Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between St. Moritz and Lausanne

For one person, living is cheaper in St. Moritz: $3,626 a month against $3,837 in Lausanne, rent and utilities included – about $2,500 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Lausanne outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

174

Cost of Living Index in St. Moritz
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St. Moritz Living Index
183

Cost of Living Index in Lausanne
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Lausanne Living Index

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St. Moritz

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,626

/mo nomad

Lausanne

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,837

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,626 in St. Moritz versus $3,837 in Lausanne.

St. Moritz $3,626
Lausanne $3,837

Estimated couple costs with rent: $6,508 in St. Moritz versus $5,789 in Lausanne.

St. Moritz $6,508
Lausanne $5,789

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $9,390 in St. Moritz versus $7,741 in Lausanne.

St. Moritz $9,390
Lausanne $7,741

Living in St. Moritz costs roughly 6% less than in Lausanne, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: St. Moritz 166% above, Lausanne 182% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$34.20 CHF 28.37

$30.81 CHF 25.56

11.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$143 CHF 119

$116 CHF 96.0

23.60%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$14.40 CHF 11.94

$17.81 CHF 14.77

-19.15%

Cappuccino

$5.90 CHF 4.90

$6.13 CHF 5.08

-3.75%

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

$5.54 CHF 4.60

$5.17 CHF 4.29

7.16%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.60 CHF 3.82

$4.15 CHF 3.44

10.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.90 CHF 8.21

$10.14 CHF 8.42

-2.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.03 CHF 5.00

$9.59 CHF 7.95

-37.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.81 CHF 1.50

$2.22 CHF 1.84

-18.47%

White Bread (500g)

$3.96 CHF 3.29

$3.81 CHF 3.16

3.94%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.60 CHF 2.99

$3.28 CHF 2.72

9.76%

Eggs

$7.67 CHF 6.36

$7.24 CHF 6.00

5.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$27.09 CHF 22.47

$24.40 CHF 20.24

11.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$28.89 CHF 23.97

$27.51 CHF 22.82

5.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$60.5 CHF 50.2

$39.81 CHF 33.02

52.00%

Apples (1kg)

$4.09 CHF 3.39

$3.54 CHF 2.93

15.54%

Banana (1kg)

$2.75 CHF 2.28

$2.15 CHF 1.78

27.91%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.60 CHF 2.99

$2.49 CHF 2.07

44.58%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.59 CHF 3.81

$4.49 CHF 3.73

2.23%

Potato (1kg)

$2.55 CHF 2.11

$1.86 CHF 1.54

37.10%

Onion (1kg)

$2.34 CHF 1.94

$1.94 CHF 1.61

20.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.49 CHF 2.06

$1.99 CHF 1.65

25.13%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.25 CHF 1.03

$1.69 CHF 1.40

-26.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.77 CHF 8.94

$10.99 CHF 9.12

-2.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.92 CHF 11.54

$14.96 CHF 12.41

-6.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.88 CHF 2.39

$2.64 CHF 2.19

9.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.21 CHF 2.66

$3.13 CHF 2.60

2.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.92 CHF 3.26

$4.68 CHF 3.88

-16.24%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$92.6 CHF 76.8

$96.1 CHF 79.7

-3.65%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$8.08 CHF 6.70

$7.94 CHF 6.58

1.76%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$4.54 CHF 3.77

$4.45 CHF 3.69

2.02%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$87.8 CHF 72.8

$83.5 CHF 69.2

5.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.14 CHF 1.77

$2.31 CHF 1.91

-7.36%

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

$38.6K CHF 32.0K

$39.4K CHF 32.7K

-2.02%

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

$39.6K CHF 32.9K

$39.6K CHF 32.8K

0.12%

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

$96.8 CHF 80.3

$299 CHF 248

-67.61%

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

$39.12 CHF 32.45

$37.02 CHF 30.71

5.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$54.8 CHF 45.42

$52.2 CHF 43.26

4.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$73.0 CHF 60.5

$70.6 CHF 58.6

3.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$48.90 CHF 40.56

Cinema Ticket

$18.96 CHF 15.73

$24.49 CHF 20.32

-22.58%

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

$3,402 CHF 2,823

$2,960 CHF 2,455

14.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$41.2K CHF 34.2K

$36.8K CHF 30.5K

12.17%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$140 CHF 116

$143 CHF 119

-2.30%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.1 CHF 45.69

$78.8 CHF 65.4

-30.10%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$161 CHF 133

$139 CHF 116

15.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$249 CHF 206

$213 CHF 177

16.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,794 CHF 1,488

$2,369 CHF 1,966

-24.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,753 CHF 1,454

$1,863 CHF 1,545

-5.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,403 CHF 4,482

$4,244 CHF 3,520

27.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$4,730 CHF 3,924

$3,230 CHF 2,680

46.42%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$18.4K CHF 15.3K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$12.3K CHF 10.2K

$13.6K CHF 11.2K

-9.28%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,889 CHF 4,056

$6,587 CHF 5,465

-25.79%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

1.8

1.95

-7.69%

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

Last update for St. Moritz: October 26, 2026

Last update for Lausanne: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

St. Moritz

$1.8K 48.3%

Lausanne

$1.9K 48.6% 6.3% $110

Groceries & Markets

St. Moritz

$670 18.5%

Lausanne

$583 15.2% 13.1% $88

Eating Out

St. Moritz

$490 13.5%

Lausanne

$481 12.5% 1.9% $9.2

Clothing & Footwear

St. Moritz

$272 7.5%

Lausanne

$259 6.7% 4.9% $13

Monthly Utilities & Internet

St. Moritz

$191 5.3%

Lausanne

$388 10.1% 104% $197

Getting Around

St. Moritz

$139 3.8%

Lausanne

$145 3.8% 4.3% $5.9

Sport & Entertainment

St. Moritz

$111 3.1%

Lausanne

$120 3.1% 7.9% $8.7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,794 in St. Moritz and $2,369 in Lausanne. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lausanne pays 35% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $143 in St. Moritz vs $116 in Lausanne for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $670 vs $583 per month, with Lausanne cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇭 St. Moritz

🇨🇭 Lausanne

🕒 Local time

14:02 2:02 PM

Same time as St. Moritz

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,000

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

St. Moritz vs Lausanne: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

St. Moritz and Lausanne differ by about 6% in total monthly costs ($3,626 vs $3,837 including rent). St. Moritz is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 26% lower in St. Moritz. 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: $1,794 in St. Moritz versus $2,369 in Lausanne. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Lausanne – a meal for two runs $116 versus $143 in St. Moritz. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $3,626 per month in St. Moritz versus $3,837 in Lausanne – a 6% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Both cities are expensive relative to $3,000. St. Moritz 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.

It comes down to priorities – St. Moritz wins on affordability, Lausanne on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.