Cost of living comparison

El Salvador

compared to

Switzerland

Bern vs. San Salvador Cost of Living Summary

Bern is 2.1 times more expensive than San Salvador.

Restaurants: pay 3.7 times more in Bern
Groceries: pay 31.5% more in Bern
Transportation: pay 92.9% more in Bern
Housing: pay 92.7% more in Bern
Childcare: pay 11.1 times more in Bern
Entertainment and Sports: pay 3.3 times more in Bern
Clothing: pay 55.9% more in Bern

The cost of childcare, restaurants, entertainment and sports, transportation, housing, and clothing in Bern are more expensive than in San Salvador. Notably, childcare, restaurants, and entertainment and sports are significantly more expensive in Bern.

Planning a move to Switzerland? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Bern vs. San Salvador Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Bern instead of San Salvador, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 3.7 times more for restaurants

	San Salvador	Bern
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.75 SVC59.06	$28.80 CHF23.79	+326.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.00 SVC61.25	$15.60 CHF12.88	+122.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.14 SVC10.01	$6.23 CHF5.15	+444.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.83 SVC7.29	$6.97 CHF5.76	+736.4%
Average			+272.6%

San Salvador vs. Bern - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 31.5% more for groceries

	San Salvador	Bern
Bread 1 loaf	$2.85 SVC24.94	$2.95 CHF2.43	+3.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.85 SVC33.72	$12.12 CHF10.01	+214.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.95 SVC60.81	$8.18 CHF6.75	+17.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.02 SVC26.39	$7.71 CHF6.37	+155.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.16 SVC27.66	$13.20 CHF10.90	+317.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.29 SVC20.07	$1.76 CHF1.46	-23.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.63 SVC5.54	$0.91 CHF0.75	+43.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.18 SVC10.35	$1.20 CHF0.99	+1.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.56 SVC13.68	$2.09 CHF1.73	+33.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.33 SVC11.65	$0.72 CHF0.60	-45.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.49 SVC13.05	$0.91 CHF0.75	-39.2%
Average			+31.5%

San Salvador vs. Bern - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 92.9% more for transportation

	San Salvador	Bern
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.75 SVC41.60	$8.82 CHF7.29	+85.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$37.50 SVC328.13	$98.40 CHF81.27	+162.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,000.00 SVC219K	$42,598.89 CHF35,183.79	+70.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$30.00 SVC262.50	$44.64 CHF36.87	+48.8%
Average			+92.9%

San Salvador vs. Bern - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 92.7% more for housing

	San Salvador	Bern
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$42.50 SVC371.88	$54.60 CHF45.09	+28.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$898.99 SVC7,866.27	$1,861.45 CHF1,537.43	+107.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$770.00 SVC6,737.58	$1,408.46 CHF1,163.29	+82.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$99.35 SVC869.35	$207.74 CHF171.58	+109.1%
Average			+92.7%

San Salvador vs. Bern - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 11.1 times more for childcare

	San Salvador	Bern
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$162.67 SVC1,423.35	$3,125.25 CHF2,581.25	+1821.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$4,720.00 SVC41,300.50	$30,462.54 CHF25,159.99	+545.4%
Average			+1013.5%

San Salvador vs. Bern - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 3.3 times more for entertainment and sports

	San Salvador	Bern
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.00 SVC17.50	$9.00 CHF7.43	+350.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.55 SVC31.02	$6.78 CHF5.60	+91.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.00 SVC35.00	$11.23 CHF9.28	+180.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.60 SVC276.50	$88.38 CHF72.99	+179.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.00 SVC43.75	$24.00 CHF19.82	+380.0%
Average			+226.4%

San Salvador vs. Bern - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 55.9% more for clothing

	San Salvador	Bern
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$67.15 SVC587.57	$139.98 CHF115.62	+108.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$47.00 SVC411.25	$60.81 CHF50.22	+29.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$118.33 SVC1,035.43	$155.71 CHF128.60	+31.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$117.00 SVC1,023.76	$194.99 CHF161.05	+66.7%
Average			+55.9%

San Salvador vs. Bern - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

Compare further: San Salvador vs. Bern

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Bern?

More cost comparisons

San Salvador vs.

Ho Chi Minh City

San Salvador vs.

Vienna

San Salvador vs.

Bangkok

San Salvador vs.

Toronto

San Salvador vs.

Quito

San Salvador vs.

Sydney

San Salvador vs.

Shanghai

San Salvador vs.

Reykjavik

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in El Salvador vs. Switzerland. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within El Salvador 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

Add prices for San Salvador

Add prices for Bern

Ask the Elsewhere Community

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