What a flat costs if you move today: asking rents, 9 November 2026
The official averages further down cover all existing leases, many of them years old. If you move now, you pay asking rents. These are the median asking rents of the rental flats in aptari's feed on 9 November 2026, each home counted once, as shown in the listings:
| City | 2.5 rooms | 3.5 rooms | 4.5 rooms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zurich | CHF 2,569 | CHF 3,188 | CHF 3,800 |
| Winterthur | CHF 2,028 | CHF 2,510 | CHF 2,810 |
| Lucerne | CHF 1,980 | CHF 2,378 | CHF 2,941 |
| Lausanne | CHF 1,820 | CHF 2,490 | CHF 3,000 |
| Basel | CHF 1,758 | CHF 2,120 | CHF 2,870 |
| Bern | CHF 1,725 | CHF 2,200 | CHF 2,830 |
| Lugano | CHF 1,700 | CHF 1,940 | CHF 2,900 |
| St. Gallen | CHF 1,450 | CHF 1,602 | CHF 1,940 |
In Zurich the median asking rent for 3.5 rooms is CHF 3,188, while the average across all existing 3-room leases in the city is CHF 1,832 (BFS, 2024). Median means half of the flats cost less and half cost more. Each number rests on 43 to 786 flats. Geneva and Zug are left out because too few flats of these sizes were in the feed that day. Source: the listings of Homegate, ImmoScout24, Flatfox and cooperative websites as read by aptari.
Swiss rents vary widely by size, city and canton. The figures below are the official ones: average monthly net rents (without Nebenkosten) of rented and cooperative flats, from the Federal Statistical Office's structural survey. The BFS counts half rooms down, so a 3.5-room flat appears as 3 rooms.
Average net rent by flat size, Switzerland (2024)
| Flat | Average net rent |
|---|---|
| 1 room | CHF 902 |
| 2 rooms | CHF 1,217 |
| 3 rooms | CHF 1,446 |
| 4 rooms | CHF 1,708 |
| 5 rooms | CHF 2,068 |
| All flats | CHF 1,485 |
A 3-room flat by city
| City | Existing leases | Leases signed in the last 2 years |
|---|---|---|
| Zurich | CHF 1,832 | CHF 2,125 |
| Geneva | CHF 1,527 | CHF 1,781 |
| Bern | CHF 1,479 | CHF 1,659 |
| Lausanne | CHF 1,460 | CHF 1,683 |
| Basel | CHF 1,447 | CHF 1,564 |
| Switzerland | CHF 1,446 | CHF 1,567 |
Single year 2024. For Winterthur (CHF 1,489) and Lugano (CHF 1,307) the BFS publishes only the years 2022 to 2024 combined; for the canton of Zug the 3-room average is CHF 1,875 (2024).
What the figures mean
- They are averages of all existing leases, including people who moved in many years ago. A flat advertised today usually costs more, which is why the column for leases signed in the last two years is closer to what you will pay.
- They are net, without Nebenkosten.
- City figures are for the municipality, not the canton.
Add Nebenkosten
On top of the net rent come the Nebenkosten (heating, hot water, building services). In the city of Zurich, gross rents are about 10 to 15% above net rents (Statistik Stadt Zürich, 2026). See Nebenkosten.
Rent trend
- The BFS rent index for existing leases rose 1.4% from August 2025 to August 2026, after +2.4% on average in 2025.
- The national vacancy rate was 0.93% on 1 June 2026, and 0.11% in the city of Zurich (BFS).
- The reference interest rate has been 1.25% since 2 September 2025 (BWO); if your rent still rests on a higher rate, you may be able to ask for a reduction.
Budgeting rule
Swiss landlords expect a gross income of about three times the rent. For a rent of CHF 1,800 including Nebenkosten, that is about CHF 5,400 a month. See how much income you need.
Where rent is lower
See the cheapest city to rent in Switzerland and cheaper areas around Zurich.