Student Money Diaries: Cost of Living in Sweden 2019
After I decided to evaluate my financial health, I started to think about how much I spent over a year in Sweden. As a result, I couldn’t come up with a fixed amount but I had a general overview of my spendings. So, in this post, you will find living expenses when studying in Sweden. However, the cost of living primarily depends on where you live and individual lifestyle. It may also change over time. So, let’s find out more about the cost of living in Sweden, 2019!
A famous Swedish pop band ABBA in their iconic song summarize the situation for us:
Money, money, money
Must be funny
In the rich man’s world
Money, money, money
Always sunny
In the rich man’s world
Aha aha
All the things I could do
If I had a little money
Also, excellent blog posts written by my fellow digital ambassadors in previous years inspired me to write one for 2019. So far, posts that have inspired me to write this post include:
Andaç’s post about the cost of living took us back to 2016. Time flies! Andaç writes another blog post about the cost of living in 2017. Additionally, Anita’s post has shed light on the cost of living in Sweden in 2018. At this time 5 years ago, Marta brought our attention to the fact that Sweden is expensive. My wallet and I agree that she is still right. On the other hand, Emma in the outstanding student money diary here writes that
“Sweden is as expensive as you hear, and also is not as expensive as you hear.“
Credit: Ulf Lundin/imagebank.sweden.se
How much money do you need to live in Sweden?
According to the Swedish Migration Agency, it is essential to be able to support yourself financially for your studies if you are applying for a residence permit. That means you need to show that you have secured maintenance such as scholarship, grant, own bank assets for the period of your studies. Also, your maintenance should cover for the whole period in which you are applying for a residence permit.
In Migrationsverket website it is stated that:
“The maintenance requirement for people applying during 2018 is at least SEK 8,190 per month. For applications that are received by the Migration Agency on 1 January 2019 or later the maintenance requirement is at least SEK 8,370 per month.”
This table below shows various scenarios regarding the financial support required for a residence permit
Credit: the Swedish Migration Agency/migrationsverket.se
Accommodation
Let’s start with fixed expenses in a month! Rent is the largest expense like everywhere else. For example, I live in a corridor room with a shared bathroom and kitchen in Campus Norrköping. My rent is around SEK 2800. I also pay extra SEK 7 every time I do laundry. In this case, except for doing laundry, residents don’t need to pay any other bills. Thanks to my university’s offer I was lucky enough not to worry about finding accommodation. It was a pretty good deal!
Credit: Jerker Andersson/imagebank.sweden.se
However, this may not be the case for bigger cities. The monthly rent varies depending on location and type of accommodation you have such as private flat, shared apartment, or student dorms. Stockholm has definitely higher rents compared to other cities in Sweden. A little creativity never hurts anyone. I still appreciate how Elke turned a challenge into a solution and find her unique way to find housing in Stockholm. Check out Elke’s brilliant post: Yeay, I live in a container!
Other larger cities like Malmö, Gothenburg are also more expensive than small cities like Norrköping, Linköping, Halmstad or Jönköping. In most of the cases, the monthly rent prices are between SEK 2,800 and SEK 6,500. For a general overview of accommodation, you can visit studyinsweden.se.
FOOD
The budget for food varies according to your eating habits. It really depends on what kind of food and where you eat. The average amount you spend a month on food changes on whether you choose to go out to eat or cook your meals at home.
Credit: Hazal
Let’s take a closer look at prices for food.
