How to Track Grocery Spending in Switzerland (2026 Guide)
To track grocery spending in Switzerland, write down every food shop with date, store, total and category, keep the receipt and add it up weekly. A Swiss household spent on average CHF 638 a month on food and non-alcoholic drinks at home in 2023, 6.2% of gross income (Federal Statistical Office, Household Budget Survey); yours depends on household size, age and how often you eat out.
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An average says little about your home. The Federal Statistical Office (FSO) measured CHF 638 per household per month for food and non-alcoholic drinks at home in 2023, or 6.2% of gross income, but your own figure only appears once you track it. Three methods work, and only the receipt shows what was in the basket, which a bank statement does not.
Updated October 2026. Sources: Federal Statistical Office (FSO), Household Budget Survey 2023 (press release of 17 November 2025) and tables by household type for 2018-2019 and 2020-2021; Budgetberatung Schweiz (Swiss budget counselling), budget examples 2025/2026 (viewed on 8 and 9 October 2026).
How much do Swiss households actually spend on groceries?
On average CHF 638 per household per month for food and non-alcoholic drinks consumed at home, 6.2% of gross income, in households of 2.07 people (FSO, 2023). By household type the FSO publishes only pooled years: in 2018-2019, the last years before Covid, spending ran from CHF 337 a month for a person under 65 living alone to CHF 923 for a couple with children; in the Covid years 2020-2021 it was CHF 387 and CHF 968. A guideline is not a measurement: for planning, Budgetberatung Schweiz gives CHF 370 to 500 for a single person and CHF 850 to 1'100 for a family with two children (2025/26, depending on net income). The full table is in the guide to the grocery budget by household size.
The FSO figure leaves out alcohol and tobacco (CHF 92 a month in 2023) and eating out (CHF 427 a month). Cleaning products and personal care are not food in the survey either, but they land on the same receipt, so tracking by category beats tracking one total. For how the money spreads over the categories, see grocery spending by category.
Snap a photo of your supermarket receipt and Rappn does the rest: it sorts your spending by category, tallies the month and shows it by shop. Your spending becomes a chart, not a guess.
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Receipt scan · monthly · By retailer
Your spending
What should you write down for each shop?
- Date and store. Include the small stops between the big shops; they are the ones that go missing.
- The receipt total, minus what is not food. Detergent, personal care and a magazine are not groceries; split them out, or your food budget looks higher than it is.
- One category from a short fixed list, for example fruit and vegetables, dairy, meat and fish, bread, drinks, so that one week compares with the next.
- The receipt itself. Keep it or photograph it on the spot, above all for cash purchases at the bakery, market or kiosk. The page on how long to keep receipts also covers thermal paper that fades.
- One total a week, one comparison a month. The monthly grocery spending review explains how to make the comparison.
Which method of tracking grocery spending works best?
| Method | Effort | What it shows | Limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Receipts and spreadsheet | High: every line by hand | Items, store and category | The typing takes time every week, and that is where many people stop |
| Banking-app categories | Low: automatic | The total per merchant | Not what you bought: a supermarket payment mixes food and household goods |
| Receipt-based app such as Rappn | Low: photo, gallery or entry by hand | Spending by category and by month, next to your own monthly average; export as PDF or CSV | Covers groceries, not rent, insurance or taxes; every shop needs a receipt |
A bank statement is enough for a first look at the monthly total, but to see what is in the basket you need the receipt. Where to find digital receipts and how to analyse grocery receipts show how. If you would rather not link a bank at all, there is tracking expenses without a bank connection.
Why does grocery tracking so often go wrong?
- Everything under “groceries”. The banking app books the whole supermarket payment as groceries, but the receipt also holds detergent and personal care.
- Only the big weekly shop. The weekly shop is visible; the quick stop on the way home is not, and several of them in a month can weigh more than they seem to.
- A budget before a baseline. “Next month I will spend less” is a wish, not a plan. Track four weeks first: the first week often looks high because you finally see everything.
- Stopping after one expensive week. Follow the trend, not every rappen, and start again without guilt.
After a year of receipts you can also measure how your own prices changed, as described under personal grocery inflation.
How do you start today?
Rappn is a free Swiss app (iOS and Android) that compares the current promotions of seven Swiss retailers and turns receipts into a spending overview. You photograph a receipt, upload it from your gallery or enter a purchase by hand; the app sorts your purchases into categories and shows your spending by month, next to your own monthly average, and you can export your receipts as PDF or CSV. A first step for today: photograph this week’s receipts. Rappn covers groceries, not rent, taxes or health insurance.
If you want your own figure rather than an average, the free Rappn app imports the receipts of three big Swiss supermarkets’ loyalty programmes, up to 12 months back, and you add the others by photo; it then shows your spending by category and by month. You need a Rappn account and must be an adult; the programmes’ terms still apply and the operator can restrict the link (how linking works).
Rappn is building an AI assistant for groceries: you can join the waitlist.
Updated: .
Why Rappn?
Rappn is an independent grocery price comparison app in Switzerland, with no commercial agreements with any retailer. Our comparisons are truly independent.
- 100% free: no subscription, no hidden costs
- Neutral: no commercial agreements with Migros, Coop, Aldi, Lidl, Denner, Aligro, or Otto’s
- Updated daily, as soon as the chains publish their deals
- The chains’ deals in one place: search, filter, compare, no subscription
- Meal planner in the Kitchen tab: plan the week, send the ingredients to your list
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Frequently Asked Questions
How much does the average person in Switzerland spend on groceries per month?
The FSO reports spending per household, not per person. The average household of 2.07 people spent CHF 638 a month on food and non-alcoholic drinks in 2023 (FSO, Household Budget Survey), which is about CHF 309 per person (CHF 637.76 divided by 2.066 people, unrounded FSO values, our calculation). By household type, in 2018-2019 it was CHF 337 for a person under 65 living alone and CHF 923 for a couple with children (FSO).
Which method works for tracking grocery spending in Switzerland?
The one you keep up. A receipt app records each shop by photo and sorts it by category and month. Banking apps show the total per merchant but not what you bought. A spreadsheet is the most detailed, but the typing takes time every week.
How much can you save by tracking grocery spending?
There is no sourced figure for that, so we give none. Tracking gives you your own baseline against the FSO household figures and a view of the big items; how far the bill moves when you change those items, your own receipts will show.
Should I track groceries by store or by category?
Mainly by category: it shows where the money goes. For the average household, meat is the largest item (CHF 120 of CHF 638 a month, FSO 2023). The store view shows where the small stops happen, so it is worth keeping both.
Do toiletries from the supermarket count as groceries?
For tracking purposes, no. Split food from household items; the FSO does not count personal care or cleaning products as food either. Lumping them together makes your food budget look higher than it is.
How do I track my grocery spending with Rappn?
You photograph a receipt, upload it from your gallery or enter a purchase by hand. The app sorts your purchases into categories and shows your spending by month, next to your own monthly average, and you can export your receipts as PDF or CSV. Rappn is free, with no subscription, and covers groceries, not rent, taxes or health insurance.