Switzerland · Cost of living by city

Cost of living in Zurich

Prices for October 2026

Monthly living costs in Zurich, Switzerland, built from prices read directly at the original sources. Choose the number of adults and children to calculate by household size; every price opens its list of sources.

Calculate by household size

Currency

Total per month CHF 3,053 ≈ US$3,663

  • Rent (1-bedroom) CHF 2,384
  • Electricity, water, gas CHF 65
  • Internet & mobile CHF 108
  • Groceries CHF 116
  • Eating out CHF 293
  • Transport CHF 88

Amounts are rounded to the nearest unit, so the parts may differ from the total by 1 or 2 units. International school fees and other reference items are not included. How households are built is explained in How it is calculated.

Housing & utilities

Item Average price Low – high Samples Sources
Rent, 1-bedroom apartment, outside the centre CHF 2,384 / month CHF 1,434 – 3,310 77
77 sources
Rent, 3-bedroom apartment, outside the centre CHF 3,336 / month CHF 1,800 – 4,650 30
30 sources
Electricity, 200 kWh CHF 57.30 / month CHF 57.27 – 57.33 2
2 sources
Electricity, 450 kWh CHF 119 / month CHF 119 – 119 2
2 sources
Water, 4 m³ CHF 7.72 / month CHF 6.01 – 9.42 2
2 sources
Water, 15 m³ CHF 26.71 / month CHF 20.32 – 33.09 2
2 sources

Internet & mobile

Item Average price Low – high Samples Sources
Fixed internet, 100 Mbps or faster CHF 59.10 / month CHF 51.40 – 66.80 2
2 sources
Mobile plan, 10 GB or more CHF 48.45 / month CHF 31.90 – 65.00 2
2 sources

Groceries

Online retail prices of everyday items; a fixed basket of 15 items.

Item Average price Low – high Samples Sources
White rice CHF 1.77 / kg CHF 1.35 – 2.38 4
3 sources
Sandwich bread, 500 g loaf CHF 1.09 / loaf CHF 0.99 – 1.19 4
2 sources
Fresh milk CHF 1.39 / litre CHF 1.17 – 1.59 5
4 sources
Hen eggs CHF 0.43 / egg CHF 0.33 – 0.55 5
3 sources
Chicken breast fillet CHF 17.02 / kg CHF 13.50 – 22.50 4
2 sources
Fresh beef CHF 15.48 / kg CHF 15.37 – 15.58 4
2 sources
Tomatoes CHF 3.66 / kg CHF 3.40 – 3.80 3
3 sources
Potatoes CHF 1.44 / kg CHF 1.13 – 1.63 4
3 sources
Onions CHF 1.60 / kg CHF 1.50 – 1.70 4
3 sources
Lettuce CHF 1.75 / head CHF 1.29 – 1.95 4
4 sources
Apples CHF 2.80 / kg CHF 2.79 – 2.80 4
4 sources
Bananas CHF 1.20 / kg CHF 1.19 – 1.20 2
2 sources
Oranges CHF 1.58 / kg CHF 1.40 – 1.95 3
3 sources
Vegetable cooking oil CHF 4.14 / litre CHF 3.49 – 4.95 3
2 sources
Bottled water, 1.5 litres CHF 0.78 / bottle CHF 0.25 – 1.15 5
2 sources

Eating out

Item Average price Low – high Samples Sources
Meal at an inexpensive restaurant (main course, soft drink) CHF 26.67 / meal CHF 25.50 – 28.00 3
3 sources
Meal at a mid-range restaurant (starter or dessert, main course, soft drink) CHF 39.83 / meal CHF 33.00 – 45.50 3
3 sources

Transport

Item Average price Low – high Samples Sources
Monthly public transport pass, adult CHF 88.00 / month CHF 88.00 – 88.00 3
3 sources
Monthly public transport pass, child CHF 64.00 / month CHF 64.00 – 64.00 2
2 sources

School fees (reference)

For reference only; not added to the total.

Item Average price Low – high Samples Sources
International school tuition, Grade 3 CHF 30,050 / year CHF 26,380 – 33,300 4
4 sources

How it is calculated

  1. Prices: each item is the average of samples read straight from the original source: supermarket web shops, official tariffs of electricity, water, gas, mobile and transport operators, rental listings and restaurant menus. No price-aggregator sites are used. Every item opens its list of sources. Rents are for apartments outside the city centre.
  2. Housing: 1 to 2 people rent a 1-bedroom apartment; 3 to 6 people rent a 3-bedroom apartment. The calculator accepts households of up to 6 people because the largest apartment in the data has 3 bedrooms.
  3. Electricity, water, gas: linear interpolation by household size between the 1-person level (electricity 200 kWh, water 4 m³, gas 100 kWh) and the 4-person level (electricity 450 kWh, water 15 m³, gas 225 kWh); above 4 people the same slope is extended. Gas is left out where most apartments cook on electricity.
  4. Groceries: a fixed basket of 15 everyday items at online retail prices, one basket per adult and 0.6 of a basket per child. It is not a household’s full food spending.
  5. Eating out: per adult, 8 meals at an inexpensive restaurant and 2 at a mid-range restaurant a month; children are not counted.
  6. Internet and mobile: one internet plan per household and one mobile plan per adult.
  7. Transport: one adult monthly pass per adult and one child monthly pass per child.
  8. International school fees and other reference items are shown for information and are not added to the total.
  9. Where an item lacks enough data, that part and the total read “Not enough data”. Prosperous Intelligence does not estimate in its place.
  10. Conversion to US dollars uses central-bank exchange rates fixed to one day for the whole batch; the rate date and the dates prices were read are on the Data sources page.

Methodology · Data sources

See also

Cost of Living Index (0–⁠100 scale)  · Country profile: Switzerland  · Cities in Switzerland  · All cities

Reference data, not financial advice. Prices change over time; this page shows the prices of the month stated at the top.