Tipping In Sweden - A Complete Guide
Quick Guide
🍽️ Restaurant - 0-10% or Round Up If Satisfied
🍹 Bar - Not Expected - 0-10%
☕️ Café - Not Expected - 0-10%
🚕 Taxi - Not Expected - Can Round Up
🛎️ Porter/Bellhop - Not Expected - Can Tip Kr5-10
🛏️ Housekeeping - Not Expected - Can Tip Kr5-10/Day
📸 Paid Tour Guide - Not Expected
🚶 Free Tour Guide - Expected - What You Deem Fair
In Sweden, tips or “dricks” are completely at your discretion and not expected in a lot of situations. In any case, if you believe you’ve paid a fair price, feel free not to tip.
Calculate a culturally appropriate tip for Sweden using the calculator below and read on for more detail on tipping in Restaurants, Cafés, Bars, Taxis, Hotels etc.
Sweden Tip Calculator
Good Tip For Sweden
Tip
$0.00
Total With Tip
$0.00
Split Bill By
0 Each
Tipping in Restaurants
When dining out in Sweden, feel free to tip 0-10% for good food or service. Anything over that is unnecessary. Alternatively, just round up your bill (e.g. Kr280 becomes Kr300).
You’re not likely to offend anyone if you skip the tip since most Swedes take the view that the service is really built into the price.
Also, Swedish unions tend to object to tipping as they’d rather the employer retained the responsibility for the server’s income.
It’s more common to tip in high-end restaurants and for dinner service (less so for breakfast or lunch).
Regarding cash/card tips, as Sweden trends towards becoming a cashless society, you’ll find some establishments don’t even give you the option to pay or tip cash meaning card is the only option.
If they hand you the card machine, you may be able to select a tip or enter a larger total (including tip) but that’s not always the case.
Wherever you’re dining in Sweden, you’re unlikely to feel any pressure to tip and you won’t cause any offense if you choose not to.
Whether you tip or not, a polite “tack så mycket” (Swedish for “thank you very much”) always goes a long way if you’ve enjoyed your experience.
Tipping in Bars & Nightclubs
Bartenders don’t expect tips in Sweden and they might be surprised if you try to leave one.
That being said, a tip of 0-10% would still be appreciated.
Given Sweden’s become increasingly cashless and tip jars are also a rare sight, you’ll probably have to tip via the card machine if you want to leave one (if you’re even given the option).
Tipping in Cafés
Baristas also don’t expect tips. Follow the Bar/Nightclub rule in this situation too (tip nothing or 0-10%) whether you’ve had good service or not.
Tipping Taxi & Rideshare Drivers
Taxi and Rideshare drivers (e.g. Uber and Bolt) won’t expect tips, especially if you’re paying by card or app.
If your driver was really attentive and you want to reward them, you might be able to round up the fare depending on how you’re paying (e.g. Pay Kr130 instead of Kr121).
Alternatively, if you’re using an app, just thank them (“tack”) and give them a great review.
Tipping The Porter/Bellhop
Your hotel porter won’t expect a tip whether they store your luggage or carry it to your room.
If you feel inclined to tip them, Kr5-10 in total is perfectly acceptable.
On a side note, you’re not likely to run into this situation as porters aren’t that common, even in high-end Swedish hotels. However, it’s good to be prepared just in case.
Tipping Housekeeping
Housekeepers won’t expect tips either. Tipping them is completely at your discretion.
If they’ve done a particularly good job keeping your room clean and tidy, feel free to leave some change (Kr5-10) on the pillow with a thank you (“tack”) note.
Tipping Paid & Free Tour Guides
You don’t need to tip paid tour guides unless stated otherwise as most Swedes would expect a level of service to be built into the tour price.
“Free” walking tour guides are another story. In this situation, you are expected to “tip” as that’s their main source of income. Tip whatever you deem a fair amount based on the length of tour and your satisfaction with the guide.
Which Currency To Use
In Sweden, you can only pay or tip using their officially currency, the Swedish Krona (SEK).
Often regarded as one of the most cashless societies on earth, you’ll find it increasingly difficult to tip in cash. Card tips are an option in some cases but not all. Thankfully, given tips here are generally at your discretion, having a lack of change in your pocket isn’t likely to lead to awkward situations.
“God resa!” - Have a good trip! 🇸🇪 🏞️ 🌲
