Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lausanne and Winterthur

For one person, living costs are similar in Lausanne and in Winterthur: $3,837 and $3,759 a month, rent and utilities included.

183

Cost of Living Index in Lausanne
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Lausanne Living Index
182

Cost of Living Index in Winterthur
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Winterthur Living Index

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Lausanne

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,837

/mo nomad

Winterthur

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,759

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lausanne and in Winterthur

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,837 in Lausanne versus $3,759 in Winterthur.

Lausanne $3,837
Winterthur $3,759

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,789 in Lausanne versus $5,534 in Winterthur.

Lausanne $5,789
Winterthur $5,534

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $7,741 in Lausanne versus $7,309 in Winterthur.

Lausanne $7,741
Winterthur $7,309

Monthly costs are close between Lausanne and Winterthur; which city is cheaper depends on the spending category.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lausanne 182% above, Winterthur 176% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$30.81 CHF 25.27

$29.70 CHF 24.37

3.74%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$116 CHF 95.0

$121 CHF 99.4

-4.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$17.81 CHF 14.61

$17.77 CHF 14.58

0.23%

Cappuccino

$6.13 CHF 5.02

$5.75 CHF 4.71

6.61%

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

$5.17 CHF 4.24

$5.35 CHF 4.39

-3.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.15 CHF 3.40

$4.81 CHF 3.94

-13.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$10.14 CHF 8.32

$8.70 CHF 7.14

16.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.59 CHF 7.87

$6.74 CHF 5.53

42.28%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.22 CHF 1.82

$2.25 CHF 1.84

-1.33%

White Bread (500g)

$3.81 CHF 3.13

$3.65 CHF 3.00

4.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.28 CHF 2.69

$4.35 CHF 3.57

-24.60%

Eggs

$7.24 CHF 5.94

$7.05 CHF 5.79

2.70%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$24.40 CHF 20.02

$30.76 CHF 25.24

-20.68%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$27.51 CHF 22.57

$29.27 CHF 24.01

-6.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$39.81 CHF 32.66

$42.10 CHF 34.54

-5.44%

Apples (1kg)

$3.54 CHF 2.90

$4.05 CHF 3.32

-12.59%

Banana (1kg)

$2.15 CHF 1.76

$2.08 CHF 1.71

3.37%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 CHF 2.05

$3.02 CHF 2.48

-17.55%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.49 CHF 3.68

$6.61 CHF 5.42

-32.07%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 CHF 1.52

$2.33 CHF 1.91

-20.17%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 CHF 1.59

$2.51 CHF 2.06

-22.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.99 CHF 1.63

$2.29 CHF 1.87

-13.10%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.69 CHF 1.38

$1.11 CHF 0.91

52.25%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.99 CHF 9.01

$10.68 CHF 8.76

2.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.96 CHF 12.27

$12.15 CHF 9.97

23.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.64 CHF 2.16

$2.78 CHF 2.28

-5.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.13 CHF 2.57

$3.56 CHF 2.92

-12.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.68 CHF 3.84

$5.24 CHF 4.30

-10.69%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$96.1 CHF 78.8

$83.1 CHF 68.2

15.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$7.94 CHF 6.51

$4.42 CHF 3.63

79.64%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$4.45 CHF 3.65

$2.96 CHF 2.43

50.34%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$83.5 CHF 68.5

$61.3 CHF 50.3

36.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.31 CHF 1.89

$2.28 CHF 1.87

1.32%

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

$39.4K CHF 32.3K

$38.6K CHF 31.7K

1.99%

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

$39.6K CHF 32.5K

$38.6K CHF 31.7K

2.45%

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

$299 CHF 245

$417 CHF 342

-28.33%

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

$37.02 CHF 30.37

$28.64 CHF 23.50

29.26%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$52.2 CHF 42.78

$66.3 CHF 54.4

-21.33%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$70.6 CHF 58.0

$71.5 CHF 58.6

-1.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$48.90 CHF 40.11

$26.10 CHF 21.41

87.36%

Cinema Ticket

$24.49 CHF 20.09

$21.50 CHF 17.64

13.91%

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

$2,960 CHF 2,428

$1,495 CHF 1,227

97.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$36.8K CHF 30.2K

$24.7K CHF 20.3K

48.65%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$143 CHF 117

$181 CHF 148

-20.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$78.8 CHF 64.6

$125 CHF 102

-36.80%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$139 CHF 114

$173 CHF 142

-19.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$213 CHF 175

$325 CHF 267

-34.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,369 CHF 1,944

$2,166 CHF 1,777

9.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,863 CHF 1,528

$1,563 CHF 1,282

19.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,244 CHF 3,481

$3,461 CHF 2,839

22.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,230 CHF 2,650

$2,436 CHF 1,998

32.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$18.4K CHF 15.1K

$21.3K CHF 17.5K

-13.79%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$13.6K CHF 11.1K

$15.2K CHF 12.5K

-10.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$6,587 CHF 5,404

$6,646 CHF 5,452

-0.89%

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 Winterthur: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lausanne

$1.9K 48.6%

Winterthur

$1.6K 41.6% 16.1% $300

Groceries & Markets

Lausanne

$583 15.2%

Winterthur

$627 16.7% 7.7% $45

Eating Out

Lausanne

$481 12.5%

Winterthur

$458 12.2% 4.8% $23

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lausanne

$388 10.1%

Winterthur

$512 13.6% 31.9% $124

Clothing & Footwear

Lausanne

$259 6.7%

Winterthur

$362 9.6% 39.8% $103

Getting Around

Lausanne

$145 3.8%

Winterthur

$123 3.3% 14.9% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Lausanne

$120 3.1%

Winterthur

$114 3.1% 4.3% $5.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,369 in Lausanne and $2,166 in Winterthur. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $116 in Lausanne vs $121 in Winterthur for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $583 vs $627 per month, with Lausanne cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇭 Lausanne

🇨🇭 Winterthur

🕒 Local time

22:00 10:00 PM

Same time as Lausanne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

133,521

108,044

💱 Currency

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

1 CHF = 1.22 USD

1 CHF = 1.09 EUR

1 CHF = 1.22 USD

1 CHF = 1.09 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Lausanne Winterthur 190 km

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Lausanne
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Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

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 Winterthur: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

You’d need roughly $5,756 in Lausanne and $5,638 in Winterthur 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 $2,166 in Winterthur. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Winterthur runs roughly 13% less than in Lausanne. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

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

Both cities are expensive relative to $3,000. Winterthur 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 Winterthur are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.