Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Varnamo

For one person, living is cheaper in Varnamo: $1,692 a month against $4,086 in London, rent and utilities included – about $28,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

London, United Kingdom
Varnamo, Sweden
London
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
$4,086
/mo nomad
Varnamo
🇸🇪 Sweden
$1,692
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Varnamo

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

A single person spends $4,086 per month in London vs $1,692 in Varnamo, rent included.

  • London $4,086
  • Varnamo $1,692

A couple spends around $5,891 per month in London vs $2,672 in Varnamo, rent included.

  • London $5,891
  • Varnamo $2,672

A family of three spends $7,696 per month in London vs $3,652 in Varnamo, rent included.

  • London $7,696
  • Varnamo $3,652

London costs about 141% more than Varnamo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both London and Varnamo sit above the global median – London by 200%, Varnamo by 24%.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
London
Varnamo
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$26.55 £19.98
$13.01 SEK 129
104.07%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$107 £80.5
$89.7 SEK 891
19.30%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$10.78 £8.12
$12.23 SEK 121
-11.86%
Cappuccino
$5.71 £4.30
$4.68 SEK 46.47
22.01%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.01 £2.26
$2.72 SEK 26.99
10.66%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.29 £1.72
$2.13 SEK 21.15
7.51%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$9.08 £6.84
$7.81 SEK 77.6
16.26%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$8.07 £6.07
$7.08 SEK 70.3
13.98%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
London
Varnamo
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.90 £1.43
$1.71 SEK 17.03
11.11%
White Bread (500g)
$2.03 £1.53
$2.50 SEK 24.81
-18.80%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.45 £1.84
$3.54 SEK 35.20
-30.79%
Eggs
$5.07 £3.82
$4.63 SEK 45.97
9.50%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$12.71 £9.56
$12.57 SEK 125
1.11%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$10.61 £7.99
$11.73 SEK 116
-9.55%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$17.68 £13.31
$15.69 SEK 156
12.68%
Apples (1kg)
$3.17 £2.39
$3.11 SEK 30.92
1.93%
Banana (1kg)
$1.45 £1.09
$2.55 SEK 25.31
-43.14%
Oranges (1kg)
$3.13 £2.36
$2.82 SEK 27.99
10.99%
Tomato (1kg)
$3.41 £2.57
$4.52 SEK 44.89
-24.56%
Potato (1kg)
$1.67 £1.26
$1.72 SEK 17.12
-2.91%
Onion (1kg)
$1.77 £1.33
$1.41 SEK 14.02
25.53%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.43 £1.08
$2.57 SEK 25.53
-44.36%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.87 £1.41
$1.52 SEK 15.13
23.03%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$23.91 £17.99
$7.81 SEK 77.6
206.15%
Wine (Bottle)
$13.48 £10.14
$11.14 SEK 111
21.01%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$3.08 £2.32
$1.93 SEK 19.22
59.59%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.39 £3.31
$2.64 SEK 26.25
66.29%
🚌 Getting Around
London
Varnamo
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$4.08 £3.07
$3.19 SEK 31.70
27.90%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$252 £190
$74.7 SEK 742
237.60%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$5.74 £4.32
$5.04 SEK 50.1
13.89%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$3.35 £2.52
$1.08 SEK 10.71
210.19%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$57.2 £43.07
$41.06 SEK 408
39.38%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$2.08 £1.57
$1.72 SEK 17.08
20.93%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$38.0K £28.6K
$33.6K SEK 333.5K
13.15%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$40.4K £30.4K
$34.2K SEK 340.1K
17.98%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
London
Varnamo
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$387 £291
$77.0 SEK 764
402.90%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$18.57 £13.98
$17.22 SEK 171
7.84%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$40.69 £30.62
$30.45 SEK 302
33.63%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
London
Varnamo
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$57.6 £43.33
$39.03 SEK 388
47.50%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$19.75 £14.87
$22.33 SEK 222
-11.55%
Cinema Ticket
$18.33 £13.79
$15.36 SEK 153
19.34%
🧸 Childcare & Education
London
Varnamo
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$2,957 £2,225
$157 SEK 1,558
1785.17%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$35.9K £27.0K
$4,450 SEK 44.2K
706.42%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
London
Varnamo
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$119 £89.4
$80.4 SEK 799
47.70%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$56.3 £42.35
$56.8 SEK 564
-0.85%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$131 £98.5
$99.9 SEK 992
31.04%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$165 £124
$123 SEK 1,223
33.69%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
London
Varnamo
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$2,811 £2,116
$794 SEK 7,889
253.92%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$2,291 £1,724
$612 SEK 6,075
274.57%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$5,185 £3,902
$1,178 SEK 11.7K
340.20%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$3,805 £2,864
$985 SEK 9,780
286.42%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$17.7K £13.3K
$4,023 SEK 40.0K
339.05%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$8,405 £6,325
$2,853 SEK 28.3K
194.56%
💵 Salaries & Financials
London
Varnamo
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$5,070 £3,816
$2,032 SEK 20.2K
149.50%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
4.79
3.03
58.09%

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

Last update for London: October 26, 2026

Last update for Varnamo: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
London
$2.3K
Varnamo
$612 73.3% $1.7K
Monthly Utilities & Internet
London
$446
Varnamo
$125 72.1% $322
Eating Out
London
$396
Varnamo
$269 32% $127
Groceries & Markets
London
$356
Varnamo
$357 0.3% $1.2
Getting Around
London
$291
Varnamo
$98 66.4% $193
Clothing & Footwear
London
$212
Varnamo
$162 23.5% $50
Sport & Entertainment
London
$94
Varnamo
$70 26% $24

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,811 in London versus $794 in Varnamo. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in London are about 2.5 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $107 in London versus $90 in Varnamo. Groceries tell a different story – $356 in London vs $357 in Varnamo – so London wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know
🇬🇧 London
🇸🇪 Varnamo
🕒 Local time
21:01 9:01 PM
22:01 10:01 PM
1 h ahead of London
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
8,908,083 Capital
19,778
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

SEK, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

British Pound exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.753 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.838 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 9.93 SEK (1 SEK = 0.101 USD). 1 EUR = 11.06 SEK (100 SEK = 9.05 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • London Varnamo 1,110 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight
From you
  • London
  • Varnamo

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 Varnamo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
How do living costs in London and in Varnamo compare overall?
Monthly costs with rent: $4,086 in London, $1,692 in Varnamo – Varnamo comes out roughly 59% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in transport.
What salary covers living expenses in London compared to Varnamo?
For a comfortable life, plan on about $6,129 per month in London and $2,538 in Varnamo. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.
How do rents compare between London and Varnamo?
Rent is clearly cheaper in Varnamo, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $794 there versus $2,811 in London.
Which city is more expensive overall: London or Varnamo?
Monthly expenses with rent come to $4,086 in London and $1,692 in Varnamo. That makes Varnamo about 59% cheaper.
What is the difference in childcare costs between London and Varnamo?
Kindergarten costs $2,957 per month in London and $157 in Varnamo. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.
Which city is more doable on $3,000 per month?
A $3,000 monthly budget goes further in Varnamo, where all-in costs run around $1,692, than in London at $4,086. In Varnamo it covers expenses comfortably, while in London it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.
Where should families live: London or Varnamo?
Families tend to lean toward Varnamo – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.
How do I decide between London and Varnamo?
If budget matters most, go with Varnamo. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, London makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.

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