Cost of living comparison

Switzerland

compared to

Iran

Karaj vs. Zurich Cost of Living Summary

Karaj is 86.4% cheaper than Zurich.

Restaurants: pay 85.0% less in Karaj
Groceries: pay 81.0% less in Karaj
Transportation: pay 84.7% less in Karaj
Housing: pay 88.3% less in Karaj
Childcare: pay 97.6% less in Karaj
Entertainment and Sports: pay 89.3% less in Karaj
Clothing: pay 65.0% less in Karaj

Expenses including childcare, entertainment and sports, housing, restaurants, transportation, and groceries are lower in Karaj.

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Karaj vs. Zurich Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 85.0% less for restaurants

	Zurich	Karaj
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$34.80 CHF28.74	$3.75 IRR5M	-89.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$18.00 CHF14.87	$4.00 IRR5M	-77.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$5.76 CHF4.76	$0.45 IRR623K	-92.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$5.27 CHF4.35	$1.69 IRR2M	-67.9%
Average			-85.0%

Zurich vs. Karaj - Cost of restaurants

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pay 81.0% less for groceries

	Zurich	Karaj
Bread 1 loaf	$3.88 CHF3.20	$0.50 IRR686K	-87.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$13.44 CHF11.10	$2.21 IRR3M	-83.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.14 CHF6.73	$2.53 IRR3M	-69.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$8.45 CHF6.98	$1.05 IRR1M	-87.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$12.65 CHF10.45	$1.53 IRR2M	-87.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.86 CHF1.54	$0.40 IRR550K	-78.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.25 CHF1.03	$0.78 IRR1M	-37.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.56 CHF1.29	$0.34 IRR471K	-78.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.06 CHF1.70	$0.22 IRR301K	-89.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.14 CHF0.94	$0.20 IRR274K	-82.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.99 CHF0.82	$0.21 IRR284K	-79.1%
Average			-81.0%

Zurich vs. Karaj - Cost of groceries

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pay 84.7% less for transportation

	Zurich	Karaj
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.85 CHF7.31	$0.34 IRR462K	-96.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$105.60 CHF87.22	$13.00 IRR18M	-87.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$39,298.98 CHF32,458.28	$50,000.00 IRR69B	+27.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$44.58 CHF36.82	$2.70 IRR4M	-93.9%
Average			-84.7%

Zurich vs. Karaj - Cost of transportation

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pay 88.3% less for housing

	Zurich	Karaj
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$55.12 CHF45.52	$3.70 IRR5M	-93.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,960.13 CHF2,444.87	$292.57 IRR402M	-90.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$2,334.69 CHF1,928.29	$489.49 IRR673M	-79.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$211.70 CHF174.85	$9.95 IRR14M	-95.3%
Average			-88.3%

Zurich vs. Karaj - Cost of housing

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pay 97.6% less for childcare

	Zurich	Karaj
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$3,558.83 CHF2,939.35	$107.76 IRR148M	-97.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$42,145.57 CHF34,809.38	$827.70 IRR1B	-98.0%
Average			-97.6%

Zurich vs. Karaj - Cost of childcare

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pay 89.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Zurich	Karaj
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$9.60 CHF7.93	$0.50 IRR687K	-94.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$6.99 CHF5.77	$1.08 IRR1M	-84.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$10.80 CHF8.92	$2.50 IRR3M	-76.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$90.03 CHF74.36	$22.73 IRR31M	-74.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$24.60 CHF20.32	$1.09 IRR2M	-95.6%
Average			-89.3%

Zurich vs. Karaj - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 65.0% less for clothing

	Zurich	Karaj
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$141.16 CHF116.59	$25.00 IRR34M	-82.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$58.43 CHF48.26	$28.33 IRR39M	-51.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$163.33 CHF134.90	$97.31 IRR134M	-40.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$255.33 CHF210.88	$75.17 IRR103M	-70.6%
Average			-65.0%

Zurich vs. Karaj - 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 October 2026). How we calculate this

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