Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lausanne and Rapperswil

For one person, living is cheaper in Rapperswil: $3,330 a month against $3,837 in Lausanne, rent and utilities included – about $6,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

183

Cost of Living Index in Lausanne
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Lausanne Living Index
161

Cost of Living Index in Rapperswil
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Rapperswil Living Index

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Lausanne

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,837

/mo nomad

Rapperswil

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,330

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lausanne and in Rapperswil

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Lausanne and in Rapperswil actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,837 in Lausanne versus $3,330 in Rapperswil.

Lausanne $3,837
Rapperswil $3,330

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,789 in Lausanne versus $5,029 in Rapperswil.

Lausanne $5,789
Rapperswil $5,029

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $7,741 in Lausanne versus $6,729 in Rapperswil.

Lausanne $7,741
Rapperswil $6,729

Living in Lausanne is roughly 15% more expensive than in Rapperswil, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lausanne 182% above, Rapperswil 145% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$30.81 CHF 25.54

$23.80 CHF 19.73

29.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$116 CHF 95.9

$95.5 CHF 79.2

21.14%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$17.81 CHF 14.76

$16.02 CHF 13.28

11.17%

Cappuccino

$6.13 CHF 5.08

$6.08 CHF 5.04

0.82%

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

$5.17 CHF 4.29

$4.70 CHF 3.90

10.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.15 CHF 3.44

$4.82 CHF 3.99

-13.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$10.14 CHF 8.41

$8.65 CHF 7.17

17.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.59 CHF 7.95

$6.00 CHF 4.97

59.83%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.22 CHF 1.84

$2.14 CHF 1.78

3.74%

White Bread (500g)

$3.81 CHF 3.16

$3.39 CHF 2.81

12.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.28 CHF 2.72

$4.35 CHF 3.61

-24.60%

Eggs

$7.24 CHF 6.00

$7.80 CHF 6.46

-7.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$24.40 CHF 20.23

$26.76 CHF 22.18

-8.82%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$27.51 CHF 22.80

$26.19 CHF 21.71

5.04%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$39.81 CHF 33.00

$40.71 CHF 33.74

-2.21%

Apples (1kg)

$3.54 CHF 2.93

$3.60 CHF 2.98

-1.67%

Banana (1kg)

$2.15 CHF 1.78

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 CHF 2.07

$2.62 CHF 2.17

-4.96%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.49 CHF 3.72

$4.81 CHF 3.98

-6.65%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 CHF 1.54

$2.04 CHF 1.69

-8.82%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 CHF 1.60

$2.19 CHF 1.82

-11.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.99 CHF 1.65

$2.32 CHF 1.92

-14.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.69 CHF 1.40

$1.37 CHF 1.13

23.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.99 CHF 9.11

$10.74 CHF 8.90

2.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.96 CHF 12.40

$13.18 CHF 10.93

13.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.64 CHF 2.18

$2.25 CHF 1.86

17.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.13 CHF 2.60

$3.44 CHF 2.85

-9.01%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.68 CHF 3.88

$4.37 CHF 3.62

7.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$96.1 CHF 79.6

$100.0 CHF 82.9

-3.89%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$7.94 CHF 6.58

$7.56 CHF 6.26

5.03%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$4.45 CHF 3.69

$4.97 CHF 4.12

-10.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$83.5 CHF 69.2

$88.3 CHF 73.2

-5.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.31 CHF 1.91

$2.17 CHF 1.80

6.45%

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

$39.4K CHF 32.7K

$39.6K CHF 32.8K

-0.40%

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

$39.6K CHF 32.8K

$38.9K CHF 32.2K

1.75%

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

$299 CHF 248

$237 CHF 196

26.33%

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

$37.02 CHF 30.68

$31.70 CHF 26.27

16.78%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$52.2 CHF 43.22

$65.1 CHF 54.0

-19.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$70.6 CHF 58.6

$88.7 CHF 73.5

-20.35%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$48.90 CHF 40.53

$45.22 CHF 37.48

8.14%

Cinema Ticket

$24.49 CHF 20.30

$21.76 CHF 18.03

12.55%

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

$2,960 CHF 2,453

$2,879 CHF 2,386

2.80%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$36.8K CHF 30.5K

$43.7K CHF 36.2K

-15.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$143 CHF 119

$141 CHF 117

1.82%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$78.8 CHF 65.3

$88.1 CHF 73.0

-10.51%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$139 CHF 116

$149 CHF 124

-6.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$213 CHF 177

$174 CHF 144

22.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,369 CHF 1,964

$1,769 CHF 1,466

33.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,863 CHF 1,544

$1,478 CHF 1,225

26.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,244 CHF 3,517

$2,984 CHF 2,473

42.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,230 CHF 2,678

$2,524 CHF 2,092

28.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$18.4K CHF 15.3K

$16.6K CHF 13.7K

11.14%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$13.6K CHF 11.2K

$12.6K CHF 10.5K

7.34%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$6,587 CHF 5,460

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

1.95

1.72

13.37%

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

Last update for Lausanne: October 27, 2026

Last update for Rapperswil: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Lausanne

$1.9K 48.6%

Rapperswil

$1.5K 44.4% 20.7% $385

Groceries & Markets

Lausanne

$583 15.2%

Rapperswil

$583 17.5% 0.2% $0.9

Eating Out

Lausanne

$481 12.5%

Rapperswil

$405 12.2% 15.8% $76

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lausanne

$388 10.1%

Rapperswil

$333 10% 14.1% $55

Clothing & Footwear

Lausanne

$259 6.7%

Rapperswil

$248 7.5% 4% $10

Getting Around

Lausanne

$145 3.8%

Rapperswil

$150 4.5% 3.4% $4.9

Sport & Entertainment

Lausanne

$120 3.1%

Rapperswil

$132 4% 10.5% $13

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,369 in Lausanne and $1,769 in Rapperswil. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $116 in Lausanne vs $96 in Rapperswil. Groceries flip the comparison at $583 vs $583, with Lausanne cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇭 Lausanne

🇨🇭 Rapperswil

🕒 Local time

14:06 2:06 PM

Same time as Lausanne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

133,521

26,354

💱 Currency

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

1 CHF = 1.21 USD

1 CHF = 1.08 EUR

1 CHF = 1.21 USD

1 CHF = 1.08 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

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Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Lausanne vs Rapperswil: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lausanne and Rapperswil differ by about 15% in total monthly costs ($3,837 vs $3,330 including rent). Rapperswil is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $5,756 in Lausanne and $4,995 in Rapperswil to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $2,369 in Lausanne versus $1,769 in Rapperswil. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Lausanne runs roughly 4% less than in Rapperswil. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.

All in, you’ll spend $3,837 per month in Lausanne versus $3,330 in Rapperswil – a 15% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Both cities are expensive relative to $3,000. Rapperswil is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Lausanne and Rapperswil are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.