Cost of living comparison
compared to
Boston vs. Bern Cost of Living Summary
Boston is 15.3% cheaper than Bern.
Boston vs. Bern Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Boston instead of Bern, you would:
pay 36.6% less for restaurants
|
Bern
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$29.22
CHF24.21
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$18.77
CHF15.55
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$5.16
CHF4.28
|
$2.87
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$4.93
CHF4.08
|
$2.40
|
|
Bern vs. Boston - Cost of restaurants
pay 15.0% more for groceries
|
Bern
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.73
CHF3.09
|
$4.16
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$14.58
CHF12.08
|
$8.92
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$8.60
CHF7.12
|
$4.80
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$7.49
CHF6.20
|
$4.93
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$15.45
CHF12.80
|
$6.15
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.72
CHF1.43
|
$2.70
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.03
CHF0.86
|
$1.00
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.44
CHF1.19
|
$2.83
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.39
CHF2.81
|
$3.61
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.04
CHF0.86
|
$2.09
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.05
CHF0.87
|
$1.81
|
|
Bern vs. Boston - Cost of groceries
pay 40.2% less for transportation
|
Bern
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$8.42
CHF6.98
|
$3.46
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$100.10
CHF82.92
|
$90.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$41,041.86
CHF33,997.52
|
$34,000.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$65.19
CHF54.00
|
$16.52
|
|
Bern vs. Boston - Cost of transportation
pay 30.5% more for housing
|
Bern
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$63.82
CHF52.86
|
$77.28
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,948.71
CHF1,614.23
|
$3,451.79
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,636.67
CHF1,355.75
|
$2,596.36
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$234.53
CHF194.28
|
$153.30
|
|
Bern vs. Boston - Cost of housing
pay 25.5% less for childcare
|
Bern
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$3,420.16
CHF2,833.13
|
$2,793.33
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$40,875.03
CHF33,859.32
|
$27,500.00
|
|
Bern vs. Boston - Cost of childcare
pay 11.0% less for entertainment and sports
|
Bern
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$9.38
CHF7.77
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.19
CHF5.13
|
$5.36
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.76
CHF9.74
|
$13.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$81.65
CHF67.63
|
$88.48
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$27.53
CHF22.80
|
$15.00
|
|
Bern vs. Boston - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 39.4% less for clothing
|
Bern
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$155.91
CHF129.15
|
$69.87
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$70.91
CHF58.74
|
$43.75
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$167.05
CHF138.37
|
$107.71
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$212.36
CHF175.91
|
$152.08
|
|
Bern vs. Boston - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: October 2026
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