Switzerland · https://decisionscalc.com/ch/tools/cost-of-raising-a-child-calculator/
Cost of Raising a Child in Switzerland
A year-by-year estimate from birth to 18: everyday costs for each age band, childcare, an optional housing share, and, if you qualify, the official Family allowance counted as income. Every default is sourced and dated below, and the result sits next to the most-cited estimate for Switzerland — it is our model, not an official cost.
Cost to age 18
Where the money goes
Year by year
The most-cited figure for Switzerland
Zurich child-cost table (Zürcher Kinderkosten-Tabelle): about CHF 1,633 a month, or CHF 352,800 to age 18, in direct costs excluding childcare. Status: to verify: the current edition was not located. The Federal Statistical Office's own estimate (CHF 819 a month per child, 2009) is out of date.
Published figures measure different things: some include housing and childcare, some stop at 17 or run to 21, some price a minimum standard and others average spending, and their prices come from different years. That is why we show it next to your result rather than as "the" cost.
What the defaults are built from
- Everyday costs (food, clothing, activities, transport, health and the rest, excluding housing and childcare): Our estimate based on the Zurich child-cost table (Zürcher Kinderkosten-Tabelle), about CHF 1,633 a month per child in direct costs excluding childcare (to verify), spread across the age bands.
- Childcare: Default is the midpoint of CHF 2,300 to 3,000 a month for a full-time Kita place before cantonal or municipal subsidy (kizi.ch; to verify). Subsidies are income-based and set locally; enter the share yours covers.
- Housing: Our assumption: an extra bedroom's share of rent, taken as 15% of an average net rent of about CHF 1,700 a month. Off by default because the Zurich table already includes a housing share (to verify).
- Family allowance: The federal minimum family allowance is CHF 215 a month per child and CHF 268 a month education allowance from 16 (Federal Social Insurance Office). Cantons set their own rates, many above the minimum, so check your canton's family allowance office.
| Age band | Everyday cost per child per year (our estimate) |
|---|---|
| Ages 0–4 | CHF 16,250 |
| Ages 5–11 | CHF 19,120 |
| Ages 12–17 | CHF 22,940 |
| Ages | Family allowance, eldest (per year) | Each additional child |
|---|---|---|
| 0–15 | CHF 2,580 | CHF 2,580 |
| 16–17 | CHF 3,216 | CHF 3,216 |
How the estimate works
For each year of the child's life the calculator adds the everyday cost for that age band (scaled by the cost level), childcare for the pre-school years you choose, and the housing share if you switch it on, then takes off the Family allowance for that age. Each year is raised by the inflation rate from today, so the total is in the money of the years it is spent; the line beneath it gives the same total in today's money.
Three simplifications matter. More than one child is modelled side by side, each from birth, with no discount for hand-me-downs or shared rooms. Childcare stops when school starts, so after-school and holiday care are not included. And the benefit is counted at its maximum rate, which income tests reduce or remove for many families.
The levers that move the total
Childcare is the line that swings most: a few years of full-time care at market prices can rival everything else in the first decade, and subsidies or funded hours change it more than any other single choice. After that, the teenage years cost the most in everyday spending. Housing depends on whether a child actually changes where you live — if you already have the room, switch it off.
For the first year in detail, use the baby cost planner; for what comes after 18, the college cost calculator.
Compare two scenarios
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| Metric | Scenario A | Scenario B | Difference |
|---|
What changes in Switzerland
- Family allowances are paid through the employer (or the compensation fund if self-employed) and set by each canton above a federal minimum, so the same child brings different support in Geneva and in Zurich.
- Childcare is the largest swing factor: full-time Kita fees are among the highest in Europe and subsidies are income-based and set by the municipality, so the net fee depends on where you live as much as on what you earn.
- Children need their own compulsory health insurance. Premiums for children are reduced and many cantons pay premium reductions for families on modest incomes, but it is a fixed monthly cost from birth.
- Swiss child-cost tables such as Zurich's are used to set maintenance payments, which is why they are detailed and age-banded; they describe typical direct costs, not what any one family spends.
Data reference (Switzerland): Everyday costs: our estimate based on the Zurich child-cost table (Zürcher Kinderkosten-Tabelle), ~CHF 1,633/mo per child excluding childcare (to verify). Childcare: Kita CHF 2,300-3,000/mo full-time before subsidy (kizi.ch; to verify). Housing (off by default): our assumption of 15% of ~CHF 1,700/mo net rent. Family allowance federal minimum CHF 215/mo per child, CHF 268/mo education allowance (BSV, checked 2026-10-29) · figures as of 2026-10 · Family allowance minimums checked against the Federal Social Insurance Office (BSV) on 2026-10-29; the spending bands, childcare and housing lines are our estimate based on the named sources, not individually verified. General information, not advice.. See our methodology for how every figure is sourced and dated.