Cost of Living in Denmark in 2023 (Copenhagen, Aarhus, Odense etc)

If you are planning on moving to one of the European countries with highest salaries in the EU, then you should definitely know about the cost of living in Denmark.

And I’m saying that because once you hear about the high minimum and average monthly wages in Denmark, their great educational/healthcare systems and great career opportunities, you may forget about taxes and costs.

But as high as salaries may be (gross and net) in Denmark, as safe and clean as the environment is, and as beautiful as the country architecture and designs are, it’s notable that Denmark is also considered one of the most expensive countries in Europe.

Taxes alone ca go over 50%, while costs of living in major areas like accommodation and food are really high too. But what are these costs? We’re going to try and anticipate them in today’s article.

This cost of living article is covering all cities in Denmark – from Copenhagen to Aarhus, Odense and the smaller ones, but do have in mind that the larger cities will be a bit more expensive to live in than smaller ones.

So, without further ado, here’s what you should know about the cost of living in Denmark, summed up to a minimum.

Average monthly cost of living in Denmark 2023

For a single person living in Denmark, I’m estimating a cost of living of around €2,300 or around 17,000 DKK per month. This will allow you to live a decent life in a nice area of the city and afford a vacation each year.

Of course, these numbers can vary a lot depending on the individual and we’ll try to cover them all here.

Monthly expenses significantly depend on your own lifestyle, on the city where you live in Denmark, on how much you prefer to go out, eat out, entertain yourself and spend money or, on the opposite, to stay home, cook home and save money.

But we are discussing here the average monthly costs for somebody who isn’t on a very strict budget, nor very extravagant in spending.

Now let’s break this down a bit more and see how you will spend your money each month.

Costs for accommodation and real-estate in Denmark in 2023

The quickest and shortest answer for this is that rental costs in Denmark are somewhere around €35 per square meter per month.

Prices for buying real-estate, on the other hand, can reach around €6.500,00 per m² in the most central areas of big cities or business centers in Denmark such as Copenhagen.

It’s less probable that once you move to Denmark you’ll be immediately interested in buying your own place.

In fact, that may not even be the most inspired decision, because you can only make the best purchase once you know the market, you know the prices from your own experiences, and you can choose the best location, facilities and amenities for your own needs.

This means that most of us will decide to go the rental route. So, how much will you have to spend every month on rent for a place in Denmark? Here is what you should expect:

• €1,300 for a one-bedroom apartment of around 40 m².
• €2,300 for a two-bedroom apartment of around 80 m².

Rental prices are, as you can see, a bit more expensive than the costs in nearby Norway.

Costs for utilities in Denmark in 2023

Check the values below to get an idea, for utilities in apartments in the same Danish cities we discussed above: big, developed cities such as Copenhagen.

These include essentials such as electricity, gas, water, cable TV, trash collection, Internet etc. Here’s what you can expect to pay for utilities in Denmark, after the past couple of years with high inflation:

• €125 per one-bedroom apartment.
• €200 per two-bedroom apartment.

Right after the rental come the utilities, as these two go hand in hand. The moment you rent a place to live, you will also get the cost of utilities every month.

Fortunately, as you can see from the numbers presented above, they are not that high, compared to the prices for rental.

Now, of course, these can vary again slightly, depending on the provider you choose, how much you consume each month, etc.

Also, some of these expenses might be included in the rent already, but usually utilities are not included in the rental costs in Denmark and you have to be ready to pay extra for them.

Speak with the landlord beforehand to know which (if any) utilities are covered by the rental price.

Costs for food and restaurants in Denmark in 2023

A vague approximation for food costs in Denmark, assuming that you eat out from time to time but mostly buy foods from the supermarket and prepare your meals at home, would be around €475 per month for a single person.

Prices of food (in stores) have increased quite a bit in 2022 and 2023 so far because of the inflation that took the entire world by storm and which, unfortunately, didn’t avoid Denmark either and this is reflected in an increased cost of living this year.

Just like in most of the countries, costs for food vary a lot in Denmark, especially between cheap and high-end restaurants.

But just so you can get an idea, you can expect to pay around €12 for a sandwich from a cheap restaurant and around €150 for a three-course meal in a better restaurant, whereas a meal at a traditional cuisine restaurant can cost roughly €80.

