Cost of living comparison

United Kingdom

compared to

Switzerland

Zurich vs. London Cost of Living Summary

Zurich is 17.1% more expensive than London.

Restaurants: pay 59.4% more in Zurich
Groceries: pay 58.8% more in Zurich
Transportation: pay 12.3% less in Zurich
Housing: pay 0.4% less in Zurich
Childcare: pay 21.2% more in Zurich
Entertainment and Sports: pay 16.5% more in Zurich
Clothing: pay 28.7% more in Zurich

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

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Zurich vs. London Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Zurich instead of London, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 59.4% more for restaurants

	London	Zurich
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$26.43 £19.76	$34.80 CHF28.71	+31.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.57 £7.90	$18.00 CHF14.85	+70.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.95 £2.21	$5.76 CHF4.75	+94.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.16 £1.61	$5.27 CHF4.35	+144.5%
Average			+59.4%

London vs. Zurich - Cost of restaurants

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pay 58.8% more for groceries

	London	Zurich
Bread 1 loaf	$2.04 £1.52	$3.88 CHF3.20	+90.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.36 £4.75	$13.44 CHF11.09	+111.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.98 £5.22	$8.14 CHF6.72	+16.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.01 £3.74	$8.45 CHF6.97	+68.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.81 £3.60	$12.65 CHF10.44	+162.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.40 £1.05	$1.86 CHF1.54	+32.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.63 £0.47	$1.25 CHF1.03	+97.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.38 £1.03	$1.56 CHF1.29	+13.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.52 £1.13	$2.06 CHF1.70	+35.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.74 £0.55	$1.14 CHF0.94	+55.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.80 £0.60	$0.99 CHF0.82	+23.9%
Average			+58.8%

London vs. Zurich - Cost of groceries

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pay 12.3% less for transportation

	London	Zurich
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.95 £5.94	$8.85 CHF7.30	+11.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$245.79 £183.77	$105.60 CHF87.13	-57.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$38,182.92 £28,549.06	$39,298.98 CHF32,424.72	+2.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$31.77 £23.75	$44.58 CHF36.78	+40.3%
Average			-12.3%

London vs. Zurich - Cost of transportation

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pay 0.4% less for housing

	London	Zurich
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$40.48 £30.27	$55.12 CHF45.48	+36.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,841.09 £2,124.26	$2,960.13 CHF2,442.34	+4.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$2,287.10 £1,710.05	$2,334.69 CHF1,926.30	+2.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$284.00 £212.35	$211.70 CHF174.67	-25.5%
Average			-0.4%

London vs. Zurich - Cost of housing

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pay 21.2% more for childcare

	London	Zurich
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$2,857.20 £2,136.31	$3,558.83 CHF2,936.31	+24.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$35,755.44 £26,734.06	$42,145.57 CHF34,773.38	+17.9%
Average			+21.2%

London vs. Zurich - Cost of childcare

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pay 16.5% more for entertainment and sports

	London	Zurich
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$9.25 £6.92	$9.60 CHF7.92	+3.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.62 £4.20	$6.99 CHF5.77	+24.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$23.46 £17.54	$10.80 CHF8.91	-54.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$60.55 £45.27	$90.03 CHF74.28	+48.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$17.84 £13.34	$24.60 CHF20.30	+37.9%
Average			+16.5%

London vs. Zurich - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 28.7% more for clothing

	London	Zurich
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$113.97 £85.22	$141.16 CHF116.47	+23.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$53.96 £40.34	$58.43 CHF48.21	+8.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$125.54 £93.86	$163.33 CHF134.76	+30.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$162.46 £121.47	$255.33 CHF210.66	+57.2%
Average			+28.7%

London vs. Zurich - Cost of clothing

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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 October 2026). How we calculate this

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