City comparison
Cost of living in London vs Zürich
One person needs about €3,468 a month in London and €3,790 in Zürich, rent included — London is 9% cheaper overall.
Salary you'd need to keep the same lifestyle
Enter your current net monthly pay. We scale it by the full cost basket — rent, groceries, transport, utilities, eating out and internet.
To live in Zürich the way you live in London on €3,000, you need
€3,279/ month net
9% more than today (+€279)
- London today
- Basket €3,468 · left over -€468 (-16%)
- Zürich at the matched salary
- Basket €3,790 · left over -€511 (-16%)
Local pay context: average tech net pay covers the basket 237% over in Zürich (very strong) vs 161% in London. Purchasing power index · How we calculate this
🇬🇧 London
Salaries are high, everything else is higher — transport alone costs a Tbilisi flat.
Monthly budget: €3,468
Sources: ONS + VOA, CPIH & private rental market summary (2025) · 468 community reports
🇨🇭 Zürich
Highest salaries anywhere, and a grocery bill that will still shock you.
Monthly budget: €3,790
Sources: Eurostat, Harmonised price indices (2025) · 0 community reports
Should you move to London or Zürich?
On salary, Zürich pays more for tech roles (€9,000 versus €5,600 a month), so the money left over after costs is €5,210 in Zürich at the top end.
Rent drives most of the gap: €2,400 in London against €2,600 in Zürich. Groceries, transport and utilities move far less between the two.
For remote workers, the nomad index scores London at 64 and Zürich at 66 — see the full nomad index and our data methodology.