Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lausanne and Schaffhausen

For one person, living is cheaper in Schaffhausen: $3,139 a month against $3,837 in Lausanne, rent and utilities included – about $8,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Lausanne outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

183

Cost of Living Index in Lausanne
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Lausanne Living Index
150

Cost of Living Index in Schaffhausen
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Schaffhausen Living Index

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Lausanne

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,837

/mo nomad

Schaffhausen

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,139

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lausanne and in Schaffhausen

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 Schaffhausen actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,837 in Lausanne versus $3,139 in Schaffhausen.

Lausanne $3,837
Schaffhausen $3,139

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,789 in Lausanne versus $5,010 in Schaffhausen.

Lausanne $5,789
Schaffhausen $5,010

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $7,741 in Lausanne versus $6,882 in Schaffhausen.

Lausanne $7,741
Schaffhausen $6,882

Living in Lausanne is roughly 22% more expensive than in Schaffhausen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lausanne 182% above, Schaffhausen 131% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$30.81 CHF 25.56

$30.45 CHF 25.26

1.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$116 CHF 96.0

$122 CHF 101

-5.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$17.81 CHF 14.77

$18.19 CHF 15.09

-2.09%

Cappuccino

$6.13 CHF 5.08

$6.01 CHF 4.98

2.00%

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

$5.17 CHF 4.29

$5.32 CHF 4.41

-2.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.15 CHF 3.44

$4.78 CHF 3.96

-13.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$10.14 CHF 8.42

$8.39 CHF 6.96

20.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.59 CHF 7.95

$7.11 CHF 5.90

34.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.22 CHF 1.84

$2.16 CHF 1.79

2.78%

White Bread (500g)

$3.81 CHF 3.16

$4.00 CHF 3.32

-4.75%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.28 CHF 2.72

$4.25 CHF 3.53

-22.82%

Eggs

$7.24 CHF 6.00

$7.81 CHF 6.48

-7.30%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$24.40 CHF 20.24

$27.90 CHF 23.15

-12.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$27.51 CHF 22.82

$30.45 CHF 25.26

-9.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$39.81 CHF 33.02

$42.66 CHF 35.39

-6.68%

Apples (1kg)

$3.54 CHF 2.93

$3.84 CHF 3.18

-7.81%

Banana (1kg)

$2.15 CHF 1.78

$2.07 CHF 1.72

3.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 CHF 2.07

$3.17 CHF 2.63

-21.45%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.49 CHF 3.73

$5.49 CHF 4.55

-18.21%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 CHF 1.54

$2.38 CHF 1.97

-21.85%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 CHF 1.61

$2.14 CHF 1.77

-9.35%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.99 CHF 1.65

$2.31 CHF 1.91

-13.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.69 CHF 1.40

$1.16 CHF 0.96

45.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.99 CHF 9.12

$10.82 CHF 8.98

1.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.96 CHF 12.41

$12.00 CHF 9.95

24.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.64 CHF 2.19

$2.89 CHF 2.40

-8.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.13 CHF 2.60

$3.59 CHF 2.98

-12.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.68 CHF 3.88

$4.01 CHF 3.32

16.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$96.1 CHF 79.7

$98.0 CHF 81.3

-1.96%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$7.94 CHF 6.58

$6.10 CHF 5.06

30.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$4.45 CHF 3.69

$2.86 CHF 2.37

55.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$83.5 CHF 69.2

$59.6 CHF 49.43

40.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.31 CHF 1.91

$2.22 CHF 1.84

4.05%

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

$39.4K CHF 32.7K

$38.4K CHF 31.8K

2.73%

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

$39.6K CHF 32.8K

$39.4K CHF 32.7K

0.36%

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

$299 CHF 248

$229 CHF 190

30.35%

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

$37.02 CHF 30.71

$28.98 CHF 24.04

27.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$52.2 CHF 43.26

$62.0 CHF 51.4

-15.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$70.6 CHF 58.6

$110 CHF 91.3

-35.78%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$48.90 CHF 40.56

$46.30 CHF 38.41

5.62%

Cinema Ticket

$24.49 CHF 20.32

$23.59 CHF 19.57

3.82%

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

$2,960 CHF 2,455

$3,157 CHF 2,619

-6.23%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$36.8K CHF 30.5K

$24.5K CHF 20.3K

50.11%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$143 CHF 119

$163 CHF 135

-11.95%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$78.8 CHF 65.4

$54.9 CHF 45.51

43.64%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$139 CHF 116

$172 CHF 142

-18.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$213 CHF 177

$150 CHF 125

41.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,369 CHF 1,966

$1,272 CHF 1,055

86.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,863 CHF 1,545

$1,192 CHF 989

56.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,244 CHF 3,520

$2,689 CHF 2,230

57.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,230 CHF 2,680

$2,317 CHF 1,922

39.42%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$18.4K CHF 15.3K

$8,110 CHF 6,728

126.91%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$13.6K CHF 11.2K

$8,439 CHF 7,001

60.65%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$6,587 CHF 5,465

$7,148 CHF 5,930

-7.84%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

1.95

2.41

-19.09%

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

Last update for Lausanne: October 27, 2026

Last update for Schaffhausen: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lausanne

$1.9K 48.6%

Schaffhausen

$1.2K 38% 36% $671

Groceries & Markets

Lausanne

$583 15.2%

Schaffhausen

$626 19.9% 7.4% $43

Eating Out

Lausanne

$481 12.5%

Schaffhausen

$467 14.9% 2.9% $14

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lausanne

$388 10.1%

Schaffhausen

$320 10.2% 17.5% $68

Clothing & Footwear

Lausanne

$259 6.7%

Schaffhausen

$243 7.7% 6.1% $16

Getting Around

Lausanne

$145 3.8%

Schaffhausen

$134 4.3% 7.3% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Lausanne

$120 3.1%

Schaffhausen

$157 5% 31.4% $38

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,369 in Lausanne and $1,272 in Schaffhausen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Schaffhausen pays 9% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $116 in Lausanne vs $122 in Schaffhausen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $583 vs $626 per month, with Lausanne cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇭 Lausanne

🇨🇭 Schaffhausen

🕒 Local time

15:03 3:03 PM

Same time as Lausanne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

133,521

35,927

💱 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)

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

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Lausanne vs Schaffhausen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lausanne and Schaffhausen differ by about 22% in total monthly costs ($3,837 vs $3,139 including rent). Schaffhausen is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 8% lower in Lausanne. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $2,369 in Lausanne versus $1,272 in Schaffhausen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Lausanne pay roughly 7% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you’ll spend $3,837 per month in Lausanne versus $3,139 in Schaffhausen – a 22% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Both cities are expensive relative to $2,000. Schaffhausen 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 Schaffhausen are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.