How to Pay for Parking in Sweden

Short answer: look at the parking sign and the sticker on the payment machine — they name the app and the zone code for that exact spot, and the apps vary by area. EasyPark works in most Swedish cities; Parkster is common in smaller towns; Stockholm's municipal street zones also take the city's own app, Betala P. Driving a rental car? Every app and machine accepts any registration plate — you don't need to own the car. And you don't need anything Swedish to park: garages (Aimo Park, APCOA) take foreign Visa and Mastercard at the machine, with no BankID and no Swedish phone number required.

• CITIES IN THE TABLE
  61
• APPS WITH TRACKED DATA
  3
  Parkster · Aimo · APCOA
• PARKSTER TOWNS
  166
  public coverage map
• AIMO / APCOA
  31 / 27
  confirmed facilities

• Any plate works. Apps and machines tie the payment to the registration number you type in — there is no ownership check. Enter the rental's plate exactly as printed on the car.
• Foreign cards work. Machines take standard Visa and Mastercard; Aimo Park and APCOA garages accept foreign cards at the machine.
• No Swedish setup needed. No BankID, no Swedish phone number, no local app account. BankID is a Swedish banking-identity app — you never need it to park.

1. 1

   Read the sign first — not the machine

   The road sign at the spot (not the machine) decides whether, when and for how long you may park. On the time plate: black times apply on weekdays, times in parentheses apply on the day before Sundays and public holidays, and red times apply on Sundays and public holidays. Outside the posted charge hours, parking is often free of charge — then you don't need to pay at all.

2. 2

   Find the zone code

   The code is on a sticker on the machine and is the same code you enter in the app. Paying at the machine usually selects the code for you — but if you're standing between two zones (common at zone borders in city centres), pay for the zone where the car is parked, not the nearest machine.

3. 3

   Enter the registration plate — and double-check it

   Nearly all machines are ticketless: the payment is tied to the registration number and the attendant checks it digitally. A mistyped plate is the most common reason for a fine despite paying — and with a rental car whose plate you don't know by heart, it's an easy mistake. Check the number one extra time before you confirm.

4. 4

   Pay by card or contactless

   Card and contactless work in most machines; more and more are entirely cash-free. A foreign-issued Visa or Mastercard works like a Swedish one — no local card needed. If the machine lets you choose between pre-loading time or starting an open-ended session: open-ended (check out when you leave) never costs more than guessing too many hours up front.

5. 5

   Keep the receipt — or take a photo

   If the machine prints a receipt, keep it until you've left the spot without issues. A photo of the machine's confirmation screen works too. It's your evidence if something still goes wrong — and turns an appeal into a formality instead of an argument.

The sticker on the machine is the source of truth: it lists the apps and the zone code valid for that spot. You can always pay by app even where the machine only takes coins — and the other way around. The tariff is the same in every channel; what differs is service fees and how easily you can extend the session from wherever you are.

• EasyPark

  Broadest coverage in Sweden — available in most municipal zones across the country. Charges a service fee per purchase. We track no coverage data of our own for EasyPark, which is why it isn't in the city table below: go by the sticker on the machine.

• Parkster

  Common in smaller towns and mid-size cities. No markup in the basic version (app or web). Parkster's public coverage map lists 166 Swedish towns and districts; 50 of the cities in the table below have confirmed coverage.

• Betala P

  The City of Stockholm's own app for municipal on-street parking in Stockholm. Like the other apps, it accepts any registration plate. On Stockholm's city-run street zones you can pay with Betala P or at the machine.

• Aimo Park

  Valid at Aimo Park's own garages and lots. We have confirmed facilities in 31 cities via our own data collection, and the garages take foreign Visa and Mastercard at the machine.

• APCOA FLOW

  Valid at APCOA's facilities (often garages and park-and-ride lots). Confirmed facilities in 27 cities in our data; foreign cards are accepted at the machine.

The table shows where we have confirmed data for each app — not where an app is absent. A dash only means we can't back the coverage with our own data; EasyPark and municipal apps may well work there anyway. The sticker on the machine always has the final say.

Can I pay with a parking app if I'm driving a rental car?

Yes. Swedish parking apps and payment machines tie the payment to the registration plate you type in — there is no ownership check, so any plate works: a rental, a borrowed car or a foreign-registered car. Enter the rental's plate exactly as it appears on the car and pay as normal.

Do I need BankID or a Swedish phone number to pay for parking?

No. Payment machines take standard Visa and Mastercard, and garages run by Aimo Park and APCOA accept foreign cards at the machine. BankID is a Swedish identity app used for banking — you never need it to park, and no Swedish phone number or app account is required either.

Which parking app should I download for Sweden?

Check the sticker on the payment machine first: it names the apps and the zone code valid for that exact spot, and the apps vary by city and operator. EasyPark has the broadest coverage across Swedish cities; Parkster is common in smaller towns; in Stockholm, the city's own app Betala P covers municipal on-street zones. If you'd rather not install anything, pay by card at the machine.

Do I need to display a ticket in the windscreen?

Usually not. Most machines in Swedish cities are ticketless: you enter the registration number and the attendant sees the payment digitally. If the machine does print a ticket that says it must be displayed, put it on the dashboard — read what the machine tells you, it differs between operators.

What happens if I type the wrong registration number?

The payment registers to a car that isn't yours, so to the attendant your car looks unpaid — you risk a parking fine even though you paid. With an unfamiliar rental plate this is the easiest mistake to make, so double-check the number before you confirm. Some operators cancel the fine on appeal if the receipt shows an obvious typo, but don't count on it.

How do I read a Swedish parking sign?

The sign at the spot — not the machine — decides whether, when and for how long you may park. On the time plate: black times apply on weekdays, times in parentheses apply on the day before Sundays and public holidays, and red times apply on Sundays and public holidays. Outside the posted charge hours, parking is often free of charge — but the sign always has the final say.

• Parking in Stockholm
• Parking at Arlanda Airport
• Parking fines league
• Commuter cost checker
• This guide in Swedish — Betala parkering

The city table is built from data we collect and show on the city pages: Parkster's public coverage map, Aimo Park's facility data (last confirmed 2026-05-30) and APCOA's facility data. It makes no claim of completeness — an app can work in a city without appearing here, and municipal apps and EasyPark cover more places than we track data for. Tariffs, charge hours and payment methods are set by each municipality or operator and can change; the sign and the sticker at the spot always take precedence over this page.