Ottawa vs Zurich - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: June 21, 2026

	Ottawa	Zurich
🚶 Cost of living one person	$2122	$3857
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$4795	$9099
🏠 One person rent	$1248	$2413
🏘️ Family rent	$2038	$4235
🍽️ Food expenses	$575	$926
🚐 Transport expenses	$167	$235
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$3638	$8550
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	6 km	8 km
🎓 Higher education	49	82
😀 Quality of life	91	97
🏙️ Population	1.02M	452K

The cost of living in Ottawa is 45% less expensive than in Zurich. Cities ranked 1688th and 11th ($2122 vs $3857) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 22nd and 2nd in Canada and Switzerland, respectively. Check Canada vs Switzerland comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.7 months in Ottawa compared to 2.2 months in Zurich. Ottawa ranked 8th best city to live in Canada vs Zurich ranked 1st in Switzerland, while ranked 141st and 6th among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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Prices in Ottawa vs Zurich

Prices for goods and services in Ottawa and Zurich are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

	Ottawa	Zurich
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$15.2	$30.2
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$65.6	$79.3
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$11.1	$18.5
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$5.79	$10
☕ Cappuccino	$4.28	$7.52
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$2.14	$5.35
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1259	$2736
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1072	$2037
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$2157	$5021
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1775	$3627
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$93.4	$178
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$142	$272
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$45.2	$57.9
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	4.27%	1.94%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$4527	$17464
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$4215	$7981
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$2.92	$5.72
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$96.3	$109
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$15.1	$44.7
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.12	$2.31
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$2.43	$2.23
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.55	$3.89
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.08	$3.75
🥚 Eggs, x12	$3.51	$9.3
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$13	$24.9
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$12.6	$27.2
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$15.7	$43
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.89	$4.42
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.21	$2.98
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4	$3.72
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.86	$4.77
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.5	$3.1
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.9	$2.45
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.03	$0.95
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$2.98	$3.45
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$12.3	$17.8
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.77	$2.86
🚬 Cigarette pack	$14.2	$12
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$11.6	$20.8
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$4.19	$5.41
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.94	$5.19
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$2.36	$3.86
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$43.9	$82.9
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$11.4	$24.6
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$66.5	$149
💇 Haircut, simple	$16.7	$55.4
👖 Brand Jeans	$64.6	$136
👟 Brand Sneakers	$102	$154
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$899	$2480
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$17263	$26431

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Ottawa

Distance	City	Cost of living
7.4 km or 4.6 mi	Gatineau	$1839
19 km or 12 mi	Kanata	$2189
87 km or 54 mi	Cornwall	$1674
94 km or 58 mi	Brockville	$1848
124 km or 77 mi	Salaberry-de-Valleyfield	$1942
128 km or 80 mi	Mirabel	$1864
130 km or 81 mi	Vaudreuil-Dorion	$1906
138 km or 86 mi	Saint-Jerome	$1832
141 km or 87 mi	Saint-Eustache	$1926
143 km or 89 mi	Kirkland	$1914
144 km or 89 mi	Blainville	$1903
146 km or 90 mi	Sainte-Therese	$1928
147 km or 91 mi	Pointe-Claire	$1915
147 km or 91 mi	Boisbriand	$1913
147 km or 91 mi	Dollard-des-Ormeaux	$1918
147 km or 91 mi	Kingston	$1451
150 km or 93 mi	Le Ray	$1929
152 km or 94 mi	Dorval	$1917
152 km or 94 mi	Chateauguay	$1905
153 km or 95 mi	Laval	$2058
157 km or 98 mi	Saint-Lin-Laurentides	$1772
158 km or 98 mi	Cote-Saint-Luc	$1870
160 km or 100 mi	Mount Royal	$1852
162 km or 101 mi	Watertown	$1816
163 km or 102 mi	Terrebonne	$1863
163 km or 102 mi	Westmount	$1828
166 km or 103 mi	Saint-Constant	$1905
167 km or 104 mi	Montreal	$1901
167 km or 104 mi	Mascouche	$1828
170 km or 106 mi	Saint-Lambert	$1856
170 km or 106 mi	Candiac	$1921
170 km or 106 mi	Longueuil	$1874
171 km or 106 mi	La Prairie	$1937
175 km or 109 mi	Brossard	$2051
176 km or 109 mi	Boucherville	$1861
177 km or 110 mi	Repentigny	$1817
178 km or 111 mi	Varennes	$1829
183 km or 114 mi	L'Assomption	$1702
183 km or 114 mi	Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville	$1892
185 km or 115 mi	Sainte-Julie	$1875

Cities near Zurich

Distance	City	Cost of living
4.2 km or 2.6 mi	Altstetten	$3514
6.4 km or 4 mi	Dubendorf	$3281
11 km or 6.6 mi	Dietikon	$3348
14 km or 8.6 mi	Horgen	$3492
14 km or 8.6 mi	Uster	$3239
16 km or 9.7 mi	Bulach	$3231
19 km or 12 mi	Wettingen	$3264
19 km or 12 mi	Wadenswil	$3441
19 km or 12 mi	Winterthur	$3267
20 km or 13 mi	Wetzikon	$3240
20 km or 13 mi	Baden	$3312
20 km or 13 mi	Baar	$3519
23 km or 15 mi	Zug	$4491
28 km or 17 mi	Rapperswil-Jona	$3286
33 km or 21 mi	Frauenfeld	$2641
36 km or 22 mi	Schaffhausen	$2611
37 km or 23 mi	Waldshut-Tiengen	$1679
37 km or 23 mi	Aarau	$2644
38 km or 24 mi	Emmen	$3288
40 km or 25 mi	Wil	$2638
40 km or 25 mi	Lucerne	$3321
43 km or 27 mi	Kriens	$3199
48 km or 30 mi	Singen	$1703
51 km or 32 mi	Radolfzell	$1751
56 km or 35 mi	Kreuzlingen	$2986
57 km or 36 mi	Konstanz	$1807
60 km or 37 mi	Rheinfelden	$1695
63 km or 39 mi	St. Gallen	$3120
63 km or 39 mi	Uberlingen	$1784
64 km or 40 mi	Donaueschingen	$1533
70 km or 44 mi	Riehen	$3587
71 km or 44 mi	Tuttlingen	$1582
71 km or 44 mi	Lorrach	$1700
74 km or 46 mi	Weil am Rhein	$1700
74 km or 46 mi	Basel	$3034
76 km or 47 mi	Villingen-Schwenningen	$1385
77 km or 48 mi	Saint-Louis	$1507
77 km or 48 mi	Friedrichshafen	$2091
77 km or 48 mi	Schaan	$2459
78 km or 48 mi	Allschwil	$3117