Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Montreux and Lausanne

For one person, living is cheaper in Montreux: $3,392 a month against $3,716 in Lausanne, rent and utilities included – about $3,900 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Lausanne outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

165

Cost of Living Index in Montreux
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Montreux Living Index
181

Cost of Living Index in Lausanne
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Lausanne Living Index

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Montreux

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,392

/mo nomad

Lausanne

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,716

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Montreux 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 Montreux and in Lausanne actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,392 in Montreux versus $3,716 in Lausanne.

Montreux $3,392
Lausanne $3,716

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,203 in Montreux versus $5,694 in Lausanne.

Montreux $5,203
Lausanne $5,694

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $7,015 in Montreux versus $7,671 in Lausanne.

Montreux $7,015
Lausanne $7,671

Living in Montreux costs roughly 9% less than in Lausanne, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Montreux 151% above, Lausanne 175% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$30.50 CHF 25.12

$30.26 CHF 24.92

0.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$132 CHF 109

$115 CHF 94.9

14.69%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$18.41 CHF 15.16

$17.67 CHF 14.55

4.19%

Cappuccino

$5.93 CHF 4.89

$6.17 CHF 5.08

-3.89%

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

$4.86 CHF 4.00

$5.08 CHF 4.18

-4.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.11 CHF 3.38

$4.09 CHF 3.37

0.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.83 CHF 8.10

$10.38 CHF 8.55

-5.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.85 CHF 8.11

$9.86 CHF 8.12

-0.10%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.12 CHF 1.75

$2.23 CHF 1.84

-4.93%

White Bread (500g)

$3.35 CHF 2.76

$3.94 CHF 3.24

-14.97%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.23 CHF 2.66

$3.26 CHF 2.69

-0.92%

Eggs

$7.08 CHF 5.83

$7.05 CHF 5.81

0.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$24.74 CHF 20.37

$24.39 CHF 20.09

1.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$28.15 CHF 23.19

$27.45 CHF 22.61

2.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$39.23 CHF 32.31

$38.74 CHF 31.91

1.26%

Apples (1kg)

$3.47 CHF 2.86

$3.47 CHF 2.85

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 CHF 1.35

$2.05 CHF 1.69

-20.49%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.43 CHF 2.00

$2.44 CHF 2.01

-0.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.62 CHF 3.81

$4.58 CHF 3.77

0.87%

Potato (1kg)

$1.79 CHF 1.47

$1.77 CHF 1.46

1.13%

Onion (1kg)

$1.92 CHF 1.58

$1.99 CHF 1.64

-3.52%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.96 CHF 1.61

$1.97 CHF 1.62

-0.51%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 CHF 1.42

$1.66 CHF 1.36

3.61%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.67 CHF 8.79

$10.57 CHF 8.71

0.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.98 CHF 9.87

$15.01 CHF 12.36

-20.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.70 CHF 2.22

$2.74 CHF 2.25

-1.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.16 CHF 2.60

$3.12 CHF 2.57

1.28%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.54 CHF 3.74

$4.43 CHF 3.65

2.48%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$101 CHF 82.8

$92.8 CHF 76.5

8.31%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$7.52 CHF 6.20

$7.96 CHF 6.55

-5.53%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.95 CHF 3.25

$4.57 CHF 3.76

-13.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$62.4 CHF 51.4

$85.0 CHF 70.0

-26.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.30 CHF 1.89

$2.28 CHF 1.87

0.88%

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

$38.2K CHF 31.4K

$42.3K CHF 34.9K

-9.86%

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

$38.8K CHF 32.0K

$39.6K CHF 32.6K

-2.02%

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

$285 CHF 234

$292 CHF 240

-2.50%

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

$36.64 CHF 30.18

$36.21 CHF 29.82

1.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$50.9 CHF 41.94

$50.5 CHF 41.62

0.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$88.5 CHF 72.9

$70.0 CHF 57.7

26.34%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$45.52 CHF 37.49

$47.43 CHF 39.07

-4.03%

Cinema Ticket

$23.83 CHF 19.63

$24.44 CHF 20.13

-2.50%

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

$2,416 CHF 1,990

$2,850 CHF 2,347

-15.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.8K CHF 29.5K

$37.1K CHF 30.5K

-3.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$137 CHF 113

$142 CHF 117

-3.56%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$76.0 CHF 62.6

$77.7 CHF 64.0

-2.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$163 CHF 134

$138 CHF 114

17.92%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$185 CHF 152

$214 CHF 176

-13.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,673 CHF 1,378

$2,256 CHF 1,858

-25.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,440 CHF 1,186

$1,763 CHF 1,452

-18.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,879 CHF 2,371

$4,291 CHF 3,534

-32.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,458 CHF 2,025

$3,206 CHF 2,640

-23.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$15.6K CHF 12.9K

$18.2K CHF 15.0K

-13.95%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$12.1K CHF 9,982

$14.0K CHF 11.5K

-13.13%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$8,082 CHF 6,657

$6,426 CHF 5,292

25.78%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

1.95

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

Last update for Montreux: 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

Montreux

$1.4K 42.5%

Lausanne

$1.8K 47.5% 22.4% $323

Groceries & Markets

Montreux

$570 16.8%

Lausanne

$579 15.6% 1.5% $8.7

Eating Out

Montreux

$475 14%

Lausanne

$477 12.9% 0.5% $2.2

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Montreux

$372 11%

Lausanne

$379 10.2% 1.7% $6.5

Clothing & Footwear

Montreux

$252 7.4%

Lausanne

$257 6.9% 2.1% $5.2

Getting Around

Montreux

$146 4.3%

Lausanne

$141 3.8% 3.2% $4.6

Sport & Entertainment

Montreux

$136 4%

Lausanne

$119 3.2% 12.6% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,673 in Montreux and $2,256 in Lausanne. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Montreux pays 26% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $132 in Montreux vs $115 in Lausanne. Groceries flip the comparison at $570 vs $579, with Montreux cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇭 Montreux

🇨🇭 Lausanne

🕒 Local time

05:25 5:25 AM

Same time as Montreux

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

26,208

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

On the map

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Montreux Lausanne 24 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

Montreux vs Lausanne: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Montreux and Lausanne differ by about 10% in total monthly costs ($3,392 vs $3,716 including rent). Montreux is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 26% higher in Montreux, 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: $1,673 in Montreux versus $2,256 in Lausanne. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Montreux – a meal for two runs $132 versus $115 in Lausanne. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $3,392 per month in Montreux versus $3,716 in Lausanne – a 10% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Both cities are expensive relative to $2,500. Montreux 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, Montreux 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 Montreux gentler on the wallet – expenses run 10% less than in Lausanne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.