Stockholm Public Transport (SL): Tickets, Contactless & Day Passes

How I pay for the metro, buses, trams and boats in Stockholm — and which ticket saves you money.

I live in Stockholm, and I guide visitors here. How do you pay for the metro? The answer is simpler than most people think.

SL runs the metro (tunnelbana), the buses, the commuter trains, the trams and the commuter boats. One ticket works on all of them. I checked every price below on SL’s own website in September 2026.

Slussen at sunset. Buses, metro and boats meet here. Photo: Zayera Khan

Tap your bank card: the easiest option

Tap a contactless Visa, Mastercard or American Express card at the metro gate, on the bus, or at the reader on the platform. Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay and Fidesmo Pay also work. The light turns green, and you have a single ticket for 75 minutes.

A single ticket costs SEK 43 for adults. Inside those 75 minutes you can change between metro, bus, tram, commuter train and commuter boat as often as you like. Make your last change before the 75 minutes end.

One tip: use the same card or the same phone for the whole trip. If you tap the plastic card first and your phone later, SL sees two different cards. Then you pay twice.

Tapping gives the adult price. Seniors over 65, young people under 20 and full-time students with an SL-approved student card pay SEK 26. To get that price with a bank card, you must register the card on sl.se at the latest the day before you travel.

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The SL app

The SL app, “SL – Reseplanerare och biljetter”, sells every ticket type, also at the reduced price. You can buy a ticket in advance and start it when you travel. The app also plans your trip from door to door.

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Period tickets: 24 hours, 72 hours, 7 days

If you travel a lot, a period ticket is cheaper. You buy it in the SL app, or on an SL card at the ticket booth in the metro, at SL Customer Service at the Central Station, or at an agent such as Pressbyrån. The time starts when you activate the ticket in the app, or when you tap the SL card for the first time.

• 24 hours: SEK 180 (reduced price SEK 110)
• 72 hours: SEK 360 (reduced price SEK 220)
• 7 days: SEK 470 (reduced price SEK 290)
• 30 days: SEK 530 (reduced price SEK 325) — half price until December 2026

The 30-day ticket is half price because of state support for public transport. The low price applies to 30-day tickets you buy and start by 2 December 2026. After that, SL returns to the normal price.

When does a pass pay off?

I count one “trip” as one new 75-minute ticket. Changes inside the 75 minutes are free, so they do not count. With single tickets at SEK 43:

• The 24-hour ticket pays off from 5 trips in one day.
• The 72-hour ticket pays off from 9 trips in three days.
• The 7-day ticket pays off from 11 trips in one week.
• The 30-day ticket pays off from 13 trips, at the half price.

Stockholm is a walking city. On a short weekend in Gamla stan and Södermalm, you walk most of the time, and a few single tickets are often enough. If you plan museums on Djurgården, a boat to Vaxholm and a day trip to the suburbs, the 72-hour ticket makes sense.

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Boats on an SL ticket

This is the part most visitors miss. Your SL ticket is valid on the SL commuter boats (pendelbåtar), for example the ferry to Djurgården.

All SL tickets are also valid on Waxholmsbolaget’s archipelago boats between Strömkajen, Vaxholm and 42 stops in between, all year. From 14 September to 29 April, SL period tickets of 30 days or longer are valid on all Waxholmsbolaget boats. In summer, you buy a Waxholmsbolaget ticket for trips outside the SL area.

Waiting for the archipelago boats at Strömkajen, with the Royal Palace across the water. Photo: Zayera Khan

Curious about the islands? I wrote about why Sweden has more islands than any other country.

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Where your SL ticket does not reach

• Arlanda Airport: a normal single ticket does not cover Arlanda. You need a special Arlanda ticket. My guide Arlanda to the city center compares the options.
• Uppsala and Knivsta: you add a ticket from UL, the Uppsala transport company.
• Other companies: some boats and buses in the SL journey planner belong to other companies with their own prices.

Coming in on a cruise ship? My guide to Stockholm’s cruise ports, Frihamnen and Stadsgården, explains how to get into the city. And if you plan to take a taxi, read how to avoid overpriced taxis in Stockholm first.

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Is the Stockholm Pass (Go City) worth it?

The Stockholm Pass from Go City is a sightseeing pass, not a transport ticket. Go City lists more than 60 attractions. Among them are the Vasa Museum, the Royal Palace, Skansen, the Nobel Prize Museum, boat tours to Drottningholm Palace and Vaxholm, and hop-on hop-off buses and boats. You choose a pass for 1 to 5 days.

Go City does not list SL public transport in the pass, so plan for an SL ticket too. The list of attractions changes with the seasons. Check it on the Go City website before you buy.

It is a yes if you move fast and want to see several paid attractions each day, for example the Vasa Museum and a long boat tour on the same day.

It is a no if you travel slowly. A walk in Gamla stan, a long fika (coffee and something sweet) and one museum a day — then single tickets are cheaper.

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What is my verdict?

For most visitors, the bank card in your pocket is enough. Tap, travel, and change as often as you like for 75 minutes. Buy a period ticket only when you know you will move around a lot.

And the boats. Take at least one. The city looks different from the water.

If you want to see Stockholm with someone who lives here, I guide private tours in Stockholm. Which part of the city will you see first?

Sources: SL: single ticket 75 minutes; travel with a bank card; period tickets; temporary price cut on 30-day tickets; SL tickets on the archipelago boats. Go City: Stockholm Pass. Prices checked 29 September 2026.