City comparison
Cost of living in Stockholm vs Málaga
One person needs about €2,233 a month in Stockholm and €1,380 in Málaga, rent included — Málaga is 38% cheaper overall.
Salary you'd need to keep the same lifestyle
Enter your current net monthly pay. We scale it by the full cost basket — rent, groceries, transport, utilities, eating out and internet.
To live in Málaga the way you live in Stockholm on €3,000, you need
€1,854/ month net
38% less than today (-€1,146)
- Stockholm today
- Basket €2,233 · left over €767 (26%)
- Málaga at the matched salary
- Basket €1,380 · left over €474 (26%)
Local pay context: average tech net pay covers the basket 152% over in Málaga (adequate) vs 210% in Stockholm. Purchasing power index · How we calculate this
🇸🇪 Stockholm
Queue-based rental market pushes newcomers into pricey sublets.
Monthly budget: €2,233
Sources: Eurostat, Harmonised price indices (2025) · 0 community reports
🇪🇸 Málaga
The current favourite of remote workers: 300 sunny days, fast fibre, and Barcelona living for 40% less.
Monthly budget: €1,380
Sources: INE Spain + Eurostat, HICP & provincial rent index (2025) · 286 community reports
Should you move to Stockholm or Málaga?
On salary, Stockholm pays more for tech roles (€4,700 versus €2,100 a month), so the money left over after costs is €2,467 in Stockholm at the top end.
Rent drives most of the gap: €1,500 in Stockholm against €850 in Málaga. Groceries, transport and utilities move far less between the two.
For remote workers, the nomad index scores Stockholm at 72 and Málaga at 88 — see the full nomad index and our data methodology.