Again, these prices vary a lot, depending on the type of restaurant you choose, how many meals and what kind of foods you prefer, quantities, seasons etc.

And, of course, it strongly depends on whether you prefer eating out, at restaurants, and ordering takeaway, or buying your own basic foods and ingredients from the supermarket and cooking at home.

It’s very difficult to estimate these since they vary a lot from person to person. So while some might find it easy to spend less than €475 for one person, others could quickly drain this budget.

Let’s take a look on the average prices not only for all kinds of restaurants in Denmark, but also for some of the most basic foods that you may be interested in buying for at-home cooking and eating.

• €1.80 for a loaf of bread
• €1.20 for a 1l-bottle of milk
• €3.70 for a kg of vegetables
• €9.80 for a kg of chicken
• €5.50 for one coffee (Café Latte or Cappuccino)
• €18.00 for one pizza ordered through takeaway
• €3.80 for a cheeseburger
• €12.00 for a fast-food meal such as a BurgerKing or McDonald’s Combo
• €20 for one meal at a cheap restaurant
• €80 for one meal at a higher-end restaurant

As the prices above show, costs with food and eating out vary a lot depending on the ingredients you choose, your diet, your preferences for cheaper or more expensive restaurants, how much you eat, where you shop (local markets or supermarkets) etc.

But, on average, for a decent diet, you can expect to spend around €475 monthly on food.

Costs for transportation in Denmark in 2023

Checking out the costs for transportation in Denmark, we have a quite large palette of prices, thanks to the also large palette of options when it comes to choosing your means of transportation.

Here’s a list with the most popular means of transport and the average costs for them:

• €4.00 for one ride on public transport
• €70.00 for one monthly public transport ticket
• €2.70 per km on taxi or other similar means of transport
• €2.00 for one liter of gasoline

Wrapping up the costs with the transportation in Denmark in 2023, we couldn’t really say that it’s cheap.

In fact, if we compare the price for a monthly ticket for public transport with the monthly cost for utilities, it’s actually quite expensive.

So, if you are an employee with a generous salary, that probably won’t be a problem. But it’s different for students.

This is also one of the main reasons why most students prefer either using the bike as the cheapest possible alternative for transportation in Denmark – if they live close-by – or using the train, if their accommodation is located at a 15-30 minutes-drive.

Other costs in Denmark

Last but not least, other expenses that you will most probably be interested in, if you live in Denmark, are the small activities that matter and make your life more beautiful, raising your standards, your energy and emotional/mental health.

These include going out to the cinema or gym subscriptions. Here are some of these prices per month:

• €15.50 for one cinema ticket per adult
• €40.00 for monthly gym subscription
• €34.00 for monthly high-speed internet subscription

Conclusion

After some simple math, the average cost of living in Denmark for decent living standards is somewhere around €2.300 for a single person, per month.

An important thing to note is that a couple will usually have to pay less per person. Such is the case of co-living and flat sharing options that greatly reduce the costs for accommodation, which eat up most of the monthly budget.

Therefore, a couple living in Denmark can live a decent life on around €4,000 total (so €2,000 per person).

Even having a child won’t increase the monthly budget by a lot – you can expect to live a good life in such a situation on €4,500 to €5,000 per month as schools are free in Denmark.

Things change if you choose to opt for private education, where your yearly expenses could go up by up to €15,000.

All in all, we can say that the cost of living in Denmark is pretty similar to the cost of living in Sweden, although a bit higher.

Conclusion

Wrapping it all up, I think it’s quite safe to say that costs of living in Denmark are not low when compared to other countries, but even though it may seem expensive to live in Denmark, salaries are usually enough to cover the minimum costs for a decent living.

Plus, it really depends on your own income-management skills, on how expansive, outgoing or, on the contrary, how introvert and frugal you are.

All in all, Denmark is a well-paying country. If your future salary seems to be allowing you to cover all the basic costs mentioned above, then it’s quite a great idea to move to this country, given its popularity for the very low crime rate, clean environment, career-development opportunities and elegant architecture.

And, as always, if you have any updated information regarding actual prices that can help us better picture the cost of living in Denmark in 2023, feel free to comment and I will make sure to update the data within the article!

If you want to check out the situation in nearby countries, you can look at my article detailing the cost of living in Finland also.

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