Cost of living comparison
compared to
Bern vs. Zurich Cost of Living Summary
Bern is 1.9% more expensive than Zurich.
- Restaurants
-
pay 9.6% less in Bern
- Groceries
-
pay 1.4% more in Bern
- Transportation
-
pay 27.9% more in Bern
- Housing
-
pay 7.9% less in Bern
- Childcare
-
pay 5.8% less in Bern
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 2.1% less in Bern
- Clothing
-
pay 9.5% more in Bern
The cost of transportation, clothing, and groceries in Bern are more expensive than in Zurich. Expenses including restaurants, housing, childcare, and entertainment and sports are lower in Bern.
Bern vs. Zurich Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Bern instead of Zurich, you would:
pay 9.6% less for restaurants
|
Zurich
|
Bern
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$31.30
CHF24.91
|
$29.22
CHF23.26
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$21.28
CHF16.94
|
$18.77
CHF14.94
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$6.01
CHF4.79
|
$5.16
CHF4.11
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$5.24
CHF4.17
|
$4.93
CHF3.92
|
|
Zurich vs. Bern - Cost of restaurants
pay 1.4% more for groceries
|
Zurich
|
Bern
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.30
CHF2.62
|
$3.73
CHF2.97
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$14.81
CHF11.79
|
$14.58
CHF11.60
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$8.35
CHF6.65
|
$8.60
CHF6.84
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$7.29
CHF5.80
|
$7.49
CHF5.96
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$14.64
CHF11.65
|
$15.45
CHF12.30
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.87
CHF1.48
|
$1.72
CHF1.37
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.34
CHF1.07
|
$1.03
CHF0.82
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.46
CHF1.17
|
$1.44
CHF1.14
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.46
CHF1.96
|
$3.39
CHF2.70
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.22
CHF0.97
|
$1.04
CHF0.83
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.04
CHF0.82
|
$1.05
CHF0.84
|
|
Zurich vs. Bern - Cost of groceries
pay 27.9% more for transportation
|
Zurich
|
Bern
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$8.63
CHF6.87
|
$8.42
CHF6.71
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$108.91
CHF86.69
|
$100.10
CHF79.68
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$41,061.59
CHF32,684.70
|
$41,041.86
CHF32,668.99
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$33.55
CHF26.71
|
$65.19
CHF51.89
|
|
Zurich vs. Bern - Cost of transportation
pay 7.9% less for housing
|
Zurich
|
Bern
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$59.74
CHF47.55
|
$63.82
CHF50.80
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,666.50
CHF2,122.51
|
$1,948.71
CHF1,551.15
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,285.53
CHF1,819.26
|
$1,636.67
CHF1,302.78
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$200.77
CHF159.81
|
$234.53
CHF186.68
|
|
Zurich vs. Bern - Cost of housing
pay 5.8% less for childcare
|
Zurich
|
Bern
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$3,558.15
CHF2,832.26
|
$3,420.16
CHF2,722.42
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$44,295.61
CHF35,258.95
|
$40,875.03
CHF32,536.19
|
|
Zurich vs. Bern - Cost of childcare
pay 2.1% less for entertainment and sports
|
Zurich
|
Bern
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$10.02
CHF7.97
|
$9.38
CHF7.47
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.91
CHF5.50
|
$6.19
CHF4.93
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.27
CHF8.97
|
$11.76
CHF9.36
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$88.77
CHF70.66
|
$81.65
CHF64.99
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$25.04
CHF19.93
|
$27.53
CHF21.91
|
|
Zurich vs. Bern - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 9.5% more for clothing
|
Zurich
|
Bern
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$137.88
CHF109.75
|
$155.91
CHF124.10
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$59.35
CHF47.24
|
$70.91
CHF56.44
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$159.90
CHF127.28
|
$167.05
CHF132.97
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$210.59
CHF167.63
|
$212.36
CHF169.04
|
|
Zurich vs. Bern - 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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