Cost of living in Switzerland
Are you moving to Switzerland? Do you know how much money you will need there to maintain your current standard of living?
Find out what is the real equivalent in Switzerl. of your current salary and improve your chances of a happy relocation.
Get a salary calculation for:
| Food | ||
|---|---|---|
| Basic lunchtime menu (including a drink) in the business district | CHF 25 | |
| Combo meal in fast food restaurant (Big Mac Meal or similar) | CHF 14 | |
| 500 gr (1 lb.) of boneless chicken breast | CHF 13 | |
| 1 liter (1 qt.) of whole fat milk | CHF 1.76 | |
| 12 eggs, large | CHF 7 | |
| 1 kg (2 lb.) of tomatoes | CHF 4.67 | |
| 500 gr (16 oz.) of local cheese | CHF 12 | |
| 1 kg (2 lb.) of apples | CHF 3.86 | |
| 1 kg (2 lb.) of potatoes | CHF 2.90 | |
| 0.5 l (16 oz) domestic beer in the supermarket | CHF 2.53 | |
| 1 bottle of red table wine, good quality | CHF 17 | |
| 2 liters of Coca-Cola | CHF 2.52 | |
| Bread for 2 people for 1 day | CHF 2.37 | |
| Housing | ||
| Monthly rent for 85 m2 (900 Sqft) furnished accommodation in EXPENSIVE area | CHF 2,947 | |
| Monthly rent for 85 m2 (900 Sqft) furnished accommodation in NORMAL area | CHF 2,451 | |
| Utilities 1 month (heating, electricity, gas ...) for 2 people in 85m2 flat | CHF 182 | |
| Monthly rent for a 45 m2 (480 Sqft) furnished studio in EXPENSIVE area | CHF 1,815 | |
| Monthly rent for a 45 m2 (480 Sqft) furnished studio in NORMAL area | CHF 1,528 | |
| Utilities 1 month (heating, electricity, gas ...) for 1 person in 45 m2 (480 Sqft) studio | CHF 129 | |
| Internet 8 Mbps (1 month) | CHF 45 | |
| 40” flat screen TV | CHF 540 | |
| Microwave 800/900 Watt (Bosch, Panasonic, LG, Sharp, or equivalent brands) | CHF 172 | |
| Laundry detergent (3 l. ~ 100 oz.) | CHF 19 | |
| Hourly rate for cleaning help | CHF 29 | |
| Clothes | ||
| 1 pair of jeans (Levis 501 or similar) | CHF 109 | |
| 1 summer dress in a High Street Store (Zara, H&M or similar retailers) | CHF 52 | |
| 1 pair of sport shoes (Nike, Adidas, or equivalent brands) | CHF 127 | |
| 1 pair of men’s leather business shoes | CHF 191 | |
| Transportation | ||
| Volkswagen Golf 1.4 TSI 150 CV (or equivalent), with no extras, new | CHF 27,784 | |
| 1 liter (1/4 gallon) of gas | CHF 1.81 | |
| Monthly ticket public transport | CHF 86 | |
| Personal Care | ||
| Cold medicine for 6 days (Tylenol, Frenadol, Coldrex, or equivalent brands) | CHF 13 | |
| 1 box of antibiotics (12 doses) | CHF 35 | |
| Short visit to private Doctor (15 minutes) | CHF 115 | |
| 1 box of 32 tampons (Tampax, OB, ...) | CHF 7 | |
| Deodorant, roll-on (50ml ~ 1.5 oz.) | CHF 5.37 | |
| Hair shampoo 2-in-1 (400 ml ~ 12 oz.) | CHF 5.28 | |
| 4 rolls of toilet paper | CHF 3.28 | |
| Tube of toothpaste | CHF 3.87 | |
| Standard men's haircut in expat area of the city | CHF 45 | |
| Entertainment | ||
| Basic dinner out for two in neighborhood pub | CHF 71 | |
| 2 tickets to the movies | CHF 38 | |
| 2 tickets to the theater (best available seats) | CHF 133 | |
| Dinner for two at an Italian restaurant in the expat area including appetisers, main course, wine and dessert | CHF 114 | |
| 1 cocktail drink in downtown club | CHF 17 | |
| Cappuccino in expat area of the city | CHF 5.32 | |
| 1 beer in neighbourhood pub (500ml or 1pt.) | CHF 7 | |
| iPad Wi-Fi 128GB | CHF 531 | |
| 1 min. of prepaid mobile tariff (no discounts or plans) | CHF 0.33 | |
| 1 month of gym membership in business district | CHF 93 | |
| 1 package of Marlboro cigarettes | CHF 8 | |
Map of Cost of Living in Switzerland
This map shows only the top cities in Switzerland. We also have on this page a list of all the cities available in Expatistan.
