Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Manchester and Gothenburg

For one person, living is cheaper in Gothenburg: $2,008 a month against $2,499 in Manchester, rent and utilities included – about $5,900 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Manchester outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

121

Cost of Living Index in Manchester
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Manchester Living Index
97

Cost of Living Index in Gothenburg
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Gothenburg Living Index

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Manchester

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,499

/mo nomad

Gothenburg

🇸🇪 Sweden

$2,008

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Manchester and in Gothenburg

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,499 in Manchester versus $2,008 in Gothenburg.

Manchester $2,499
Gothenburg $2,008

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,623 in Manchester versus $3,067 in Gothenburg.

Manchester $3,623
Gothenburg $3,067

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,747 in Manchester versus $4,127 in Gothenburg.

Manchester $4,747
Gothenburg $4,127

Living in Manchester is roughly 24% more expensive than in Gothenburg, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Manchester 84% above, Gothenburg 48% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.22 £15.10

$13.67 SEK 134

47.92%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$86.0 £64.2

$86.7 SEK 851

-0.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.74 £8.02

$12.40 SEK 122

-13.39%

Cappuccino

$4.68 £3.49

$5.04 SEK 49.48

-7.14%

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

$2.44 £1.82

$2.99 SEK 29.31

-18.39%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.62 £1.21

$2.33 SEK 22.89

-30.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.78 £5.81

$6.88 SEK 67.5

13.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.70 £5.00

$7.57 SEK 74.3

-11.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 £1.12

$1.73 SEK 16.97

-12.72%

White Bread (500g)

$1.88 £1.41

$2.79 SEK 27.36

-32.62%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 £1.45

$3.26 SEK 31.97

-40.49%

Eggs

$4.08 £3.04

$3.90 SEK 38.26

4.62%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.61 £7.17

$11.25 SEK 110

-14.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.98 £6.71

$11.57 SEK 114

-22.39%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.41 £11.51

$16.43 SEK 161

-6.21%

Apples (1kg)

$3.09 £2.31

$3.01 SEK 29.54

2.66%

Banana (1kg)

$1.58 £1.18

$2.45 SEK 24.06

-35.51%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.95 £2.20

$2.90 SEK 28.48

1.72%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.35 £2.50

$4.49 SEK 44.09

-25.39%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 £1.13

$1.83 SEK 17.95

-17.49%

Onion (1kg)

$1.35 £1.01

$1.67 SEK 16.36

-19.16%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.26 £0.94

$2.05 SEK 20.11

-38.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 £0.92

$1.60 SEK 15.72

-23.13%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$24.05 £17.95

$8.35 SEK 81.9

188.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.88 £8.13

$15.18 SEK 149

-28.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.43 £1.81

$2.04 SEK 20.04

19.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.17 £2.36

$2.25 SEK 22.12

40.89%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.73 £2.04

$3.83 SEK 37.56

-28.72%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$108 £80.6

$86.4 SEK 848

24.93%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.52 £3.37

$6.21 SEK 60.9

-27.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.22 £1.66

$1.67 SEK 16.37

32.93%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.82 £23.01

$59.2 SEK 581

-47.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.14 £1.60

$1.75 SEK 17.20

22.29%

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

$38.5K £28.7K

$33.4K SEK 327.9K

15.12%

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

$40.0K £29.9K

$33.8K SEK 331.7K

18.50%

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

$252 £189

$104 SEK 1,017

143.63%

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

$16.23 £12.12

$19.70 SEK 193

-17.61%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.58 £29.56

$34.35 SEK 337

15.23%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.67 £31.86

$34.01 SEK 334

25.46%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.05 £13.48

$24.39 SEK 239

-25.99%

Cinema Ticket

$13.44 £10.04

$16.98 SEK 167

-20.85%

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

$1,494 £1,116

$222 SEK 2,180

572.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.7K £14.7K

$4,336 SEK 42.6K

354.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$83.5 £62.4

$88.7 SEK 870

-5.82%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.97 £32.09

$32.91 SEK 323

30.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.0 £70.9

$87.8 SEK 861

8.26%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$106 £79.1

$134 SEK 1,315

-20.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,785 £1,333

$1,107 SEK 10.9K

61.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,222 £913

$874 SEK 8,575

39.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,930 £2,188

$1,861 SEK 18.3K

57.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,899 £1,418

$1,400 SEK 13.7K

35.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,668 £3,486

$6,415 SEK 63.0K

-27.23%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,397 £3,283

$4,026 SEK 39.5K

9.23%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,395 £2,535

$3,521 SEK 34.6K

-3.59%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.82

3.06

57.52%

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

Last update for Manchester: October 25, 2026

Last update for Gothenburg: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Manchester

$1.2K 48.9%

Gothenburg

$874 43.5% 28.5% $349

Eating Out

Manchester

$319 12.8%

Gothenburg

$278 13.8% 12.8% $41

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Manchester

$308 12.3%

Gothenburg

$158 7.9% 48.9% $151

Groceries & Markets

Manchester

$299 12%

Gothenburg

$360 17.9% 20.5% $61

Clothing & Footwear

Manchester

$147 5.9%

Gothenburg

$155 7.7% 4.9% $7.2

Getting Around

Manchester

$134 5.4%

Gothenburg

$116 5.8% 13.5% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Manchester

$70 2.8%

Gothenburg

$68 3.4% 2.3% $1.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,785 in Manchester and $1,107 in Gothenburg. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Gothenburg pays 4% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $86 in Manchester vs $87 in Gothenburg for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $299 vs $360 per month, with Manchester cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Manchester

🇸🇪 Gothenburg

🕒 Local time

08:00 8:00 AM

09:00 9:00 AM

1 h ahead of Manchester

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

503,100

607,882

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.34 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

100 SEK = 10.19 USD

100 SEK = 9.13 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 November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.747 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.833 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 9.81 SEK (1 SEK = 0.102 USD). 1 EUR = 10.95 SEK (100 SEK = 9.13 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Manchester Gothenburg 1,010 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Manchester
Gothenburg

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

Manchester vs Gothenburg: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Gothenburg wins on cost – living expenses run 20% lower than in Manchester. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Gothenburg the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 4% lower in Manchester. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,785 in Manchester versus $1,107 in Gothenburg. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,494 in Manchester versus $222 in Gothenburg. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

A monthly transit pass in Gothenburg runs roughly 20% less than in Manchester. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Both cities are expensive relative to $2,000. Gothenburg is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

Both work as nomad bases, but Gothenburg delivers better value at $2,008 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Gothenburg hard to pass up.