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

🙂 Solo nomad: Basel is 0.2% cheaper than Lucerne without rent, and 5.4% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Basel is 0.1% cheaper than Lucerne without rent, and 2.7% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$30.64 CHF 24.61

$36.26 CHF 29.12

-15.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$155 CHF 124

$139 CHF 112

11.25%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$20.06 CHF 16.11

$16.00 CHF 12.85

25.37%

Cappuccino

$6.82 CHF 5.48

$6.72 CHF 5.40

1.49%

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

$5.77 CHF 4.64

$5.39 CHF 4.33

7.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.11 CHF 4.10

$4.35 CHF 3.49

17.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.97 CHF 8.01

$8.87 CHF 7.12

12.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.40 CHF 5.94

$7.22 CHF 5.80

2.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.15 CHF 1.73

$2.23 CHF 1.79

-3.59%

White Bread (500g)

$3.87 CHF 3.11

$3.76 CHF 3.02

2.93%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$5.15 CHF 4.13

$4.11 CHF 3.30

25.30%

Eggs

$7.90 CHF 6.34

$7.93 CHF 6.37

-0.38%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$28.62 CHF 22.98

$30.37 CHF 24.39

-5.76%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$36.22 CHF 29.08

$34.66 CHF 27.83

4.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$43.52 CHF 34.95

$51.8 CHF 41.60

-16.00%

Apples (1kg)

$3.85 CHF 3.09

$3.75 CHF 3.01

2.67%

Banana (1kg)

$2.63 CHF 2.11

$2.26 CHF 1.81

16.37%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.24 CHF 3.40

$2.87 CHF 2.31

47.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.77 CHF 5.44

$6.30 CHF 5.06

7.46%

Potato (1kg)

$3.19 CHF 2.56

$2.49 CHF 2.00

28.11%

Onion (1kg)

$2.83 CHF 2.27

$2.49 CHF 2.00

13.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.57 CHF 2.07

$2.59 CHF 2.08

-0.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.49 CHF 1.20

$1.21 CHF 0.97

23.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.57 CHF 9.29

$11.20 CHF 8.99

3.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.93 CHF 11.99

$13.89 CHF 11.16

7.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.44 CHF 1.96

$2.51 CHF 2.02

-2.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.01 CHF 2.42

$3.30 CHF 2.65

-8.79%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.62 CHF 3.71

$4.99 CHF 4.00

-7.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$108 CHF 86.8

$96.7 CHF 77.6

11.78%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$8.03 CHF 6.45

$7.94 CHF 6.37

1.13%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$4.28 CHF 3.44

$4.47 CHF 3.59

-4.25%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$85.4 CHF 68.6

$87.3 CHF 70.1

-2.17%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.24 CHF 1.80

$2.20 CHF 1.76

1.82%

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

$40.7K CHF 32.7K

$39.9K CHF 32.0K

2.06%

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

$45.7K CHF 36.7K

$43.1K CHF 34.6K

5.93%

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

$298 CHF 240

$246 CHF 198

21.26%

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

$54.6 CHF 43.86

$73.2 CHF 58.8

-25.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$59.1 CHF 47.46

$55.4 CHF 44.47

6.72%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$91.9 CHF 73.8

$94.6 CHF 76.0

-2.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$41.57 CHF 33.38

$44.61 CHF 35.82

-6.81%

Cinema Ticket

$22.54 CHF 18.10

$22.05 CHF 17.71

2.22%

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

$2,618 CHF 2,102

$2,876 CHF 2,309

-8.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$34.1K CHF 27.4K

$43.4K CHF 34.8K

-21.47%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$132 CHF 106

$140 CHF 112

-5.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$87.5 CHF 70.3

$78.2 CHF 62.8

11.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$178 CHF 143

$131 CHF 105

36.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$234 CHF 188

$160 CHF 128

46.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,089 CHF 1,677

$2,027 CHF 1,627

3.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,513 CHF 1,215

$1,778 CHF 1,428

-14.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,732 CHF 2,996

$2,924 CHF 2,348

27.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,828 CHF 2,271

$2,840 CHF 2,280

-0.42%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$17.3K CHF 13.9K

$20.1K CHF 16.2K

-14.12%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$13.3K CHF 10.7K

$12.4K CHF 9,952

7.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$7,802 CHF 6,265

$6,710 CHF 5,388

16.26%

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: January 12, 2026

Last update for Lucerne: January 13, 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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