Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Schaffhausen and Lausanne

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.

150

Cost of Living Index in Schaffhausen
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Schaffhausen Living Index
183

Cost of Living Index in Lausanne
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Lausanne Living Index

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Schaffhausen

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,139

/mo nomad

Lausanne

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,837

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Schaffhausen $3,139
Lausanne $3,837

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

Schaffhausen $5,010
Lausanne $5,789

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

Schaffhausen $6,882
Lausanne $7,741

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

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$30.45 CHF 25.24

$30.81 CHF 25.54

-1.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$122 CHF 101

$116 CHF 95.9

5.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$18.19 CHF 15.08

$17.81 CHF 14.76

2.13%

Cappuccino

$6.01 CHF 4.98

$6.13 CHF 5.08

-1.96%

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

$5.32 CHF 4.41

$5.17 CHF 4.29

2.90%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.78 CHF 3.96

$4.15 CHF 3.44

15.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.39 CHF 6.96

$10.14 CHF 8.41

-17.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.11 CHF 5.89

$9.59 CHF 7.95

-25.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.16 CHF 1.79

$2.22 CHF 1.84

-2.70%

White Bread (500g)

$4.00 CHF 3.32

$3.81 CHF 3.16

4.99%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.25 CHF 3.52

$3.28 CHF 2.72

29.57%

Eggs

$7.81 CHF 6.47

$7.24 CHF 6.00

7.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$27.90 CHF 23.13

$24.40 CHF 20.23

14.34%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$30.45 CHF 25.24

$27.51 CHF 22.80

10.69%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$42.66 CHF 35.36

$39.81 CHF 33.00

7.16%

Apples (1kg)

$3.84 CHF 3.18

$3.54 CHF 2.93

8.47%

Banana (1kg)

$2.07 CHF 1.72

$2.15 CHF 1.78

-3.72%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.17 CHF 2.63

$2.49 CHF 2.07

27.31%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.49 CHF 4.55

$4.49 CHF 3.72

22.27%

Potato (1kg)

$2.38 CHF 1.97

$1.86 CHF 1.54

27.96%

Onion (1kg)

$2.14 CHF 1.77

$1.94 CHF 1.60

10.31%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.31 CHF 1.91

$1.99 CHF 1.65

16.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 CHF 0.96

$1.69 CHF 1.40

-31.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.82 CHF 8.97

$10.99 CHF 9.11

-1.55%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.00 CHF 9.94

$14.96 CHF 12.40

-19.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.89 CHF 2.40

$2.64 CHF 2.18

9.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.59 CHF 2.97

$3.13 CHF 2.60

14.70%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.01 CHF 3.32

$4.68 CHF 3.88

-14.32%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$98.0 CHF 81.2

$96.1 CHF 79.6

2.00%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.10 CHF 5.06

$7.94 CHF 6.58

-23.17%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.86 CHF 2.37

$4.45 CHF 3.69

-35.73%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$59.6 CHF 49.39

$83.5 CHF 69.2

-28.62%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.22 CHF 1.84

$2.31 CHF 1.91

-3.90%

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

$38.4K CHF 31.8K

$39.4K CHF 32.7K

-2.65%

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

$39.4K CHF 32.7K

$39.6K CHF 32.8K

-0.36%

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

$229 CHF 190

$299 CHF 248

-23.28%

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

$28.98 CHF 24.02

$37.02 CHF 30.68

-21.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$62.0 CHF 51.4

$52.2 CHF 43.22

18.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$110 CHF 91.2

$70.6 CHF 58.6

55.72%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$46.30 CHF 38.37

$48.90 CHF 40.53

-5.32%

Cinema Ticket

$23.59 CHF 19.55

$24.49 CHF 20.30

-3.67%

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

$3,157 CHF 2,616

$2,960 CHF 2,453

6.65%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$24.5K CHF 20.3K

$36.8K CHF 30.5K

-33.38%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$163 CHF 135

$143 CHF 119

13.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.9 CHF 45.47

$78.8 CHF 65.3

-30.38%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$172 CHF 142

$139 CHF 116

23.11%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$150 CHF 124

$213 CHF 177

-29.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,272 CHF 1,054

$2,369 CHF 1,964

-46.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,192 CHF 988

$1,863 CHF 1,544

-36.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,689 CHF 2,228

$4,244 CHF 3,517

-36.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,317 CHF 1,921

$3,230 CHF 2,678

-28.27%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$8,110 CHF 6,723

$18.4K CHF 15.3K

-55.93%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,439 CHF 6,995

$13.6K CHF 11.2K

-37.75%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$7,148 CHF 5,925

$6,587 CHF 5,460

8.50%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.41

1.95

23.59%

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

Last update for Schaffhausen: October 27, 2026

Last update for Lausanne: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Schaffhausen

$1.2K 38%

Lausanne

$1.9K 48.6% 56.3% $671

Groceries & Markets

Schaffhausen

$626 19.9%

Lausanne

$583 15.2% 6.9% $43

Eating Out

Schaffhausen

$467 14.9%

Lausanne

$481 12.5% 2.9% $14

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Schaffhausen

$320 10.2%

Lausanne

$388 10.1% 21.2% $68

Clothing & Footwear

Schaffhausen

$243 7.7%

Lausanne

$259 6.7% 6.5% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Schaffhausen

$157 5%

Lausanne

$120 3.1% 23.9% $38

Getting Around

Schaffhausen

$134 4.3%

Lausanne

$145 3.8% 7.9% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,272 in Schaffhausen and $2,369 in Lausanne. 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: $122 in Schaffhausen vs $116 in Lausanne for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $626 vs $583 per month, with Lausanne cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇭 Schaffhausen

🇨🇭 Lausanne

🕒 Local time

12:55 12:55 PM

Same time as Schaffhausen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

35,927

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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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

Schaffhausen vs Lausanne: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

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

Average pay runs 9% higher in Schaffhausen, 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: $1,272 in Schaffhausen versus $2,369 in Lausanne. 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 $3,139 per month in Schaffhausen versus $3,837 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 $2,000. 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, Schaffhausen 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.