What Does a Weekly Grocery Shop Cost in Switzerland?

A weekly grocery shop in Switzerland realistically costs CHF 80–150 for one person, CHF 140–255 for a couple and CHF 195–370 for a family of four. Those weekly figures are derived, not separately surveyed: we took the monthly ranges from our own article on the real cost of groceries in Switzerland and divided by 4.33 weeks, rounding to the nearest 5 francs. Independently, ReloFinder (7 January 2026) puts a week at CHF 100–150 for one person, CHF 150–250 for a couple and CHF 250–400 for a family of four — the same order of magnitude, sitting a little higher in the range.

Sources checked regularly. Weekly figures derived from the monthly budgets published on rappn.ch; cross-checked against ReloFinder (7 January 2026), budgethub.ch (January 2026) and Expatica (13 January 2026). Branded-basket comparison from bonus.ch (3 September 2025). Household spending from the BFS household budget survey, 2016 survey year (as reported by SRF, 19 November 2018). Basket tests by K-Tipp and RTS “A bon entendeur” via the side-by-side at konsider.ch (18 April 2024). Inflation re-checked against the BFS consumer price index (June 2026, press release 2 July 2026). Last reviewed: July 2026.

Rappn is the only neutral grocery price comparison app in Switzerland, with no commercial agreements with any retailer.

For context: the Federal Statistical Office (BFS) household budget survey puts the average 2.2-person household at CHF 632 a month for food and non-alcoholic beverages, or 6.3% of a gross income of CHF 10,033 (BFS figures as reported by SRF, November 2018) — around CHF 146 a week on the same arithmetic. Those figures come from the 2016 survey year and exclude restaurants, takeaway and alcohol. Treat it as a floor, not a target.

The price base is currently stable: the BFS consumer price index stood at 101.3 points in June 2026 (December 2025 = 100), unchanged month-on-month and +0.5% year-on-year (press release, 2 July 2026). Budget ranges set in early 2026 still hold.

Weekly shop for 1, 2 or 4 people

Column two is pure arithmetic: monthly range divided by 4.33. The real finding is in the columns beside it — three sources using different methods land in the same zone. If you need a single number, Expatica works with roughly CHF 550 a month per person (13 January 2026) and budgethub.ch with CHF 400–600 per head, dropping to CHF 250–350 in larger households because staples can be shared.

Per-person cost falls with every extra mouth in the household. Living alone, whole packs hit you at full force: 1kg of pasta is cheaper per gram than 500g, but one person rarely finishes 1kg before the rest goes stale in the cupboard. Detailed breakdowns per household type sit on our budget pages for singles, couples and families of four.

What actually moves the weekly total

Not the shop sign. On 3 September 2025 bonus.ch priced twenty branded items at Aldi, Coop, Lidl and Migros: the biggest gap across all twenty was 30 centimes, or 4.5% (San Pellegrino), and most branded prices were identical or a centime apart. Denner was left out because of limited online availability. The bonus.ch conclusion: on branded goods, no supermarket is genuinely cheaper than another.

The movement is in own-brand lines and fresh food. ReloFinder puts discounters 15–25% below Migros and Coop (January 2026), and Expatica shows how widely individual fresh prices scatter: chicken CHF 13–33/kg, 12 eggs CHF 3.60–8.00, cheese CHF 18–38/kg, bread CHF 1.20–4.50, milk CHF 1.30–2.00/litre (13 January 2026). Your weekly total is decided inside those bands, not at the choice of branch.

Budget basket: family of 4, 20 products

Worth stating plainly: the table below is a model calculation built on budget-line list prices, not a same-day price survey. Aldi and Lidl run as a single discounter column in it. Shelf prices change weekly and by branch — for current prices, check the app or the retailer directly.

The ranking

Migros and Coop land close together on budget lines — 54 centimes apart across 20 products, with Coop just ahead. Coop wins on meat (chicken CHF 11.50/kg vs CHF 13.80 at Migros), Migros wins on dairy and pasta. They balance out.

The fact that shifts the perspective

Gap Aldi vs Migros budget: CHF 4.39 (6.3%). Gap M-Budget vs M-Classic at the same Migros: ~CHF 41 (56%). In this model calculation, switching to the budget line saves about nine times more than switching stores. The standard-basket column holds estimates, not surveyed prices.

What official tests show

These tests only look contradictory — they measure different things. K-Tipp and RTS take the cheapest comparable product in each category, so own brands and discounters show their full effect. bonus.ch compared identical branded items and landed at a maximum of 4.5%. Buy brands and changing shop saves you almost nothing; be willing to change product and you save double digits. The RTS survey also shows how far one shelf can tip a result: Denner came last there only because no budget option was available for minced meat (konsider.ch, 18 April 2024). These test figures are taken from media reports and were not recalculated by us; ktipp.ch is not freely accessible.

Optimised weekly plan

Thursday: check weekly deals on Rappn (5 min).
Weekly shop: budget line for staples, seasonal fruit/veg, bread anywhere.
Once a month: Aldi/Lidl for household products and staples — ReloFinder puts discounters 15–25% below Migros and Coop (January 2026). Denner for coffee/wine on promotion.

Over a year, the only figure we can state honestly is the one from this model calculation: roughly CHF 41 a week between the budget and the standard basket is about CHF 2,100 across 52 weeks — for these 20 products specifically. Buy more lines and it rises; we do not have a defensible whole-household total.

So what does a weekly grocery shop really cost in Switzerland?

It depends — on three things, in this order: how many people are eating, whether own-brand or branded goods go in the trolley, and how much meat is on the list. The store is the weakest of the three levers. A family can land anywhere between CHF 195 and CHF 370 a week inside the same Migros, without ever changing branch.

The honest version: no chain is always the cheapest, and which one wins depends on what you buy. If you have an Aldi or a Lidl on your commute, you save real money on household goods; if you do not, switching to M-Budget or Prix Garantie pays more than an extra drive across town.

If you want to know where your own weekly shop actually sits: Rappn pulls the current promotions from Migros, Coop, Aldi, Lidl, Denner, Otto's and Aligro into one place. Add your five regulars — coffee, detergent, toilet paper, butter, chicken breast — and you can see week by week where your basket gets cheaper, without leafing through seven flyers.