Cost of living comparison

Switzerland

compared to

French Polynesia

Papeete vs. Lugano Cost of Living Summary

Papeete is 10.5% cheaper than Lugano.

Restaurants: pay 35.0% less in Papeete
Groceries: pay 9.6% more in Papeete
Transportation: pay 67.6% more in Papeete
Housing: pay 5.1% less in Papeete
Childcare: pay 66.7% less in Papeete
Entertainment and Sports: pay 20.3% less in Papeete
Clothing: pay 23.6% less in Papeete

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

Papeete vs. Lugano Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Papeete instead of Lugano, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 35.0% less for restaurants

	Lugano	Papeete
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$31.28 CHF24.91	$19.58 CFPF2,027	-37.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$22.52 CHF17.93	$14.68 CFPF1,520	-34.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$4.90 CHF3.90	$3.13 CFPF324	-36.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$4.07 CHF3.24	$2.77 CFPF287	-31.8%
Average			-35.0%

Lugano vs. Papeete - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 9.6% more for groceries

	Lugano	Papeete
Bread 1 loaf	$3.58 CHF2.85	$0.78 CFPF81	-78.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$13.76 CHF10.96	$13.05 CFPF1,351	-5.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.68 CHF6.91	$6.30 CFPF652	-27.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.99 CHF5.57	$6.48 CFPF671	-7.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$17.11 CHF13.62	$7.66 CFPF793	-55.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.43 CHF1.14	$2.37 CFPF245	+66.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.88 CHF0.70	$1.22 CFPF126	+38.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.22 CHF0.97	$2.66 CFPF276	+119.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$3.33 CHF2.65	$3.55 CFPF368	+6.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.03 CHF0.82	$1.37 CFPF141	+32.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.04 CHF0.83	$1.22 CFPF126	+17.1%
Average			+9.6%

Lugano vs. Papeete - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 67.6% more for transportation

	Lugano	Papeete
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.39 CHF6.68	$5.99 CFPF620	-28.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$89.88 CHF71.57	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$41,041.86 CHF32,678.48	$19,575.51 CFPF2M	-52.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$53.55 CHF42.64	$205.54 CFPF21,283	+283.8%
Average			+67.6%

Lugano vs. Papeete - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 5.1% less for housing

	Lugano	Papeete
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$53.80 CHF42.84	$68.84 CFPF7,128	+27.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,699.65 CHF1,353.30	$1,394.76 CFPF144K	-17.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,272.13 CHF1,012.90	$978.78 CFPF101K	-23.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$155.01 CHF123.42	$144.08 CFPF14,919	-7.1%
Average			-5.1%

Lugano vs. Papeete - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 66.7% less for childcare

	Lugano	Papeete
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,251.28 CHF996.29	$489.39 CFPF50,674	-60.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$35,452.83 CHF28,228.36	$9,787.76 CFPF1M	-72.4%
Average			-66.7%

Lugano vs. Papeete - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 20.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Lugano	Papeete
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$7.51 CHF5.98	$3.18 CFPF329	-57.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.55 CHF3.62	$4.04 CFPF418	-11.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$11.07 CHF8.82	$12.14 CFPF1,257	+9.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$110.53 CHF88.01	$88.09 CFPF9,121	-20.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$18.77 CHF14.94	$14.68 CFPF1,520	-21.8%
Average			-20.3%

Lugano vs. Papeete - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 23.6% less for clothing

	Lugano	Papeete
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$151.72 CHF120.80	$71.74 CFPF7,429	-52.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$52.14 CHF41.51	$75.01 CFPF7,767	+43.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$150.15 CHF119.56	$81.53 CFPF8,442	-45.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$154.32 CHF122.88	$92.98 CFPF9,628	-39.7%
Average			-23.6%

Lugano vs. Papeete - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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: June 2026

Compare further: Lugano vs. Papeete

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Papeete?

More cost comparisons

Lugano vs.

Kiev

Lugano vs.

Rome

Lugano vs.

Reykjavik

Lugano vs.

Hanoi

Lugano vs.

Hong Kong

Lugano vs.

London

Lugano vs.

Madrid

Lugano vs.

Warsaw

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Switzerland vs. French Polynesia. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Switzerland and French Polynesia.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Lugano

Add prices for Papeete

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Papeete or Lugano. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.