Cost of Living · CH vs AU
🇨🇭 Zürich vs 🇦🇺 Sydney: what everyday life costs
Monthly essentials: $3,285 in Switzerland vs $2,244 in Australia — 32% cheaper.
- Essentials, Switzerland
- $3,285/mo
- Essentials, Australia
- $2,244/mo
- Difference
- -32%
- 1-bed city rent, Australia
- $1,614/mo
Biggest differences
Much cheaper in Australia
- Rent: 1-bedroom, city center: -35%
- Rent: 1-bedroom, outside center: -35%
- Rent: 3-bedroom, city center: -35%
Closest to Switzerland prices
- Petrol/gasoline, 1L: -11%
- Running shoes (brand): -12%
- Jeans (mid-range brand): -12%
The full basket (32 items)
| Item | Switzerland | Australia | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | |||
| Rent: 1-bedroom, city center | $2,478 | $1,614 (2,505 AUD) | -35% |
| Rent: 1-bedroom, outside center | $1,982 | $1,291 (2,004 AUD) | -35% |
| Rent: 3-bedroom, city center | $4,531 | $2,952 (4,581 AUD) | -35% |
| Food out | |||
| Meal, inexpensive restaurant | $23.66 | $16.89 (26 AUD) | -29% |
| Dinner for two, mid-range | $98.57 | $70.39 (109 AUD) | -29% |
| Fast-food combo meal | $14.10 | $10.38 (16 AUD) | -26% |
| Groceries | |||
| Milk, 1L | $1.34 | $1.05 (2 AUD) | -22% |
| Bread, fresh loaf 500g | $3.90 | $3.06 (5 AUD) | -22% |
| Eggs, dozen | $4.15 | $3.25 (5 AUD) | -22% |
| Chicken breast, 1kg | $12.20 | $9.55 (15 AUD) | -22% |
| White rice, 1kg | $4.88 | $3.82 (6 AUD) | -22% |
| Apples, 1kg | $5.86 | $4.58 (7 AUD) | -22% |
| Local cheese, 1kg | $14.64 | $11.46 (18 AUD) | -22% |
| Water, 1.5L bottle | $2.44 | $1.91 (3 AUD) | -22% |
| Drinks | |||
| Domestic beer, pint (draught) | $7.89 | $5.63 (9 AUD) | -29% |
| Imported beer, 330ml bottle | $8.84 | $7.82 (12 AUD) | -12% |
| Cappuccino | $6.57 | $4.69 (7 AUD) | -29% |
| Coke/Pepsi, 330ml | $2.81 | $2.20 (3 AUD) | -22% |
| Transport | |||
| Public transport, monthly pass | $83.33 | $61.36 (95 AUD) | -26% |
| Public transport, one-way | $3.53 | $2.60 (4 AUD) | -26% |
| Taxi start (normal tariff) | $5.26 | $3.75 (6 AUD) | -29% |
| Taxi, per km | $2.37 | $1.69 (3 AUD) | -29% |
| Petrol/gasoline, 1L | $1.05 | $0.93 (1 AUD) | -11% |
| Utilities & comms | |||
| Basic utilities, 85m² apartment | $256 | $189 (293 AUD) | -26% |
| Internet, 60Mbps+ unlimited | $89.74 | $66.08 (103 AUD) | -26% |
| Mobile plan, 10GB+ data | $57.69 | $42.48 (66 AUD) | -26% |
| Lifestyle | |||
| Gym membership, month | $65.71 | $46.93 (73 AUD) | -29% |
| Cinema seat | $18.40 | $13.14 (20 AUD) | -29% |
| Men's haircut | $39.43 | $28.16 (44 AUD) | -29% |
| Jeans (mid-range brand) | $60.75 | $53.75 (83 AUD) | -12% |
| Running shoes (brand) | $99.40 | $87.95 (137 AUD) | -12% |
| Coworking hot desk, month | $329 | $235 (364 AUD) | -29% |
Estimated from World Bank — Consumption price levels with per-item elasticity — model figures, not quotes. Compare any pair in the interactive tool.
Beyond prices
What each place pays, charges and offers — wages, rent, healthcare, climate, risk and time off. Figures come from the same engines behind the individual tools, so they match what those pages say. They sit about 15,875 km apart as the crow flies.
| Measure | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | 🇦🇺 Australia |
|---|---|---|
| Median local wage Monthly, USD. The local midpoint, not an average. | $6,578 | $3,805 |
| Rent, 1-bed Monthly, USD. | $1,416 | $1,534 |
| Rent as % of a local wage Are locals priced out? | 21.5% | 40.3% |
| Out-of-pocket healthcare Per person per year, USD. | $2,596 | $1,106 |
| Doctors per 1,000 WHO. | 4.5 | 4.1 |
| Comfortable days a year 18-27 °C and dry. Measured at Zürich and Sydney. | 66 | 145 |
| Rule of law World Bank WGI. A survey composite, so the band leads, not the decimal. | very strong | very strong |
| Country risk INFORM, 0-10. Lower is safer. | 1.9 (very low) | 2.4 (low) |
| Public holidays Observed nationwide; regional days are counted separately. | 4 + 17 regional | 6 + 21 regional |
| Air quality Mean annual PM2.5, µg/m³. WHO guideline is 5. Lower is better. | 8.2 | 6.3 |
| Life expectancy Years at birth — the outcome, not the spending. | 84.4 | 83.1 |
| Homicide rate Per 100,000 a year. A count, not a perception score. | 0.6 | 0.9 |
| Population online % using the internet. Reach, not speed — the row below is speed. | 97.3% | 96.1% |
| Internet download Measured median, Mbps. | 193.2 | 176.8 |
Cheap for you, or cheap for everyone?
Rent measured twice: against a $6,000/month remote income, and against what people actually earn locally. The gap between the two is the arbitrage — and it is the reason somewhere can be affordable to you and unaffordable to a local at once.
🇨🇭 Switzerland
-2.1 pts
23.6% of your income vs 21.5% of a local wage
🇦🇺 Australia
14.7 pts
25.6% of your income vs 40.3% of a local wage
Worked at $6,000/month. Run it on your own income
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Frequently asked questions
- How much cheaper is Australia than Switzerland?
- A single person's monthly essentials run about $2,244 in Australia versus $3,285 in Switzerland — 32% less. Rents differ the most; world-priced goods like petrol and electronics the least.
- What does a beer cost in Australia?
- A domestic draught pint is roughly $5.63 in Australia (≈ 8.74 AUD), versus about $7.89 in Switzerland.
- How much is rent in Australia compared to Switzerland?
- A 1-bedroom city-center apartment is estimated at $1,614/month in Australia versus $2,478/month in Switzerland (-35%). Housing is the most locally-priced item in the basket.
- How are these prices estimated?
- Curated US baseline prices scaled by each country's purchasing-power price level with per-item elasticities (housing 1.4, services 1.1, groceries 0.8, world-priced goods 0.4) — model estimates for orientation, not quotes.