Cost of living comparison
compared to
Zurich vs. Milan Cost of Living Summary
Zurich is 85.8% more expensive than Milan.
- Restaurants
-
pay 2.1 times more in Zurich
- Groceries
-
pay 36.3% more in Zurich
- Transportation
-
pay 48.9% more in Zurich
- Housing
-
pay 64.7% more in Zurich
- Childcare
-
pay 3.4 times more in Zurich
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 87.5% more in Zurich
- Clothing
-
pay 19.9% more in Zurich
The cost of childcare, restaurants, entertainment and sports, housing, transportation, and groceries in Zurich are more expensive than in Milan. Notably, childcare, restaurants, and entertainment and sports are significantly more expensive in Zurich.
Zurich vs. Milan Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Zurich instead of Milan, you would:
pay 2.1 times more for restaurants
|
Milan
|
Zurich
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$23.36
€20.14
|
$31.30
CHF25.12
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.96
€11.18
|
$21.28
CHF17.08
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.32
€2.86
|
$6.01
CHF4.83
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.53
€1.32
|
$5.24
CHF4.20
|
|
Milan vs. Zurich - Cost of restaurants
pay 36.3% more for groceries
|
Milan
|
Zurich
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.86
€2.47
|
$3.30
CHF2.65
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$9.79
€8.44
|
$14.81
CHF11.89
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.72
€5.79
|
$8.35
CHF6.71
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.83
€4.17
|
$7.29
CHF5.85
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.05
€5.22
|
$14.64
CHF11.75
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.26
€1.09
|
$1.87
CHF1.50
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.07
€0.92
|
$1.34
CHF1.08
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.54
€1.32
|
$1.46
CHF1.18
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.81
€1.56
|
$2.46
CHF1.98
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.15
€0.99
|
$1.22
CHF0.98
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.98
€0.85
|
$1.04
CHF0.83
|
|
Milan vs. Zurich - Cost of groceries
pay 48.9% more for transportation
|
Milan
|
Zurich
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.88
€6.80
|
$8.63
CHF6.93
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$45.55
€39.28
|
$108.91
CHF87.43
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,037.93
€30,214.15
|
$41,061.59
CHF32,963.30
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$25.81
€22.26
|
$33.55
CHF26.93
|
|
Milan vs. Zurich - Cost of transportation
pay 64.7% more for housing
|
Milan
|
Zurich
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$30.83
€26.58
|
$59.74
CHF47.96
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,697.53
€1,463.82
|
$2,666.50
CHF2,140.60
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,198.14
€1,033.19
|
$2,285.53
CHF1,834.77
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$171.63
€148.00
|
$200.77
CHF161.17
|
|
Milan vs. Zurich - Cost of housing
pay 3.4 times more for childcare
|
Milan
|
Zurich
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$875.21
€754.71
|
$3,558.15
CHF2,856.40
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$16,491.19
€14,220.79
|
$44,295.61
CHF35,559.50
|
|
Milan vs. Zurich - Cost of childcare
pay 87.5% more for entertainment and sports
|
Milan
|
Zurich
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.01
€6.04
|
$10.02
CHF8.04
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.26
€1.95
|
$6.91
CHF5.55
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$7.01
€6.04
|
$11.27
CHF9.04
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$78.35
€67.57
|
$88.77
CHF71.27
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.68
€10.07
|
$25.04
CHF20.10
|
|
Milan vs. Zurich - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 19.9% more for clothing
|
Milan
|
Zurich
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$114.22
€98.50
|
$137.88
CHF110.68
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$57.07
€49.21
|
$59.35
CHF47.64
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$116.09
€100.11
|
$159.90
CHF128.36
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$180.01
€155.23
|
$210.59
CHF169.05
|
|
Milan vs. Zurich - 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
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