One of the more arduous tasks you will have after moving to a new country is deciding which mobile operator you should use. As with many other countries, Sweden has a range of mobile providers all offering “the best rates and deals”. So which should you pick? This blog post is here to make that decision a little bit easier.

To purchase a Swedish sim card, you will usually need to have a Personnummer (see my previous blog post: “how to get a Swedish personal number and ID card” for more information on this). It is also worth checking whether your phone has two sim card holders. If so, you may be able to use the number from your country of origin and your new number from Sweden simultaneously.

Before I start, it’s worth reminding any EU citizens that, since June 2017, you won’t incur any additional roaming charges when visiting another country in the EU. However, for those coming to Sweden from outside the EU or for those (like me) who prefer to have a Swedish number while living in Sweden, I will now summarise the main mobile operators available. In this blog post I will mainly focus on the mobile subscriptions offered by different operators, but at the end of the article I will briefly compare pay as you go prices too.

Mobile subscriptions:

Mobile subscriptions are usually the simplest way of paying to use mobile services. With one payment you are able to send and receive texts and calls, and access the internet using mobile data. Depending on how much you use your phone, you can choose a payment plan that roughly fits the amount of data and minutes you predict you’ll use. If you run out of data and minutes though, most mobile operators offer easy add-ons to last you through to the end of the month. In addition, many mobile operators provide short-term, non-fixed contracts that allow increased flexibility for switching subscriptions (although long-term, fixed contracts are often available for cheaper prices).

Below is a list of four of the main mobile providers in Sweden, with additional information about the rough pricing of subscriptions for each.

1. Telenor - Telenor offers a range of different data plans, ranging from 1,5 GB per month (249kr/month) to an unlimited option (549kr/month) which includes free calls around the world.

Telenor shares a network with Tele2 to allow wider coverage throughout Sweden.

2. 3 Sverige – from research, 3 Sverige appears to be one of the less popular mobile operators here in Sweden and one reason for this might be their relatively lacking coverage. Data plans offered by 3 Sverige are fairly typical, ranging from 1 GB per month (229kr/month) to 60 GB per month (579kr/month).
3. Telia – Telia was by far this country’s most popular mobile phone operator in April, 2016 and has the best coverage of the mobile operators in Sweden (useful if you’re planning a trip to the North or deep countryside). Looking on Telia’s website it is perhaps a little less user friendly than the rest, but they offer some great deals including a 2 GB monthly contract for 199kr/month and data add-ons that can last for a week, a month or half a year.

Telia also owns Halebop (another mobile service) which offers some relatively cheap prices ranging from 1 GB per month (99kr/month) to 24 GB (369kr/month). Halebop also offers some good deals exclusively for students, making it a popular service amongst Sweden’s young adults. The two student packages offered are: 6 GB per month (199kr/month) and 24 GB per month (299kr/month) (see below for further detail on student packages).

4. Tele2 – Tele2’s prices range from a 1 GB per month plan (199kr/month) to an unlimited plan for 499kr per month. As of 2016, Tele2 was the second most subscribed to mobile operator in Sweden, and offers good coverage throughout the country.

Tele2 also owns Comviq, which like Halebop brands itself as a highly affordable service. One of the best packages offered by Comviq is the Fastpris mini which includes 2000 minutes, 2000 texts and 2GB of mobile data for 99kr/month. Comviq also offers four student-only data plans, with prices ranging between 95kr/month (3 GB included) and 245kr/month (20 GB included).

Student packages:

If you’re coming to Sweden to study, some mobile operators (as seen above) offer subscription packages exclusively for students. They do make it quite difficult to get these however, probably because they know many people (like me) are too lazy to follow through and get the discount. However, if you’re determined to get a student discount you’ll need to be able to prove you are over 18 and on a CSN-registered course (i.e. a higher education course in Sweden).

Pay as you go schemes:

If you don’t have a smartphone or use mobile internet much you may opt for a pay as you go scheme. If you do use pay as you go scheme, top-up cards are easy to buy from the mobile operator’s retail stores, as well as most supermarkets and corner shops.

The best pay as you go scheme I have found is offered by Telia. This “Enkel” (simple) plan requires you to pay a fixed sum (50, 100, 200 or 300kr) which can be used to call, text and browse the internet until the balance is over.

Hopefully this has been a useful summary of the different options available when choosing a mobile operator in Sweden. For each of the companies listed here, more specific summaries of their services can be found on their websites or by talking to a sales representative in store. In my opinion though, from this research and personal experience (I use Comviq’s fastpris mini), the best mobile service providers in Sweden are Telia and Tele2. Both of these companies offer a range of subscription plans as well as student prices (within Halebop and Comviq for Telia and Tele2 respectively), making it likely that you will find an option that suits you!

Good luck with the search!

Hannah