Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mendrisio and Lausanne

For one person, living is cheaper in Mendrisio: $3,034 a month against $3,716 in Lausanne, rent and utilities included – about $8,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

148

Cost of Living Index in Mendrisio
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Mendrisio Living Index
181

Cost of Living Index in Lausanne
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Lausanne Living Index

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Mendrisio

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,034

/mo nomad

Lausanne

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,716

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mendrisio and in Lausanne

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,034 in Mendrisio versus $3,716 in Lausanne.

Mendrisio $3,034
Lausanne $3,716

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,758 in Mendrisio versus $5,694 in Lausanne.

Mendrisio $3,758
Lausanne $5,694

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,483 in Mendrisio versus $7,671 in Lausanne.

Mendrisio $4,483
Lausanne $7,671

Living in Mendrisio costs roughly 18% less than in Lausanne, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Mendrisio 125% above, Lausanne 175% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$34.26 CHF 28.21

$30.26 CHF 24.92

13.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$177 CHF 146

$115 CHF 94.9

53.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$18.99 CHF 15.64

$17.67 CHF 14.55

7.47%

Cappuccino

$4.80 CHF 3.96

$6.17 CHF 5.08

-22.20%

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

$5.41 CHF 4.46

$5.08 CHF 4.18

6.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.37 CHF 3.60

$4.09 CHF 3.37

6.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.36 CHF 6.88

$10.38 CHF 8.55

-19.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.03 CHF 5.79

$9.86 CHF 8.12

-28.70%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.18 CHF 1.80

$2.23 CHF 1.84

-2.24%

White Bread (500g)

$3.70 CHF 3.04

$3.94 CHF 3.24

-6.09%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.15 CHF 3.42

$3.26 CHF 2.69

27.30%

Eggs

$7.07 CHF 5.83

$7.05 CHF 5.81

0.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$25.44 CHF 20.95

$24.39 CHF 20.09

4.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$28.11 CHF 23.15

$27.45 CHF 22.61

2.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$39.04 CHF 32.15

$38.74 CHF 31.91

0.77%

Apples (1kg)

$3.15 CHF 2.60

$3.47 CHF 2.85

-9.22%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 CHF 1.40

$2.05 CHF 1.69

-17.07%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.56 CHF 2.11

$2.44 CHF 2.01

4.92%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.49 CHF 5.35

$4.58 CHF 3.77

41.70%

Potato (1kg)

$1.84 CHF 1.52

$1.77 CHF 1.46

3.95%

Onion (1kg)

$2.13 CHF 1.76

$1.99 CHF 1.64

7.04%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.34 CHF 1.93

$1.97 CHF 1.62

18.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 CHF 0.96

$1.66 CHF 1.36

-30.12%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.74 CHF 8.84

$10.57 CHF 8.71

1.61%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.64 CHF 12.06

$15.01 CHF 12.36

-2.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.36 CHF 2.77

$2.74 CHF 2.25

22.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.08 CHF 3.36

$3.12 CHF 2.57

30.77%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.03 CHF 2.50

$4.43 CHF 3.65

-31.60%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$92.8 CHF 76.5

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$7.07 CHF 5.82

$7.96 CHF 6.55

-11.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$5.38 CHF 4.43

$4.57 CHF 3.76

17.72%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$78.3 CHF 64.5

$85.0 CHF 70.0

-7.94%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 CHF 1.81

$2.28 CHF 1.87

-3.51%

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

$34.6K CHF 28.5K

$42.3K CHF 34.9K

-18.24%

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

$38.6K CHF 31.8K

$39.6K CHF 32.6K

-2.58%

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

$304 CHF 250

$292 CHF 240

4.01%

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

$25.15 CHF 20.71

$36.21 CHF 29.82

-30.54%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$48.38 CHF 39.85

$50.5 CHF 41.62

-4.25%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$73.1 CHF 60.2

$70.0 CHF 57.7

4.37%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$47.43 CHF 39.07

Cinema Ticket

$21.74 CHF 17.91

$24.44 CHF 20.13

-11.05%

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

$3,187 CHF 2,625

$2,850 CHF 2,347

11.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$38.5K CHF 31.7K

$37.1K CHF 30.5K

3.78%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$107 CHF 87.8

$142 CHF 117

-25.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.52 CHF 39.14

$77.7 CHF 64.0

-38.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$164 CHF 135

$138 CHF 114

19.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$166 CHF 137

$214 CHF 176

-22.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,381 CHF 1,137

$2,256 CHF 1,858

-38.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,199 CHF 987

$1,763 CHF 1,452

-32.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,291 CHF 3,534

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,206 CHF 2,640

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$18.2K CHF 15.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$14.0K CHF 11.5K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$6,944 CHF 5,719

$6,426 CHF 5,292

8.07%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.37

1.95

21.54%

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

Last update for Mendrisio: October 11, 2026

Last update for Lausanne: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mendrisio

$1.2K 39.5%

Lausanne

$1.8K 47.5% 47.1% $565

Groceries & Markets

Mendrisio

$594 19.6%

Lausanne

$579 15.6% 2.5% $15

Eating Out

Mendrisio

$484 15.9%

Lausanne

$477 12.9% 1.3% $6.3

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mendrisio

$377 12.4%

Lausanne

$379 10.2% 0.4% $1.5

Clothing & Footwear

Mendrisio

$218 7.2%

Lausanne

$257 6.9% 18% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Mendrisio

$117 3.8%

Lausanne

$119 3.2% 2% $2.3

Getting Around

Mendrisio

$46 * 1.5%

Lausanne

$141 3.8% 207% $95

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,381 in Mendrisio and $2,256 in Lausanne. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mendrisio pays 8% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $177 in Mendrisio vs $115 in Lausanne for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $594 vs $579 per month, with Lausanne cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇭 Mendrisio

🇨🇭 Lausanne

🕒 Local time

05:24 5:24 AM

Same time as Mendrisio

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,562

133,521

💱 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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Mendrisio Lausanne 200 km

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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

Mendrisio vs Lausanne: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mendrisio and Lausanne differ by about 22% in total monthly costs ($3,034 vs $3,716 including rent). Mendrisio is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 8% higher in Mendrisio, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,381 in Mendrisio versus $2,256 in Lausanne. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Lausanne pay roughly 3% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $3,034 per month in Mendrisio versus $3,716 in Lausanne – a 22% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Both cities are expensive relative to $2,500. Mendrisio 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, Mendrisio and Lausanne are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Mendrisio gentler on the wallet – expenses run 22% less than in Lausanne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.