Convert CHF to EUR Swiss franc ↔ Euro Free Online Secure
Type an amount in Swiss franc and read it in Euro at once. The page uses the European Central Bank's reference rate, and tells you which day that rate is from.
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Common amounts — Convert CHF to EUR (Swiss franc ↔ Euro)
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The last thirty days
Where these codes and rates come from
The three letters in EUR, USD or JPY are not an abbreviation someone invented for a website: they are ISO 4217, a standard in which the first two letters are the country's own code and the third is usually the initial of the currency. The figures on this page come from the European Central Bank, which publishes one set of reference rates each working day, around 16:00 Central European time, agreed between the central banks of the Eurosystem. They are a daily snapshot meant for statistics and accounting, not a live trading feed — which is exactly why they are the same number for everyone, rather than whatever one bank happened to quote at one moment.
Where you meet an exchange rate
You meet an exchange rate four or five times a year without thinking about it: booking a trip, paying an invoice issued abroad, buying from a foreign shop, reading a salary offer in another currency, or checking what a card charge really cost. In all of these the reference rate is the honest middle, and the price you actually pay sits a little to one side of it. Knowing the middle is what lets you see how wide that margin is.
Questions people ask
Is this the rate my bank will give me?
No, and no page can promise one. This is the European Central Bank's reference rate: the midpoint published once a day for statistics. A bank, a card scheme or an exchange office adds its own margin on top — usually between half a percent and three percent, sometimes more at an airport counter. Use this figure to judge the offer you are given, not to predict it.
How often does the figure change, and what happens at weekends?
The European Central Bank publishes once each working day, in the afternoon, Central European time. There is no publication on Saturdays, Sundays or TARGET holidays, so on those days the page shows the last working day's rate and says which day it belongs to. The chart alongside is one year of the same daily series.
Is the answer exact?
Where both units are defined in terms of one another by whole numbers, yes — the page says so above the figure, and the only rounding is in how many digits are shown. Where the ratio has no finite decimal, the page shows twelve significant digits and says the relation is approximate rather than pretending otherwise.
Does anything I type leave my device?
No. The arithmetic runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded and there is no server to upload it to. Load the page once and it keeps working with the network switched off.
Why Swiss shoppers cross the border: the economics of a trolley full of euros
On a Saturday morning, the car parks of supermarkets in Konstanz, Lörrach, Saint-Louis, Como and Varese fill with cars bearing Swiss plates. Their owners have driven a few kilometres across the frontier to do their weekly shopping, because the same basket of groceries, clothes or toiletries costs a good deal less in euros than in francs. The phenomenon has a name in German, Einkaufstourismus, and it is one of the most vivid illustrations of what happens when a strong currency meets weaker prices next door. This page makes the calculation simple. It takes the European Central Bank's reference rate for the Swiss franc against the euro, shows the result with its date and keeps your amount in your browser. The text below follows a Swiss shopper across the border and through the customs rules, and each stage is a reason to Convert CHF to EUR and to understand what the figure means.
Using the converter
Francs in, euros out
A shopper who crosses the border every week will Convert CHF to EUR so often that the steps become automatic.
Type an amount in Swiss francs and the page returns its value in euros, with the date of the rate shown below. At weekends it uses Friday's figure and says so. A table of round amounts and a thirty-day line complete the page. For euros into francs, use Convert EUR to CHF.
Mid-market, not retail
The European Central Bank fixes the rate once on every working day, and it is the middle of the market, free of the margin that banks and exchange counters add. What you actually receive is a little less, and that gap is the price of the service. When you Convert CHF to EUR on this page, you obtain a ruler for measuring it. Under one per cent is excellent, two or three per cent is typical for banks, and anything over four is a reason to look around. For a Swiss shopper who spends in euros every week, even a half per cent adds up.
The basket: what costs less and by how much
Groceries and household goods
Before filling the trolley, Convert CHF to EUR for your weekly spending limit, and divide it by the number of people in the family.
A basket of everyday groceries costs far less in Germany, France or Italy than in Switzerland. Meat, dairy products, fruit, drinks and cleaning products show the biggest differences, while bread and vegetables are closer. Supermarkets such as Aldi, Lidl, Kaufland and Carrefour are the main destinations. A shopper can easily save a hundred francs or more on a large trolley. To judge a particular purchase, Convert CHF to EUR for the Swiss price and compare it with the euro price on the shelf.
Clothes, shoes and electronics
For a bigger item, Convert CHF to EUR for the shelf price and subtract the refundable VAT, then compare with the Swiss tag.
