Cost of living comparison

compared to

Switzerland vs. Lausanne Cost of Living Summary

Switzerland is 2.3% more expensive than Lausanne.

Restaurants: pay 3.1% less in Switzerland
Groceries: pay 1.3% more in Switzerland
Transportation: pay 9.6% more in Switzerland
Housing: pay 4.0% less in Switzerland
Childcare: pay 3.8% less in Switzerland
Entertainment and Sports: pay 5.2% more in Switzerland
Clothing: pay 10.8% more in Switzerland

The cost of clothing, transportation, entertainment and sports, and groceries in Switzerland are more expensive than in Lausanne. Expenses including housing, childcare, and restaurants are lower in Switzerland.

Switzerland vs. Lausanne Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 3.1% less for restaurants

	Lausanne	Switzerland
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$35.05 CHF28.18	$32.37 CHF26.02	-7.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$19.97 CHF16.05	$18.82 CHF15.13	-5.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$5.27 CHF4.24	$5.26 CHF4.23	-0.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$4.72 CHF3.79	$4.76 CHF3.83	+0.9%
Average			-3.1%

Lausanne vs. Switzerland - Cost of restaurants

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pay 1.3% more for groceries

	Lausanne	Switzerland
Bread 1 loaf	$4.29 CHF3.45	$3.73 CHF2.99	-13.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$13.29 CHF10.68	$14.66 CHF11.79	+10.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.56 CHF6.88	$8.19 CHF6.59	-4.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$7.28 CHF5.85	$7.43 CHF5.97	+2.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$13.31 CHF10.70	$14.43 CHF11.60	+8.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.66 CHF1.34	$1.69 CHF1.36	+1.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.98 CHF0.79	$1.10 CHF0.89	+12.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.30 CHF1.04	$1.35 CHF1.08	+3.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$3.13 CHF2.51	$2.94 CHF2.36	-6.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.21 CHF0.97	$1.16 CHF0.94	-3.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.08 CHF0.87	$1.10 CHF0.88	+1.8%
Average			+1.3%

Lausanne vs. Switzerland - Cost of groceries

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pay 9.6% more for transportation

	Lausanne	Switzerland
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.45 CHF6.79	$8.41 CHF6.76	-0.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$97.65 CHF78.50	$119.36 CHF95.96	+22.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$41,061.59 CHF33,010.52	$40,637.10 CHF32,669.26	-1.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$38.31 CHF30.80	$45.06 CHF36.22	+17.6%
Average			+9.6%

Lausanne vs. Switzerland - Cost of transportation

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pay 4.0% less for housing

	Lausanne	Switzerland
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$56.65 CHF45.54	$59.20 CHF47.59	+4.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,899.72 CHF1,527.24	$1,797.02 CHF1,444.67	-5.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,547.78 CHF1,244.30	$1,562.03 CHF1,255.75	+0.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$235.21 CHF189.09	$197.97 CHF159.15	-15.8%
Average			-4.0%

Lausanne vs. Switzerland - Cost of housing

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pay 3.8% less for childcare

	Lausanne	Switzerland
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$2,816.73 CHF2,264.44	$2,700.86 CHF2,171.30	-4.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$34,551.83 CHF27,777.15	$33,359.10 CHF26,818.28	-3.5%
Average			-3.8%

Lausanne vs. Switzerland - Cost of childcare

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pay 5.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Lausanne	Switzerland
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$10.02 CHF8.05	$8.73 CHF7.01	-12.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$6.01 CHF4.83	$6.04 CHF4.86	+0.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$11.27 CHF9.06	$11.28 CHF9.07	+0.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$71.46 CHF57.45	$101.44 CHF81.55	+41.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$25.04 CHF20.13	$24.10 CHF19.37	-3.7%
Average			+5.2%

Lausanne vs. Switzerland - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 10.8% more for clothing

	Lausanne	Switzerland
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$110.17 CHF88.56	$142.30 CHF114.40	+29.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$70.72 CHF56.85	$70.55 CHF56.71	-0.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$153.20 CHF123.16	$162.86 CHF130.93	+6.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$187.78 CHF150.96	$202.63 CHF162.90	+7.9%
Average			+10.8%

Lausanne vs. Switzerland - Cost of clothing

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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: December 2025

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