Credit: Hazal
Grocery Shopping
| Item | Price | ||
| Banana (1 kg) | SEK 22 | ||
| Orange (1kg) | SEK 25 | ||
| Tomato (1 kg) | SEK 40 | ||
| Bread (900 gr) | SEK 30 | ||
| Yogurt (500 gr) | SEK 22 | ||
| Milk (1 Liter) | SEK 12 | ||
| Butter (500 gr) | SEK 47 | ||
| Egg (10p) | SEK 30 | ||
| Feta Cheese (400 gr) | SEK 50 | ||
| Gouda Cheese (500 gr) | SEK 70 | ||
| Rice (White), (2 kg) | SEK 35 | ||
| Pasta (Spaghetti), (1 kg) | SEK 14 | ||
| Ice Cream (1,5l) | SEK 37 | ||
| Frozen Vegetables (550 gr) | SEK 25 | ||
| Orange Juice (1l) | SEK 17 | ||
| Pasta (Ready Meal), (400 gr) | SEK 55 | ||
Check out the website here to get more up-to-date information about the cost of living in Sweden. Most of the prices on the web-page are more or less in line with the current prices.
Credit: Miriam Preis/imagebank.sweden.se
Eating & Drinking Out– Prices for daily lunch menus usually including a main dish, salad buffet, bread, coffee, and biscuits start around SEK 85- 150 in most restaurants. Some places even offer a %10 student discount if you have a valid student ID. If you would like to go out to enjoy a nice dinner there are many options from casual to fancy restaurants. For instance, in a mid-range restaurant the dinner for two including a main dish, a bottle of wine, dessert, and coffee costs between SEK 900-1500. If you go to a pub, an average price would be around SEK 70-80 for a glass of beer, SEK 120-150 for a cocktail, and SEK 70-90 for a glass of wine. In a café or coffee shop, a cup of coffee (bryggkaffe) costs around SEK 35.
Other Expenses
| Item/Service | Price | ||
| Toothpaste (125 ml) | SEK 23 | ||
| Handsoap (500 ml) | SEK 25 | ||
| Tampons (32p) | SEK 50 | ||
| Sanitary Napkin (15p) | SEK 27 | ||
| Toilet Paper (6p) | SEK 29 | ||
| Monthly gym membership | SEK 350 | ||
| Standard women’s haircut in the city center | SEK 350 | ||
| A cinema ticket | SEK 135 | ||
| Second-hand bicycle | SEK 800 | ||
| Visit the health center/doctor (Public) | SEK 200 | ||
| Transportation (Bus&Tram), (24h ticket) | SEK 52 | ||
| Transportation (Bus&Tram), (30-day ticket) | SEK 520 | ||
| Mobile (40 GB surf, SMS, calls) | SEK 295 |
So, I have a lesson learned while I am writing this post. I may need to start my own student money diary like Emma did. It would help me get on the path to a more organized life. Hopefully!
Follow us on blog.studyinsweden.se to stay updated on more posts about student money diaries in Sweden! 🙂
Do you have any questions about living expenses in Sweden? Leave a comment below and let us know!
Comments (20)
Hello Hazal, before i proceed, i just wana tell u that i do really appreciate all infos u gave here.
I’m Cameroon and will hopefully be moving to Stockholm for studies in SU.
what can be the average cost living for a couple? I’m moving there with my spouse. So, please what advice can u give me as far as accomodation, feeding etc is concern? Thanks and hope to hear from u
Hi! Thank you for reading the post. 🙂 I am so glad that you enjoyed it! According to the Migration Agency, the maintenance requirement for family members is SEK 3500 per month for adults. You can check the link here https://www.migrationsverket.se/English/Private-individuals/Studying-and-researching-in-Sweden/Higher-education/Permits-for-family-members.html for more information. According to my opinion, SEK 3500 sounds fair! Living expenses for two people also depends on your life style. For accommodation, you might get a spot in student housing, please check it with your university to see your options. When it comes to food, as long as you cook at home, you can save money. I hope that helps! Best, Hazal
Hello!
Can you tell me more about student housing?
How can I get one? I heard that is very difficult to get one because there are a lot of students who want to study in Sweden.
And how about scholarships?
I really want to study in Sweden and I try to do my best!
I hope to save enough money to survive until I find a job there.
