Prepaid SIM card in Sweden

The short version

• The SIM itself is free. Swedish operators give away the starter pack. You pay for the first top-up only.
• Expect to pay from about 49 SEK per 30 days for a card with calls, texts and data included.
• You must register the SIM with photo ID. This has been Swedish law since 1 August 2022 and applies to every operator. An unregistered card cannot be topped up.
• Registration usually needs a Swedish BankID, which visitors do not have. Without one you register in an operator's store with your passport.
• Coverage is good in cities and along main roads, patchier in the far north and in forest. All four networks have shut down 3G, so your phone needs 4G.

How much a prepaid SIM costs in Sweden

Swedish prepaid cards are sold as refills rather than monthly plans. A refill lasts 7, 30, 31, 365 or 730 days depending on the card, so the sticker price tells you very little on its own. Every figure on this site is therefore converted to a price per 30 days, which is the only way to compare a weekly top-up with a yearly one.

If data is what you care about, Comviq Fastpris 250 GB currently gives the most for the money: 250 GB at 1,68 SEK per GB. If you only need data and will not be making calls, a data-only card is cheaper still - Telenor Surf 2 år 5 GB costs 17 SEK per 30 days for 5 GB.

For a card that simply needs to exist - an emergency number, a second phone - a pay-as-you-go card is the cheapest option. Telia Saldo 50 kr costs 50 SEK, then 1,99 SEK per minute and 1,99 SEK per text.

Registration: the part that catches visitors out

Since 1 August 2022 every prepaid SIM sold in Sweden must be registered to an identified person before it can be topped up. There is no way around it and no operator that skips it. This is the single most common reason a tourist ends up with a card that will not work.

The standard route is BankID, a Swedish electronic ID tied to a personnummer. Visitors have neither. Your options are:

1. Register in an operator's store with your passport. This is the route that works without a Swedish ID. Telia, for instance, states that customers without a Swedish personal number can register in store with a passport. Allow a few minutes and bring the SIM with you.
2. Photo-ID verification online, which some operators offer as an alternative to BankID. Whether it accepts a foreign passport varies, and the operators do not always say.
3. Ask a Swedish friend or host to register it. Legal, but the card is then registered to them, not you - think about whether that is what you want.

Buying the SIM is not the same thing as registering it, and registering is not the same thing as topping it up. All three steps have to happen before the card works.

Where to buy

• Operator stores in any city centre. The only route that also solves registration for visitors.
• Supermarkets and kiosks - ICA, Coop, Pressbyrån, 7-Eleven. They sell starter packs and refill vouchers, but cannot register the card for you.
• Online from the operator, delivered by post. Too slow if you are here for a week.
• As an eSIM, downloaded immediately. Comviq, Hallon, Lyca Mobile, Telenor and Telia sell prepaid cards as eSIM. Registration is still required.

Arlanda and the other airports have operator outlets, but prices there are the same as everywhere else - there is no airport premium and no airport bargain.

Using a Swedish card elsewhere in Europe

EU roaming rules apply, so a Swedish prepaid card generally works across the EU and EEA at no extra charge. The catch is the allowance: prepaid cards almost always include far less data abroad than at home, and the amount differs card by card.

25 cards in our comparison are stated by the operator not to work in the EU or EEA at all. If you plan to travel on from Sweden, check this before you buy.

Outside the EU and EEA - Norway excepted, which is in the EEA - roaming is charged separately and is expensive. For a trip beyond Europe, a local card or a travel eSIM is the better answer.

Networks and coverage

Sweden has four mobile networks, and the smaller brands run on one of them rather than building their own. Coverage is excellent in the cities, along the main roads and in most of the populated south. It thins out in the mountains, in the far north and in deep forest, which matters if you are hiking or driving the inland route.

3G has been switched off nationwide and 2G is going the same way. A phone that only supports 3G will not work in Sweden, whatever SIM you put in it. Your phone must also be unlocked.

A short Swedish glossary

The rest of this site is in Swedish, but the comparison tables are mostly numbers and operator names. The full list is on our front page, data-only cards are on surfkort, and what every card costs abroad is on kontantkort utomlands.