Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Stockholm and Brussels

For one person, living costs are similar in Stockholm and in Brussels: $2,574 and $2,594 a month, rent and utilities included.

125

Cost of Living Index in Stockholm
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Stockholm Living Index
125

Cost of Living Index in Brussels
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Brussels Living Index

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Stockholm

🇸🇪 Sweden

$2,574

/mo nomad

Brussels

🇧🇪 Belgium

$2,594

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Stockholm and in Brussels

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,574 in Stockholm versus $2,594 in Brussels.

Stockholm $2,574
Brussels $2,594

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,871 in Stockholm versus $3,876 in Brussels.

Stockholm $3,871
Brussels $3,876

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,167 in Stockholm versus $5,157 in Brussels.

Stockholm $5,167
Brussels $5,157

Living in Stockholm costs roughly 1% less than in Brussels, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Stockholm 91% above, Brussels 92% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.12 SEK 180

$22.12 €19.67

-18.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$99.6 SEK 986

$89.8 €79.9

10.85%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 SEK 117

$15.07 €13.41

-21.96%

Cappuccino

$4.95 SEK 49.03

$4.49 €4.00

10.24%

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

$3.68 SEK 36.46

$3.67 €3.27

0.27%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.16 SEK 31.28

$3.15 €2.80

0.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.05 SEK 79.8

$5.67 €5.04

41.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.82 SEK 87.4

$5.64 €5.01

56.38%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.80 SEK 17.80

$1.35 €1.20

33.33%

White Bread (500g)

$3.88 SEK 38.43

$2.77 €2.46

40.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.83 SEK 37.99

$2.78 €2.48

37.77%

Eggs

$5.14 SEK 50.9

$5.22 €4.65

-1.53%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.45 SEK 123

$17.44 €15.51

-28.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.63 SEK 125

$13.36 €11.88

-5.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.90 SEK 217

$21.90 €19.48

Apples (1kg)

$3.47 SEK 34.41

$3.03 €2.70

14.52%

Banana (1kg)

$2.74 SEK 27.15

$2.42 €2.15

13.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.08 SEK 30.54

$2.83 €2.52

8.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.48 SEK 44.41

$4.07 €3.62

10.07%

Potato (1kg)

$1.77 SEK 17.54

$2.56 €2.28

-30.86%

Onion (1kg)

$1.79 SEK 17.70

$2.24 €1.99

-20.09%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.40 SEK 23.76

$1.84 €1.64

30.43%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.37 SEK 23.50

$1.26 €1.12

88.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.72 SEK 86.4

$13.26 €11.80

-34.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.99 SEK 119

$9.61 €8.55

24.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.11 SEK 20.90

$2.60 €2.31

-18.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.56 SEK 25.34

$3.12 €2.78

-17.95%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.34 SEK 42.96

$2.82 €2.50

53.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$107 SEK 1,063

$61.6 €54.8

74.09%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.74 SEK 56.9

$2.91 €2.59

97.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.47 SEK 14.58

$2.23 €1.98

-34.08%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$57.1 SEK 566

$40.47 €36.00

41.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 SEK 17.86

$2.06 €1.83

-12.62%

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

$32.4K SEK 321.2K

$36.0K €32.0K

-9.93%

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

$33.6K SEK 332.8K

$33.2K €29.6K

1.08%

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

$249 SEK 2,469

$283 €252

-12.07%

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

$21.60 SEK 214

$21.97 €19.54

-1.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.18 SEK 398

$51.7 €46.01

-22.33%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.98 SEK 466

$33.30 €29.62

41.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$38.15 SEK 378

$27.56 €24.51

38.43%

Cinema Ticket

$19.09 SEK 189

$16.33 €14.53

16.90%

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

$158 SEK 1,569

$1,569 €1,396

-89.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.4K SEK 162.0K

$36.7K €32.6K

-55.39%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$111 SEK 1,104

$103 €91.9

7.80%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$59.0 SEK 584

$45.60 €40.56

29.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$138 SEK 1,364

$109 €97.2

25.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$186 SEK 1,847

$146 €130

27.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,658 SEK 16.4K

$1,318 €1,172

25.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,079 SEK 10.7K

$1,167 €1,038

-7.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,982 SEK 29.5K

$2,463 €2,191

21.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,746 SEK 17.3K

$1,975 €1,756

-11.56%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$11.3K SEK 111.8K

$5,099 €4,535

121.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,332 SEK 62.7K

$3,881 €3,453

63.14%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,583 SEK 35.5K

$3,357 €2,986

6.74%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.37

3.71

-9.16%

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

Last update for Stockholm: October 13, 2026

Last update for Brussels: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Stockholm

$1.1K 41.9%

Brussels

$1.2K 45% 8.1% $88

Groceries & Markets

Stockholm

$414 16.1%

Brussels

$392 15.1% 5.2% $22

Eating Out

Stockholm

$325 12.6%

Brussels

$343 13.2% 5.6% $18

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Stockholm

$311 12.1%

Brussels

$357 13.8% 14.8% $46

Clothing & Footwear

Stockholm

$222 8.6%

Brussels

$182 7% 18.2% $41

Getting Around

Stockholm

$138 5.4%

Brussels

$87 3.4% 36.9% $51

Sport & Entertainment

Stockholm

$85 3.3%

Brussels

$66 2.5% 22.5% $19

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,658 in Stockholm and $1,318 in Brussels. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Stockholm pays 7% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $100 in Stockholm vs $90.0 in Brussels for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $414 vs $392 per month, with Brussels cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇪 Stockholm

🇧🇪 Brussels

🕒 Local time

09:59 9:59 AM

Same time as Stockholm

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

984,748 Capital

188,137 Capital

💱 Currency

Swedish Krona SEK kr

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 SEK = 10.09 USD

100 SEK = 8.98 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to SEK – Swedish Krona Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇪 Swedish Krona (kr)

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).

Euro exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to SEK in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Stockholm Brussels 1,280 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Stockholm
Brussels

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

Stockholm vs Brussels: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Stockholm wins on cost – living expenses run 1% lower than in Brussels. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Stockholm the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 7% higher in Stockholm, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,658 in Stockholm versus $1,318 in Brussels. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Brussels pay roughly 5% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Dining out is cheaper in Stockholm – a meal for two runs $100 versus $90.0 in Brussels. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $2,574 in Stockholm versus $2,594 in Brussels, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Stockholm but tight or insufficient in Brussels. The gap between the two cities makes Stockholm the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Stockholm delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $2,574 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Stockholm hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Stockholm and Brussels are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Stockholm gentler on the wallet – expenses run 1% less than in Brussels. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.