

$12.74 SEK 127

-1.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.66 £8.05

$11.86 SEK 119

-10.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.13 £12.94

$21.61 SEK 216

-20.73%

Apples (1kg)

$3.03 £2.29

$2.99 SEK 29.93

1.34%

Banana (1kg)

$1.41 £1.07

$2.58 SEK 25.82

-45.35%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.05 £2.31

$2.96 SEK 29.61

3.04%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.38 £2.56

$4.15 SEK 41.43

-18.55%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 £1.26

$1.66 SEK 16.62

0.60%

Onion (1kg)

$1.73 £1.31

$1.53 SEK 15.29

13.07%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.41 £1.07

$2.47 SEK 24.65

-42.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 £1.35

$1.23 SEK 12.24

45.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.22 £17.55

$7.72 SEK 77.1

200.78%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.99 £9.82

$11.53 SEK 115

12.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.18 £2.40

$2.01 SEK 20.05

58.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 £3.33

$2.34 SEK 23.43

88.46%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.87 £2.93

$3.15 SEK 31.45

22.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$250 £189

$63.5 SEK 635

293.53%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.71 £4.31

$6.00 SEK 59.9

-4.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 £2.51

$2.41 SEK 24.07

38.17%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$57.9 £43.76

$49.13 SEK 491

17.87%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.04 £1.54

$1.74 SEK 17.36

17.24%

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

$37.5K £28.4K

$32.3K SEK 322.6K

16.33%

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

$40.9K £30.9K

$33.2K SEK 331.5K

23.30%

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

$376 £284

$138 SEK 1,380

172.27%

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

$17.88 £13.51

$26.21 SEK 262

-31.78%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.01 £30.24

$36.07 SEK 361

10.92%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$61.2 £46.22

$39.93 SEK 399

53.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.07 £15.93

$28.69 SEK 287

-26.56%

Cinema Ticket

$17.95 £13.57

$17.17 SEK 172

4.54%

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

$2,865 £2,165

$167 SEK 1,666

1618.73%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.3K £26.7K

$3,311 SEK 33.1K

967.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$116 £87.7

$98.0 SEK 979

18.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.1 £40.87

$44.19 SEK 442

22.38%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 £95.7

$113 SEK 1,125

12.44%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$159 £120

$152 SEK 1,520

4.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,853 £2,156

$1,063 SEK 10.6K

168.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,301 £1,739

$818 SEK 8,173

181.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,201 £3,931

$1,720 SEK 17.2K

202.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,723 £2,813

$1,354 SEK 13.5K

175.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$19.0K £14.4K

$4,026 SEK 40.2K

372.20%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,881 £5,955

$3,166 SEK 31.6K

148.93%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,818 £3,641

$3,045 SEK 30.4K

58.21%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.65

3.05

52.46%

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

Last update for London: October 4, 2026

Last update for Malmo: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.3K 56.5%

Malmo

$818 40.1% 64.5% $1.5K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$434 10.7%

Malmo

$200 9.8% 53.8% $234

Eating Out

London

$397 9.7%

Malmo

$298 14.6% 24.8% $98

Groceries & Markets

London

$349 8.6%

Malmo

$372 18.2% 6.3% $22

Getting Around

London

$288 7.1%

Malmo

$94 4.6% 67.3% $194

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5%

Malmo

$183 9% 10.8% $22

Sport & Entertainment

London

$97 2.4%

Malmo

$74 3.6% 23.5% $23

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,853 in London versus $1,063 in Malmo. 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 58% 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 $74.0 in Malmo. Groceries tell a different story – $349 in London vs $372 in Malmo – so London wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇸🇪 Malmo

🕒 Local time

04:52 4:52 AM

05:52 5:52 AM

1 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

316,588

💱 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 Malmo 980 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

London
Malmo

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 Malmo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $4,086 in London, $2,046 in Malmo – roughly 100% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $6,129 per month in London and $3,069 in Malmo. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Interestingly, groceries are about 6% cheaper in London – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $108 in London and $74.0 in Malmo. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Malmo, where all-in costs run around $2,046, than in London at $4,086. In Malmo it covers expenses comfortably, while in London it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Malmo has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $2,046 in Malmo to $4,086 in London. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Malmo. 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.