Fashion chains and electronics stores in border towns attract Swiss customers, particularly before holidays and during sales. A pair of running shoes or a television can cost a fifth to a third less. Warranty is a consideration: some brands do not honour guarantees across borders, so ask before you buy. Keep the receipt, because you will need it at customs.
Petrol and diesel
Fuel is often cheaper on the other side of the border, and drivers fill their tank before returning. The saving per litre varies from week to week, and a quick comparison on a price app tells you whether the detour is worth it. Remember that cross-border trips use fuel too, so short distances are best.
The customs rules in plain words
The duty-free limit
The 300-franc rule is counted in francs, so Convert CHF to EUR for the amount you can spend per person before the border.
Switzerland allows each person to import goods for personal use worth up to 300 francs per day without paying Swiss value-added tax. Above that amount, VAT is due on the whole value of the goods, not only on the excess. Children are counted, so a family of four can bring in goods worth 1,200 francs in total, provided each person's share does not exceed the limit and the goods are for each person's own use. Receipts must be kept.
Limits on meat and alcohol
Meat products have a strict weekly limit, about one kilogram per person, because Switzerland protects its farmers. Larger quantities attract high duties. Alcohol is allowed in small amounts, such as five litres of drinks up to eighteen per cent and one litre above that, per person. Tobacco has its own limits. These quantities change from time to time, so check the customs website or an app before travelling.
Declaring at the border
Goods above the limit must be declared at the border, either on paper at the customs office or through the official mobile app, which calculates the VAT and lets you pay by card. Failure to declare can lead to fines several times the amount of tax due. Customs officers carry out checks, and the risk is not worth it.
Getting the VAT back in Germany
The export certificate
For the VAT refund, Convert CHF to EUR for the net price after the refund and compare it with the Swiss price.
Shoppers who are residents of Switzerland can reclaim the German or Austrian value-added tax on goods they take out of the country. The shop issues an export certificate, which must be stamped by German customs at the border when you leave. Back home, you present the stamped form to the shop or its refund agent and receive the VAT, minus a handling fee. For a purchase of 200 euros at 19 per cent VAT, the refund is about 32 euros less the fee.
When it is worth the trouble
For small purchases, the paperwork is not worth the effort. For larger ones, such as electronics, furniture or clothing, the refund is a significant saving. Many shops near the border offer a special counter and help with the forms. Compare the net price after VAT refund with the Swiss price by converting. Remember that you pay Swiss VAT on the goods at the border above the limit.
Online shopping from Switzerland
Orders from German or French web shops to Switzerland are also subject to Swiss import VAT, collected by the post or the courier on delivery, often with a handling charge. Some shops charge Swiss VAT at checkout, which avoids surprises. A cheap order can become dear after fees, so check the total.
A Saturday in Konstanz, hour by hour
8.30: crossing the border
At the border, the family has a number in mind because they already did their sums: Convert CHF to EUR, round down and stick to it.
The family leaves Kreuzlingen, on Lake Constance, shortly after breakfast and drives the few hundred metres to the German frontier. The queue is already forming. Swiss and German towns here are so close that people cross to run errands as casually as they would cross a street. The couple carry a list, two reusable bags and a cool box, and they have the customs app installed on a phone. With a budget of 400 euros, they Convert CHF to EUR for the total they plan to spend, so as to keep track at the till.
9.15: the supermarket
The first stop is a discount supermarket. A kilo of chicken breast, a dozen eggs, yogurt, cheese, pasta, coffee, detergent and toilet paper fill the trolley. The sums are in euros, and the couple glance at the total after each aisle. Back home, the same items would cost perhaps forty per cent more. They are careful with the meat, which they know is limited at the border, and with the alcohol: a few bottles of wine, well within the allowance.
The smart way to count
Keep a running total: each time you add an item, Convert CHF to EUR for the new subtotal and note it down.
Use the notes app on your phone to keep a running total in euros and, beside it, the value in francs. Update the francs when you pass the checkout, using the figure from this page. At the end, compare the total with the limit of 300 francs per person. Knowing the number before the border avoids unpleasant surprises.
11.00: the drugstore and the clothes shop
Next come toiletries and cosmetics from a drugstore chain, where prices are lower than in Swiss pharmacies, and a pair of children's trainers on sale. The sales assistant offers the export certificate for the VAT refund. The couple ask for it for the trainers, but not for the toiletries, since the sums are small. They put the forms in a folder and note the order in which to present them at the border.
