Cost of Living Comparison Between Basel and Lucerne Cost of Living Comparison Between Basel and Lucerne

🙂 Solo nomad: Basel is 0.6% cheaper than Lucerne without rent, and 3.9% cheaper with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Basel is 0.8% more expensive than Lucerne without rent, and 1.1% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$30.35 CHF 23.70

$36.82 CHF 28.75

-17.57%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$154 CHF 121

$143 CHF 112

7.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$19.43 CHF 15.17

$15.89 CHF 12.41

22.28%

Cappuccino

$7.03 CHF 5.49

$6.48 CHF 5.06

8.49%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.76 CHF 4.50

$5.21 CHF 4.07

10.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.06 CHF 3.95

$4.36 CHF 3.41

16.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.82 CHF 7.67

$8.66 CHF 6.76

13.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.29 CHF 5.69

$7.51 CHF 5.87

-2.93%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.19 CHF 1.71

$2.26 CHF 1.76

-3.10%

White Bread (500g)

$3.88 CHF 3.03

$3.65 CHF 2.85

6.30%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$5.15 CHF 4.02

$4.26 CHF 3.33

20.89%

Eggs

$7.87 CHF 6.14

$7.80 CHF 6.09

0.90%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$28.96 CHF 22.62

$30.10 CHF 23.51

-3.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$36.22 CHF 28.29

$35.69 CHF 27.88

1.49%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$43.87 CHF 34.26

$52.1 CHF 40.70

-15.83%

Apples (1kg)

$3.95 CHF 3.08

$3.67 CHF 2.86

7.63%

Banana (1kg)

$2.61 CHF 2.04

$2.21 CHF 1.73

18.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.05 CHF 3.16

$2.94 CHF 2.30

37.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.96 CHF 5.43

$6.39 CHF 4.99

8.92%

Potato (1kg)

$3.28 CHF 2.56

$2.39 CHF 1.87

37.24%

Onion (1kg)

$2.92 CHF 2.28

$2.49 CHF 1.94

17.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.62 CHF 2.05

$2.61 CHF 2.04

0.38%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.55 CHF 1.21

$1.28 CHF 1.00

21.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.87 CHF 9.27

$11.06 CHF 8.64

7.32%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.48 CHF 12.09

$14.23 CHF 11.12

8.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.47 CHF 1.93

$2.40 CHF 1.87

2.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.15 CHF 2.46

$3.42 CHF 2.67

-7.89%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.80 CHF 3.75

$5.00 CHF 3.90

-4.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$107 CHF 83.5

$98.4 CHF 76.9

8.61%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$8.15 CHF 6.37

$8.00 CHF 6.25

1.88%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$4.18 CHF 3.27

$4.55 CHF 3.55

-8.13%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$86.7 CHF 67.7

$88.2 CHF 68.9

-1.69%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.15 CHF 1.68

$2.24 CHF 1.75

-4.02%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$40.6K CHF 31.7K

$39.8K CHF 31.1K

1.98%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$45.3K CHF 35.3K

$41.8K CHF 32.6K

8.39%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$299 CHF 233

$246 CHF 192

21.39%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$54.6 CHF 42.61

$74.8 CHF 58.4

-27.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$60.4 CHF 47.13

$57.4 CHF 44.84

5.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$88.5 CHF 69.1

$92.0 CHF 71.8

-3.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$41.45 CHF 32.37

$44.38 CHF 34.66

-6.60%

Cinema Ticket

$23.14 CHF 18.07

$22.01 CHF 17.19

5.13%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$2,625 CHF 2,050

$2,899 CHF 2,264

-9.46%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$34.2K CHF 26.7K

$42.6K CHF 33.2K

-19.65%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$133 CHF 104

$140 CHF 109

-4.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$88.7 CHF 69.3

$75.8 CHF 59.2

17.01%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$178 CHF 139

$133 CHF 104

34.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$230 CHF 179

$161 CHF 126

42.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,087 CHF 1,630

$2,053 CHF 1,603

1.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,476 CHF 1,153

$1,748 CHF 1,365

-15.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,778 CHF 2,951

$2,978 CHF 2,326

26.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,825 CHF 2,206

$2,885 CHF 2,253

-2.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$17.7K CHF 13.8K

$20.8K CHF 16.2K

-14.85%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$13.6K CHF 10.6K

$12.6K CHF 9,853

7.68%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$8,090 CHF 6,318

$6,989 CHF 5,458

15.76%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.55

2.5

2.00%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Basel: March 3, 2026

Last update for Lucerne: March 1, 2026

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated December 2025)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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