Cost of living comparison
compared to
Lugano vs. Milan Cost of Living Summary
Lugano is 47.5% more expensive than Milan.
- Restaurants
-
pay 80.5% more in Lugano
- Groceries
-
pay 34.3% more in Lugano
- Transportation
-
pay 57.1% more in Lugano
- Housing
-
pay 17.8% more in Lugano
- Childcare
-
pay 79.0% more in Lugano
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 53.7% more in Lugano
- Clothing
-
pay 9.8% more in Lugano
The cost of restaurants, childcare, transportation, entertainment and sports, groceries, and housing in Lugano are more expensive than in Milan. Notably, restaurants and childcare are significantly more expensive in Lugano.
Lugano vs. Milan Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Lugano instead of Milan, you would:
pay 80.5% more for restaurants
|
Milan
|
Lugano
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$23.36
€19.90
|
$31.28
CHF24.90
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.96
€11.05
|
$22.52
CHF17.93
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.32
€2.83
|
$4.90
CHF3.90
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.53
€1.30
|
$4.07
CHF3.24
|
|
Milan vs. Lugano - Cost of restaurants
pay 34.3% more for groceries
|
Milan
|
Lugano
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.86
€2.44
|
$3.58
CHF2.85
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$9.79
€8.34
|
$13.76
CHF10.96
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.72
€5.72
|
$8.68
CHF6.91
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.83
€4.12
|
$6.99
CHF5.57
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.05
€5.15
|
$17.11
CHF13.62
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.26
€1.08
|
$1.43
CHF1.14
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.07
€0.91
|
$0.88
CHF0.70
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.54
€1.31
|
$1.22
CHF0.97
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.81
€1.54
|
$3.33
CHF2.65
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.15
€0.98
|
$1.03
CHF0.82
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.98
€0.84
|
$1.04
CHF0.83
|
|
Milan vs. Lugano - Cost of groceries
pay 57.1% more for transportation
|
Milan
|
Lugano
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.88
€6.72
|
$8.39
CHF6.68
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$45.55
€38.81
|
$89.88
CHF71.55
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,037.93
€29,852.53
|
$41,041.86
CHF32,668.99
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$25.81
€21.99
|
$53.55
CHF42.63
|
|
Milan vs. Lugano - Cost of transportation
pay 17.8% more for housing
|
Milan
|
Lugano
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$30.83
€26.26
|
$53.80
CHF42.83
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,697.53
€1,446.30
|
$1,699.65
CHF1,352.91
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,198.14
€1,020.82
|
$1,272.13
CHF1,012.61
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$171.63
€146.23
|
$155.01
CHF123.39
|
|
Milan vs. Lugano - Cost of housing
pay 79.0% more for childcare
|
Milan
|
Lugano
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$875.21
€745.68
|
$1,251.28
CHF996.01
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$16,491.19
€14,050.59
|
$35,452.83
CHF28,220.17
|
|
Milan vs. Lugano - Cost of childcare
pay 53.7% more for entertainment and sports
|
Milan
|
Lugano
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.01
€5.97
|
$7.51
CHF5.98
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.26
€1.92
|
$4.55
CHF3.62
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$7.01
€5.97
|
$11.07
CHF8.81
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$78.35
€66.76
|
$110.53
CHF87.98
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.68
€9.95
|
$18.77
CHF14.94
|
|
Milan vs. Lugano - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 9.8% more for clothing
|
Milan
|
Lugano
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$114.22
€97.32
|
$151.72
CHF120.77
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$57.07
€48.62
|
$52.14
CHF41.50
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$116.09
€98.91
|
$150.15
CHF119.52
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$180.01
€153.37
|
$154.32
CHF122.84
|
|
Milan vs. Lugano - 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: December 2025
Change currency:
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in Italy vs. Switzerland.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Italy and Switzerland.
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
ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Lugano or Milan. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.