Hello Balan! Finding housing could be tricky but it’s not that hard if you start searching early and in the right place. First, contact your university to find out their offers. Second, you can check websites such as Blocket, Hyra Bostad, and more. Third, check out the Facebook groups! Here is https://blogs.studyinsweden.se/2019/07/08/quick-tips-for-finding-an-apartment/ a useful blog post about finding an apartment in Sweden. Check out the link here https://studyinsweden.se/scholarships/ and https://blogs.studyinsweden.se for more information about scholarships. I hope that helps. I wish you the best with your application! Good Luck! / Hazal
Hi hazal,
I’m Kelvin, I’m curious to know if some scholarship programs provide covered accommodation cost?
Secondly, does such scholarship programs allow you to work part time?
Hi Kelvin! There are different kinds of scholarships. Some scholarships cover only tuition fee, some covers living expenses too. For instance, Swedish Institute scholarships cover both tuition fees and living expenses of SEK 10,000/month. Check out the link here https://studyinsweden.se/scholarships/ for all information you need. As for your second question, yes international students can work in Sweden. I hope that helps. 🙂 Best/Hazal
Hello! Do you think 10.000 SEK for a student in Stockholm enough? Thank you
Hi! Yes, I do think SEK 10.000 would be enough. On the other hand, Stockholm is a big and relatively expensive city. The living expenses may depend on your life style. But SEK 10.000 sounds good!I hope that helps. Best / Hazal
Thank you @HAZAL for such a informative blog but i have some questions
1 what about transportation? is there any student card available for moving around the city where he live or he will pay all the time.
2 it’s about second semester fee and what about the Job like i’m a software engineer and i have 2.5 year experience in Mobile development (android + IOS) can i arrange my second semester fee by doing job?
Hi Abid! I am glad you enjoyed the blog post! To answer your questions;
1) Transportation options vary depending on city and type of transportation you prefer. For instance, I live in a small city and usually walk. Also, cycling is widely used in Sweden. However, there are student discounts in public transports. Remember you need to have valid student card or student ID while travelling. 🙂
2)International students can work while studying in Sweden. As far as I know if you have a work permit in Sweden, you don’t have to pay tuition fee. However, finding a job could be difficult and takes some time especially if you don’t speak Swedish. I would suggest not to rely on that but it’s not impossible. You can check the link here https://blogs.studyinsweden.se/2018/07/02/part-time-jobs-experience/ about part time jobs in Sweden.
I hope that helps! Good Luck! / Hazal
What are the part time job opportunities
Hey Vikas! I am glad you asked. Check out the blog post here about part time jobs. 🙂 / Hazal
Could make a blog about the living expenses of an international student in Malmo?
Hi, Nayeem! I could say that there are no huge differences between living expenses in different cities in Sweden. You can apply the information in the blog post more or less for every city in Sweden. However, living expenses might differ from individual lifestyles. 🙂 You can check the link here https://studyinsweden.se/life-in-sweden/cost-of-living/ for an overall idea for living expenses in both small and big cities in Sweden. I hope that helps. /Hazal
Hi Hazal, I’m from Nigeria. I’m currently applying for my masters degree Production Engineering and Management in Sweden and this blog has been deeply informative.
I anticipate an exciting stay over there!
Thank you for this!
Hey! I am so happy to hear that! I wish you the best with the application. See you in Sweden!
Greeting!
It would be just great to guide me regarding studying/work @ your country,
I’m married and graduated from civil engineering faculty,
Have 6 children,
I’m 34 y old,
Hello! Thank you for the comment. I am happy that you are considering Sweden as your study destination. As an international student, you can work during your studies in Sweden. Check out the website here https://studyinsweden.se/life-in-sweden/working-in-sweden/ You can check out the link here https://studyinsweden.se/how-to-apply/ for all information you need. I hope that helps!
I am actually only 2 months since i came back to sweden and =) this blog was really informative and complete! i will start my own money diary too =)
Yay! Team #moneydiaries 😀