The color of each marker corresponds with the Cost of Living in the city. Red markers show more expensive cities, green ones show cheaper cities.
Moving the mouse on top of a city will show its name and the Cost of Living Index of that city.
What is the Cost of Living Index? To calculate each city's Price Index value, we start by assigning a value of 100 to a
central reference city (that happens to be Prague).
Once the reference point has been established, the Price Index value of every other city in the
database is calculated by comparing their cost of living to the cost of living in Prague.
Therefore, if a city has a Price Index of 134, that means that living there is 34% more expensive than living in Prague.
Cost of Living Ranking in Switzerland
(top cities by data quality)
| Ranking | City | Price Index * |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Geneva | 249 |
| 2nd | Zurich | 243 |
| 3rd | Basel | 223 |
| 4th | Lausanne | 222 |
| 5th | Bern | 213 |
| 6th | Lugano | 212 |
Price Index:
To calculate each city's Price Index value, we start by assigning a value of 100 to a central reference city (that happens to be Prague). Once the reference point has been established, the Price Index value of every other city in the database is calculated by comparing their cost of living to the cost of living in Prague.Therefore, if a city has a Price Index of 134, that means that living there is 34% more expensive than living in Prague.
Are you moving to Switzerland? Do you know how much money you will need there to maintain your current standard of living?
Find out what is the real equivalent in Switzerl. of your current salary and improve your chances of a happy relocation.
Get a salary calculation for:
Recent Comparisons
- Cost of living in Zurich is 6% more expensive than in London
- Cost of living in Bern is 156% more expensive than in Delhi
- Cost of living in Geneva is 10% more expensive than in London
- Cost of living in Zurich is 14% more expensive than in Sydney
- Cost of living in Bern is 97% more expensive than in Zagreb
- Cost of living in Zurich is 30% more expensive than in Amsterdam
- Cost of living in Zurich is about the same as in San Francisco, California
- Cost of living in Lausanne is 13% cheaper than in Geneva
- Cost of living in Zurich is 30% more expensive than in Tokyo
- Cost of living in Geneva is 23% more expensive than in Paris
- Cost of living in Zurich is 76% more expensive than in Barcelona
- Cost of living in Zurich is 61% more expensive than in Berlin
- Cost of living in Geneva is 9% more expensive than in New York City
- Cost of living in Aarau is 147% more expensive than in Natal
- Cost of living in Zurich is 18% more expensive than in Dublin
- Cost of living in Zurich is 22% more expensive than in Singapore
- Cost of living in Aarau is 95% more expensive than in Jilin City
- Cost of living in Zurich is 59% more expensive than in Milan
- Cost of living in Zurich is 9% more expensive than in Mountain View, California
- Cost of living in Zurich is 36% more expensive than in Wellington
Compare other countries
Recent Prices Added
- Public transport in Lausanne costs CHF 74 (4 days ago)
- Volkswagen golf 1.4 tsi 150 cv (or equivalent), with no extras, new in St. Gallen costs CHF 50,000 (5 days ago)
- Internet connection 300 mbps, 1 month in Zurich costs CHF 40 (5 days ago)
- Monthly rent - 85 m2 furnished accommodation in expensive area in Zurich costs CHF 3,000 (7 days ago)
- Public transport in Lausanne costs CHF 74 (8 days ago)
- One-way ticket in public transport in Zurich costs CHF 4.40 (9 days ago)
- Public transport in Zurich costs CHF 85 (9 days ago)
- Internet connection 300 mbps, 1 month in Zurich costs CHF 65 (9 days ago)
- 1 kg of rice in Zurich costs CHF 3.60 (9 days ago)
- 1 liter of whole fat milk in Zurich costs CHF 1.55 (9 days ago)