The Stockholm metro, run by the regional operator SL (Storstockholms Lokaltrafik), does not price tickets by distance or by station count. It uses a small number of fare zones covering the whole county, and a single ticket bought within the core zone covers unlimited transfers between metro, bus, tram and commuter train for a fixed period of time. Most journeys inside Stockholm municipality fall into one zone; travelling far out into the county can add a second or third.
How many fare zones does SL use?
SL structures its network around a small set of zones rather than the older multi-zone system Stockholm used before 2021. Since a fare reform that took effect at the start of that year, the bulk of the county — including the entire metro network, Stockholm’s inner city and most of its suburbs — sits inside a single zone, generally referred to as zone A. Two further zones, B and C, exist only for the outer edges of the county, reached mainly by commuter train (pendeltåg) rather than the metro itself.
Because the metro’s own network lies almost entirely inside zone A, a rider who never boards a commuter train or an outer bus route will rarely encounter zone B or C at all. The practical effect is that the tunnelbana behaves, for most riders, like a flat-fare system: the price of a ticket depends on how it’s bought and for how long it’s valid, not on which stations it connects.
Does the zone system apply to the metro specifically, or the whole network?
It applies to the whole SL network as a single structure — metro, bus, tram, commuter train and the SL-operated ferry routes all sit inside the same zone framework, and a valid ticket works across all of them within its time window. This is a deliberate design: SL treats the region as one integrated transport system rather than pricing each mode separately.
That means a ticket bought to board a train at T-Centralen, the central interchange station, can be used to continue by bus or tram without buying a second ticket, as long as the original ticket is still valid and the journey stays within the zones paid for. The metro itself runs as three colour-coded lines — red, green and blue — but the fare system does not distinguish between them; a zone A ticket covers travel on all three.
How is a single fare actually priced?
SL sells single tickets as time-limited passes rather than one-way fares tied to an origin and destination. A single ticket, once validated, is valid for travel and transfers for a set number of minutes — enough to complete a typical cross-city journey with interchanges — rather than for one direct trip only. Buying a paper single ticket from a machine or in person typically costs more than buying the same journey loaded onto SL’s rechargeable card or app.
Because fares change periodically and are set by SL rather than fixed in law, exact prices are not reproduced here. SL’s own site publishes current fares for single tickets, period passes and zone combinations, and that is the source to check before travelling.
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What ticket types exist beyond the single fare?
SL offers several ways to pay, aimed at different patterns of use:
- Single tickets — a time-limited ticket for one trip with transfers, bought as a paper ticket, via the SL app, or loaded onto a card.
- Period passes — unlimited travel within the paid zones for a fixed number of days, commonly sold in 24-hour, 72-hour, 7-day and 30-day blocks.
- SL Access card — a rechargeable smart card that can hold either stored value for single fares or an active period pass, tapped at gates and validators.
- The SL app — allows tickets to be bought and shown on a phone, including for visitors without a physical card.
For a longer breakdown of how the physical card and app work together across metro, bus and ferry, see How Does the Stockholm Travel Card Work Across Transport?.
Do visitors and residents use the same fares?
Yes — SL does not operate a separate tourist fare structure. Visitors and residents buy from the same set of single tickets and period passes, and both use the same SL Access card or app. The practical difference is in what makes sense to buy: a resident commuting daily is generally better served by a monthly period pass, while a visitor staying a few days is more likely to use a 72-hour or 7-day pass, or single tickets if trips are infrequent.
This is also where the zone system matters most for planning. Someone staying in the inner city and visiting Djurgården, Södermalm or Kungsholmen will not cross out of zone A. A day trip further into the county — toward the outer commuter-rail stops — may require a ticket covering an additional zone, and SL’s fare pages and ticket machines calculate this automatically once an origin and destination are entered.
How do zones interact with the commuter train network?
The metro’s reach stops at the edge of the built-up parts of the county, but SL’s commuter trains (pendeltåg) extend further, into areas that fall into zones B and C. A rider connecting from the metro onto a commuter train heading toward the outer edges of the region may need a ticket that spans more than one zone, priced accordingly.
This is the main practical case where the zone system becomes visible to an ordinary rider: travel that stays inside the metro network and its immediate surroundings is one flat zone; travel that pushes out toward the county boundary is not.
How is a ticket validated and checked?
Metro stations use gated entry, where a valid ticket, card balance or active pass is required to pass through barriers onto the platform. Buses and trams generally require boarding through a designated door with a validator, though exact boarding procedures can vary by vehicle and are set out on SL’s own site. Ticket inspectors also check validity on board and inside stations; travelling without a valid ticket is treated as fare evasion and can result in a penalty fare, the amount for which is set by SL and published on its site rather than fixed here.
Why does Stockholm price transport this way?
A zone-based, time-limited fare tied to a rechargeable card or app is a common structure among European transit operators, because it lets a single ticket cover a multi-leg journey — metro to bus to ferry — without separate payments at each stage. SL’s 2021 move to consolidate most of the county into a single zone simplified a system that had previously required riders to calculate which of several zones a trip crossed. The current shape — one broad zone for almost all metro, bus and inner commuter-rail travel, with additional zones only at the county’s edges — reflects where the actual demand and density of the network sits: concentrated in Stockholm municipality and its immediate suburbs, thinning out toward the county boundary.
For how that geography is organised administratively — where the city ends and the wider county’s municipalities begin — see How Is Stockholm Divided Administratively, and Why? and Stockholm Inner City vs Suburbs: What’s the Difference?.
Where to check current fares and rules
Fares, penalty amounts and exact pass durations change periodically, and SL is the only authoritative source for the current figures. Its own site lists current single-ticket and period-pass prices, zone maps, and rules for the SL Access card and app, and should be checked before a trip rather than relying on a fixed number quoted elsewhere.
For broader planning around getting into and across the city — including how the metro fits alongside buses, trams and ferries — see the Getting Around archive and the practical planning hub at Stockholm Practical. For context on the neighbourhoods the metro connects, see the Neighbourhoods archive and the overview at Living in Stockholm.
Access Stockholm is an independent guide written from published, checkable sources. We have not visited the places described here and we do not publish personal recommendations or invented ‘local favourites’ — where something is singled out as notable, we say who says so. Opening times, fares, closures and prices change at short notice, so treat everything here as a starting point and confirm with the museum, operator or venue directly before building a day around it. We give no advice on visas, insurance, health or safety; use your own government’s official guidance for those.