Cost of living comparison

compared to

Switzerland vs. Germany Cost of Living Summary

Switzerland is 67.9% more expensive than Germany overall.

Restaurants
pay 66.9% more in Switzerland
Groceries
pay 49.0% more in Switzerland
Transportation
pay 32.4% more in Switzerland
Housing
pay 85.5% more in Switzerland
Childcare
pay 3.1 times more in Switzerland
Entertainment and Sports
pay 71.7% more in Switzerland
Clothing
pay 49.9% more in Switzerland

The cost of childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, restaurants, clothing, and groceries in Switzerland are more expensive than in Germany. Notably, childcare and housing are significantly more expensive in Switzerland.

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Switzerland vs. Germany Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Switzerland instead of Germany, you would:

pay 66.9% more for restaurants

 
Germany
Switzerland
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $16.14
€14.65
$30.33
CHF25.44
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
 $12.34
€11.19
$18.14
CHF15.21
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $3.38
€3.06
$5.29
CHF4.43
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pay 49.0% more for groceries

 
Germany
Switzerland
Bread
1 loaf
 $2.14
€1.94
$3.50
CHF2.94
Local cheese (8 oz) $7.24
€6.57
$12.96
CHF10.87
Milk (1 gallon) $4.98
€4.52
$8.10
CHF6.80
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pay 32.4% more for transportation

 
Germany
Switzerland
Gasoline (1 gallon) $8.07
€7.32
$8.57
CHF7.19
Monthly public transit pass $65.73
€59.63
$118.70
CHF99.56
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $32,242.72
€29,248.99
$40,149.55
CHF33,674.19
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pay 85.5% more for housing

 
Germany
Switzerland
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
 $45.10
€40.91
$58.17
CHF48.79
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $839.53
€761.58
$1,813.65
CHF1,521.14
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $674.34
€611.73
$1,535.97
CHF1,288.24
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pay 3.1 times more for childcare

 
Germany
Switzerland
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $525.85
€477.02
$2,648.71
CHF2,221.52
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $17,045.97
€15,463.25
$33,203.62
CHF27,848.51
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pay 71.7% more for entertainment and sports

 
Germany
Switzerland
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.03
€4.56
$8.68
CHF7.28
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.91
€3.55
$5.95
CHF4.99
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
 $9.66
€8.76
$10.85
CHF9.10
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pay 49.9% more for clothing

 
Germany
Switzerland
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
 $89.23
€80.95
$135.00
CHF113.22
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
 $44.05
€39.96
$65.94
CHF55.30
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
 $100.05
€90.76
$152.86
CHF128.20
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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

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Compare further: Germany vs. Switzerland

Salary Calculator · Free tool
What salary would you need in Switzerland?
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Quality of Life Comparison · 12 statistics
Make 89.7% more money in Switzerland
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Size Comparison · See true size
Germany is about 9 times bigger than Switzerland.
→
Moving from Germany to Switzerland · OECD 2023
26,211 people moved from Germany to Switzerland.
→
City Size Comparison · See true size
Compare the size of Berlin vs Zurich
→
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