Cost of living comparison

Norway

compared to

Switzerland

Zurich vs. Oslo Cost of Living Summary

Zurich is 30.6% more expensive than Oslo.

Restaurants: pay 42.4% more in Zurich
Groceries: pay 9.3% more in Zurich
Transportation: pay 5.1% more in Zurich
Housing: pay 28.4% more in Zurich
Childcare: pay 6.4 times more in Zurich
Entertainment and Sports: pay 10.3% more in Zurich
Clothing: pay 29.1% more in Zurich

The cost of childcare, restaurants, clothing, housing, entertainment and sports, and groceries in Zurich are more expensive than in Oslo. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Zurich.

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Zurich vs. Oslo Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 42.4% more for restaurants

	Oslo	Zurich
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$20.88 NOK192.29	$34.80 CHF28.67	+66.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$15.66 NOK144.22	$18.00 CHF14.83	+14.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$4.29 NOK39.54	$5.76 CHF4.75	+34.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$3.35 NOK30.82	$5.27 CHF4.34	+57.5%
Average			+42.4%

Oslo vs. Zurich - Cost of restaurants

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pay 9.3% more for groceries

	Oslo	Zurich
Bread 1 loaf	$4.16 NOK38.31	$3.88 CHF3.20	-6.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.40 NOK68.15	$13.44 CHF11.08	+81.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$9.52 NOK87.62	$8.14 CHF6.71	-14.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.92 NOK54.53	$8.45 CHF6.96	+42.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$7.01 NOK64.58	$12.65 CHF10.43	+80.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.50 NOK13.83	$1.86 CHF1.53	+23.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.20 NOK11.01	$1.25 CHF1.03	+4.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.57 NOK14.48	$1.56 CHF1.29	-0.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.66 NOK24.54	$2.06 CHF1.70	-22.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.22 NOK11.24	$1.14 CHF0.94	-6.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.29 NOK11.92	$0.99 CHF0.81	-23.6%
Average			+9.3%

Oslo vs. Zurich - Cost of groceries

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pay 5.1% more for transportation

	Oslo	Zurich
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$9.05 NOK83.33	$8.85 CHF7.29	-2.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$81.23 NOK748.01	$105.60 CHF87.00	+30.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$48,017.78 NOK442K	$39,298.98 CHF32,376.11	-18.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$26.52 NOK244.21	$44.58 CHF36.73	+68.1%
Average			+5.1%

Oslo vs. Zurich - Cost of transportation

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pay 28.4% more for housing

	Oslo	Zurich
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$55.32 NOK509.38	$55.12 CHF45.41	-0.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,027.04 NOK18,665.99	$2,960.13 CHF2,438.68	+46.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,564.65 NOK14,408.09	$2,334.69 CHF1,923.41	+49.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$318.93 NOK2,936.86	$211.70 CHF174.41	-33.6%
Average			+28.4%

Oslo vs. Zurich - Cost of housing

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pay 6.4 times more for childcare

	Oslo	Zurich
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$235.44 NOK2,168.07	$3,558.83 CHF2,931.91	+1411.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$15,500.12 NOK143K	$42,145.57 CHF34,721.25	+171.9%
Average			+541.1%

Oslo vs. Zurich - Cost of childcare

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pay 10.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Oslo	Zurich
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$11.69 NOK107.68	$9.60 CHF7.91	-17.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.92 NOK54.55	$6.99 CHF5.76	+18.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$18.79 NOK173.06	$10.80 CHF8.90	-42.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$58.98 NOK543.10	$90.03 CHF74.17	+52.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$19.84 NOK182.68	$24.60 CHF20.27	+24.0%
Average			+10.3%

Oslo vs. Zurich - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 29.1% more for clothing

	Oslo	Zurich
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$100.13 NOK922.03	$141.16 CHF116.29	+41.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$59.75 NOK550.16	$58.43 CHF48.14	-2.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$132.59 NOK1,220.95	$163.33 CHF134.56	+23.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$156.09 NOK1,437.37	$255.33 CHF210.35	+63.6%
Average			+29.1%

Oslo 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 November 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Oslo vs. Zurich

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Size Comparison · See true size

Oslo is about 5 times bigger than Zurich.

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