Calculate your maximum rent
13.10.2025
With our free rent calculator for Switzerland, you can quickly see which rent fits your income – and then focus your search for your new home.
How the rent calculator works
- Enter your monthly net income (and any additional sources of income, if applicable).
- For each expense item, enter the amount you pay per month (in whole numbers). Important: the list of expense items is intentionally extensive to give you an overview of the kinds of costs you may face. All fields are optional – if you don’t have expenses for certain items, simply leave those fields blank.
- At the bottom, you’ll instantly see the maximum rent based on your inputs. As you add further income and expenses, it updates continually to reflect the latest values (for safety, it’s capped at one third of your net income).
- Special case – a shared flat for a couple or setting up a flatshare: if you’re moving in with your partner or forming a flatshare with several people, you can add as many people as you like at the top of the calculator. You may enter your names (purely for clarity; optional). Once everyone has entered their own figures, the calculator shows the total amount available for the overall rent.
- You’ll find further guidance and tips below the calculator.
Additional guidance and tips for using the calculator
- The rent calculator is free and you can use it as often as you like.
- The maximum rent shown is without guarantee and serves only as an indicative reference to help you set a realistic budget that suits your personal circumstances.
- Bear in mind that most property managers follow a common rule of thumb: the monthly rent should not exceed one third of your income. Even if you live very frugally and could in theory shoulder a higher rent, your application may still be declined.
- Because rent is paid monthly, the calculator is set up for monthly budgeting. Enter all costs on a monthly basis. For example: if you pay your household insurance once a year (e.g. CHF 240), divide by 12 to get the monthly amount (CHF 20) and enter that under the relevant expense item.
- People living alone often pay all costs themselves. If you live with others, you can split various costs and enter them that way in the calculator. Example: electricity, internet and the Serafe TV/radio licence fee are charged per household, not per person. In such cases it’s worth sharing the costs fairly among the tenants. A single-person household should budget roughly CHF 28 per month for the Serafe fee (CHF 335 ÷ 12); if two people share a flat, each can enter CHF 14 for this item (CHF 28 ÷ 2). This increases your maximum rent.
- Our tax calculator is available to help you estimate your taxes.
- The reserve amount is automatically set to 5% of your net income and is intended for unforeseen expenses (e.g. a large dental bill). This is only a recommendation to be on the safe side – you can adjust the amount as you wish.
- Be realistic and honest with yourself when entering the figures: if you use overly optimistic numbers and end up with a rent that is far too high, the property manager will likely notice when you apply – and even if not, you would be living in a flat that is too expensive, which can lead to financial problems sooner or later.
- Remember that a rental deposit equivalent to three months’ rent is usually required. If you don’t have this amount available, SwissCaution offers an alternative.
- If you plan to set up a flatshare with several people and have found a suitable flat, check with the property management in advance whether this is permitted there and state how many people you are.
- You’ll find detailed tips and tricks for your flat search here.
