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Attention coffee lovers. A cappuccino costs more in Zurich than anywhere else in the world.UCG/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Zurich and Geneva are the most expensive cities in the world.
While Swiss cities top many categories, Tokyo is surprisingly cheap.
This is where everyday items, from beer to rent, are the most expensive.
A Pepsi in Zurich. A pack of cigarettes in Sydney. A gym membership SanFrancisco.
The costs of everyday purchases around the world are reaching new levels.
A new report from the Deutsche Bank Research Institute compared prices of more than a dozen everyday items in 69 cities and tracked how much they’ve risen over the past 12 years.
The researchers used data from the crowdsourced Numbeo platform and cross-referenced it with other sources.
Switzerland It is home to the two most expensive cities in the world, Zurich and Geneva. These two cities have consistently ranked among the most expensive for coffee, a taxi ride, jeans and a can of Coke. However, residents also earned some of the highest salaries in the world. They also ranked high in disposable income after taxes and rent; One couple renting a three-bedroom apartment was left with more than $10,000 a month.
Jim Reid, head of global macro research and thematic strategy at Deutsche Bank Research Institute, told Business Insider that prices reflect the strength of the Swiss franc over the decades.
new York and San Francisco, long among the most expensive cities in the United States, ranked among the top 10 most expensive cities in many categories.
However, America’s relative dominance has diminished somewhat due to a slowdown in foreign investment, which raises the value of the currency and can lead to inflation.
“The geopolitical world is getting increasingly difficult and people don’t want to have all their eggs in one basket,” Reid said.
Tokyo, an outlier, stands out with its low prices. Renting a three-bedroom apartment japanese capital It costs less than a third of what it costs in New York, and a McDonald’s meal costs less than a quarter of what it costs in New York. Tel Aviv. This is the cheapest place in the world to buy an iPhone.
“Another year of yen depreciation has catapulted Tokyo into surprisingly cheap territory for such a developed market city,” Reid said.
Here’s where everyday items are most expensive in 2026 and how much you’ll pay for them on average.
Cappuccino: Zurich, $7.13
Coffee shop, Zurich.Dukas/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
The cost of a cup of coffee in Zurich is almost 40% more than it was 10 years ago. This is the only city where cappuccino exceeds $7.00; That’s a few dollars more than a three-course meal in Jakarta. Authentic cappuccinos are among the cheapest; The price is $2.24 in Rome and $2.18 in Milan.
iPhone: Türkiye, $2,592 for iPhone 17 Pro
An iPhone in Ankara. Akın Çeliktaş/Anadolu via Getty Images
buy iphone In Türkiye, it will cost more than twice as much as in the US, due to high taxes and the decline in the lira. Japan ranks as the cheapest place in the world to buy an iPhone, at $1,121 per person.
The report notes that due to Apple’s centralized pricing strategy, the device “has become one of our most reliable cross-economy price comparisons.” Any differences reflect taxes, tariffs, distribution costs and exchange rate effects.
Cigarette pack: Sydney, $44.50
Cigarettes, Sydney.Ryan Pierse/Getty Images
Cigarettes in Australia will cost you; Marlboros cost over $40 a pack in Sydney and Melbourne. That’s more than double the $19 in New York and twenty times the $2.1 in Cairo. The high price is a result of Australia’s liberal use of sin taxes on products such as alcohol and tobacco; The cost of a package has more than doubled in the last decade, with regular tax increases.
Pair of jeans: Geneva, $141
Rue de la Croix D’Or, Geneva.UCG/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
A pair of jeans — think Levi’s 501, not designer — costs $141 in Geneva, nearly twice as much as in New York. Denim is cheapest in Delhi, where a pair costs $24.
Bottle of wine: Singapore, $23.20
FairPrice supermarket, Singapore.UCG/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Thanks to a volume-based alcohol tax, a mid-range bottle of wine will cost you a lot in Singapore. Still, that’s not much more than in many other expensive cities; A similar bottle costs $20 in New York and about $18 in Oslo. For a cheap bottle, head to Rome, where a bottle costs $4.60.
A Coke (or Pepsi): Zurich, $6.03
Coca-Cola factory. STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP
A 0.33 liter bottle Coke or Pepsi — the small glass ones common abroad or the box-size ones in the U.S. — top $6 in only one market: Zurich. In most markets, a soda this size costs $1 or $2, but in Cairo, the cheapest market, it’s only $0.38.
McDonald’s combo meal: Tel Aviv, $20.90
McDonald’s, Tel Aviv.Francis Dean/Corbis via Getty Images
A. McDonald’s food It may be fast in Tel Aviv but it’s not cheap. At around $21, a combo meal in Bangalore is more expensive than a three-course meal for two. Prices in Tel Aviv have risen rapidly over the past decade due to the strong performance of the Israeli shekel, emerging technology and defense industries, and disruptions in the regional supply chain.
Going to the movies in Switzerland’s largest cities costs about $25, and that’s before popcorn and soda. New York is not far behind at $22.50, up 50% from 2016. In these markets you can buy seven movie tickets in Cairo for the price of one ticket.
One beer: Dubai, $13.60
Budweiser tap, Dubai.Bloomberg/Getty Images
The price of an imported bottle of beer in a restaurant in Dubai is more than seven times that of a similar bottle in China. The $13-plus price of beer in both Dubai and Doha is due to high alcohol taxes.
Three-course meal for two: Zurich, $149
Raclette, Zurich, SvetlanaSF/Getty Images
It’s hard to be a cheap date in Zurich, where a three-course meal for two in a mid-range restaurant sells for well into the three figures. Prices in this category have increased almost everywhere. rising food prices and increasing the salaries of service personnel.
Gym membership: San Francisco, $136 per month
Gym, San Francisco.Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
In San Francisco, where longevity reigns supreme, gym membership The average is $136 a month, $21 more than in New York. Prices have more than doubled in the last decade, outpacing prices in other cities.
Taxi ride: Zurich, $32.00
Taxi, Zurich.Boogich/Getty Images
A five-kilometer taxi ride in Zurich costs $32, or 23 times as much as the same length ride in Cairo. The only city where a short taxi ride costs more than $30 is Switzerland; local public transport is much cheaper ($5.71 one way) but still the most expensive in the world.
Internet: Dubai, $94.70 per month
WiFi, Dubai.picture Alliance/dpa/picture Alliance, via Getty Images
Monthly internet bills are highest in the UAE’s Dubai and Abu Dhabi; Here, the monthly cost of tariffs over 60 Mbps with unlimited data is $94.70 and $89.70, respectively. In India, Russia and China, connectivity is relatively cheap; In Delhi, it bottoms out at $7.30 a month.
Rent: New York, $4,285 per month for a one-bedroom apartment
Apartment buildings, New York City.Spencer Platt/Getty Images
one bedroom apartment in new york It is by far more expensive than anywhere else in the world. The monthly rent for an apartment in the heart of the Big Apple is 42% higher than the monthly rent for an apartment in Zurich, the closest city outside the US, and has increased by almost 50% over the past decade. New York has consistently ranked in the top three during the 14 years the report has been published.
Utilities: Berlin, $410 per month for a 915-square-foot apartment
Skyline, Berlin.Thomas Koehler/Photothek via Getty Images
Over the last few years, German cities have experienced an increase in basic services such as electricity, heating, cooling, water and garbage; The report attributes this trend to the lasting effects of the shift away from Russian gas and nuclear energy. In Berlin, utility costs have increased by 47% in the last decade.
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