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swedish habits

TELL US: Is tipping culture changing in Sweden?

Richard Orange
Richard Orange - richard.orange@thelocal.com
Published: 29 Jul, 2026 CET. Updated: Tue 4 Aug 2026 13:24 CET
TELL US: Is tipping culture changing in Sweden?
A waiter in a restaurant on the island of Gotland – but does he expect a tip? Photo: Tina Axelsson/Imagebank Sweden
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Whether or not to tip in restaurants and bars is a question that often confuses newcomers to Sweden, so we thought we'd ask our readers what their approach is, and also get their opinions about whether Swedish tipping habits are shifting.

It's now more than two years since The Local's publishing director James Savage caused a bit of a stir when he posted on X in mild annoyance about the practice of of mandatory tip options popping up on the screens of handheld card terminals in bars and restaurants, following up the post with an opinion piece. 

So we want to hear from people on the ground about whether tipping culture has undergone a more enduring shift since then. Please fill in the form below and tell us about your experiences. If the embed link doesn't work, you can access the survey with this link. 

 

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Comments (15)

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BGAndersson New York City, US
Rule #5 - do not believe what you see about Americans from what you see on YouTube - of all places. Our tipping is considered a "gratuity" and often will reflect the quality of service received. Restaurant workers are not well-paid, many earning not much more than minimum wage. But bad service or rudeness can also get you a deserved zero tip. Also, many of us like to tip in cash, bypassing the owner possibly not distributing the correct tip amount. And yes, we tipped when we were in Sweden in June - in cash.
Emma
If I need to stress and think how much do I need to give on top, I won't be going. I have a small business that does service and my employees often ask to add the tip possibility, I refuse. Instead, for all good reviews online I pay them tips.
Anonymous
Tipping should always be a choice and not an expectation. I tip for excellent service. Sweden ensures workers are paid a livable wage and the tipping culture from America should not become the norm here.
Anonymous
I wish a law was passed that forced machines to have No tip option as the default one with the biggest and the most eye-catching but leave the other options selectable if the customer really wanted to leave a tip. also the default values should be "round up" and up to 5/10%. still a "custom amount" button should be available.
Anonymous
In an instance like this I like to go to the definition of a word, tipping is a gratuity. Which comes from the French word gratuité and Medieval Latin gratuitatem, tracing back to the Latin root gratus meaning "pleasing" or "favor". It entered the English language in the 1520s originally meaning "graciousness" before shifting by the 1530s to mean a free gift or money given for service. I say all this to push the point that tips are granted for service as a gift, they should not be mandatory or expected for doing one’s job. This culture of expected tipping should not be used as a way to circumvent the employers responsibility to reimburse their staff appropriately.

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