Student budget in Switzerland: what living and studying cost each month

Studying in Switzerland takes 1'735 to 3'260 Swiss francs (CHF) a month in a flatshare, and CHF 775 to 1'980 if you stay with your parents: these are the 2025/26 guideline values of Budgetberatung Schweiz, the umbrella association of the budget counselling offices. The universities publish their own estimates, from CHF 1'300 a month (USI) to 2'393 (EPFL, Swiss students), and semester fees from CHF 500 (Geneva) to 2'190 (ETH and EPFL, for many international students); USI will charge new students 2'000 or 5'000 from 2027/28.

Updated October 2026. Sources: Budgetberatung Schweiz (2025/26, in German); the universities’ own pages (ETH, EPFL, UZH, UNIGE, USI); the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH, BAG), premiums 2027; priminfo; KVG (as of 1 July 2026); EDK (the cantonal education directors’ conference); ch.ch (viewed on 20 October 2026; several pages in German). The universities’ estimates give no academic year; ETH’s cost sheet is a file dated September 2025.

How much does a student need each month in Switzerland?

It depends mostly on where you stay: according to Budgetberatung Schweiz (2025/26), a student in a flatshare should count on CHF 1'735 to 3'260 a month, one at their parents’ home on CHF 775 to 1'980. That covers fees, materials, health insurance, food, transport, leisure, provisions and, in a flatshare, rent. The range is wide because rent, city and university differ. These are guideline values, not a personal budget: to build yours, start from monthly net income, as the guide to making a budget explains.

The monthly budget, item by item

Tuition fees and scholarships

At ETH and EPFL the tripled fee (2'190) applies in general to foreign students who move to Switzerland to study; Swiss students and those who already resided here pay 730, by each university’s own criteria.

Scholarships are cantonal: you usually apply to the canton where your parents reside (EDK), if you or your parents have little income and few assets, with conditions that differ by canton (ch.ch); anyone who stays in Switzerland only to study cannot apply (EDK).

1. Find the office in the EDK list.
2. Check conditions and deadlines on its website.
3. File the formal application: scholarships in principle need not be repaid, loans must be (ch.ch).

With a job alongside your studies, UZH says around CHF 500 a month should be possible, depending on the programme and your situation; for foreign students the University of Geneva states at most 15 hours a week and, from outside the EU, only after 6 months in Switzerland.

Health insurance and premium reduction

By law young adults, aged 19 to 25, get a lower premium than other insured people (KVG art. 61 para. 3). For 2027 the FOPH gives them a mean premium of CHF 338.80 a month, against 487.60 for adults.

For low and middle incomes the cantons must reduce the premiums of young adults in training by at least 50 percent (art. 65 para. 1bis); each canton decides who is entitled, some reduce premiums on their own, others only on application (FOPH), and the offices are listed on priminfo.

Health insurance is compulsory for everyone resident in Switzerland; students from the EU/EFTA/UK who do not work here and stay insured at home are exempt, other foreign students can ask their canton for an exemption with equivalent cover (priminfo). To switch insurer for 1 January 2027, your notice must reach your current insurer by 30 November 2026: see switching health insurance.

Rent, transport and books

It depends on the campus: here are the figures the universities publish.

• Rent, a month: EPFL 900, UZH 910, Geneva 700, USI 450–800; ETH 11'300 a year for a room (2024 average, canton of Zurich). For a flat of your own there is the guide to home running costs.
• Transport, a month: EPFL 60, UZH 95, USI 50–100, Geneva 45 under 25 and 70 from 25; ETH 586 a year (age 25 and under).
• Books and materials: EPFL 100 a month, USI 50; ETH 1'000 a year.

How to keep track of the groceries

The guide to the student grocery budget uses CHF 250–400 a month for anyone who cooks at home most of the time, canteen not included: a planning range, not a measured average. Rappn, a free Swiss app (iOS and Android) that compares the current promotions of seven Swiss retailers and turns receipts into a spending overview, only helps with that: you photograph a receipt, upload it from your gallery or enter a purchase by hand, and the app sorts your purchases into categories and shows your spending by month, next to your own monthly average. Rappn covers groceries only: rent, health insurance, tuition fees and taxes stay in your own budget. Rappn is building an AI assistant for groceries: you can join the waitlist.