12.30: lunch in the old town
Konstanz has a pleasant old town with a lake promenade, a cathedral and a harbour. A lunch at a simple restaurant costs 12 to 18 euros a head, perhaps half of the price at home. They eat well, take a short walk by the water and watch the ferries leave for Meersburg. If they were to pay in francs, the restaurant would apply a poor rate, so they pay by card in euros.
14.30: the border again
At the Swiss customs, the couple stop at the red channel for goods to declare. The total of their purchases is under 300 francs each, and the meat is under the limit. The officer glances at the receipts and waves them through. They stamp the export certificates at the German counter first, which takes a few minutes. On a busy Saturday afternoon, the queue could be long; weekday mornings are quieter.
The French side: Saint-Louis, Annemasse and the Alsace markets
Basel's neighbours
Basel residents cross to Saint-Louis in France and Weil am Rhein in Germany within minutes by tram or bus. French supermarkets offer cheeses, wine, pastries and fresh produce at prices well below Swiss ones. The big hypermarkets in Saint-Louis are full of Swiss number plates on Saturdays. French law allows foreigners to reclaim VAT on large purchases above a minimum, with a process similar to the German one.
Geneva and Annemasse
Cross-border commuters should Convert CHF to EUR for their monthly rent on the French side and compare it with the same rent in Geneva.
Geneva is surrounded by France on three sides. Residents cross to Annemasse, Ferney-Voltaire and Saint-Julien for groceries, fuel and restaurants. Public transport links are good, with a tram line running from the Geneva city centre to Annemasse. Many Geneva workers live on the French side because housing is cheaper, and cross every day. They earn in francs and spend in euros, a happy combination when the franc is strong.
The markets and their atmosphere
Alsace has markets selling cheese, charcuterie, bread, pastries and flowers. Prices are in euros, cash is common, and haggling is not usual. A basket of produce from a market is cheaper and fresher than a supermarket equivalent. Bring small notes and coins.
The Italian side: Como, Varese and the Ticino commuters
A weekend across the border
For a day at Lake Como, Convert CHF to EUR for lunch, the boat and the parking, and add a margin for coffee.
Ticino is a Swiss canton where Italian is spoken, and its residents often cross into Lombardy to shop, dine and fill their cars. Como, with its lake and silk shops, and Varese, with its markets, are the usual destinations. Restaurants cost half the price of those in Lugano, and clothing and shoes are noticeably cheaper. Fashion outlets near the border attract Swiss and international visitors alike.
The traffic problem
Tens of thousands of Italian workers cross into Ticino each morning and evening, so the roads at the frontier are congested at peak times. Plan your trip outside rush hours. Smaller crossings offer alternatives, though some are closed to heavy traffic.
Prices on the Italian side
An espresso costs 1.20 to 1.50 euros, a pizza 8 to 12, a full dinner 25 to 40. Compare with Lugano prices, which are about double. Convert CHF to EUR for the dinner bill and you see the difference at once. Italy also has a tradition of a fixed lunch menu, which is a bargain.
What the border-shopping habit says about money
A currency as a kind of purchasing power
Border shopping makes visible what economists call purchasing-power parity: the idea that an identical basket should cost about the same in different countries once exchange rates are taken into account. In practice it does not, because of differences in wages, taxes, rents and competition. The strong franc turns the difference into a trip to the supermarket across the border.
Winners and losers
Swiss consumers gain, while Swiss retailers near the border lose business. Foreign towns gain customers, and local authorities in Germany and France benefit from the tax revenue. Swiss retailers have responded with price cuts, loyalty schemes and discount chains. A few have even opened stores on the German side of the frontier.
The limit of the saving
The time cost of crossing the border and the price of petrol reduce the saving. For small baskets, the benefit may vanish. For big shopping, such as a month's groceries or a household appliance, it can be significant. Calculate before you go.
Beyond shopping: Swiss people in the euro area
Cross-border commuters
Hundreds of thousands of people live in France, Germany, Italy or Austria and work in Switzerland, earning in francs and spending in euros. They gain when the franc is strong and lose when it weakens. Many take advantage of the lower cost of housing and groceries on the other side. Others live in Switzerland and work in neighbouring countries, though this is rarer. Currency moves can change the attractiveness of the arrangement within months.
Swiss tourists in Europe
Whether you are heading to Italy or Spain, Convert CHF to EUR for the hotel, the meals and the car hire, and treat the sum as a ceiling.
Swiss holidaymakers are among the best-off travellers in Europe, and the strength of the franc makes Italy, France, Spain and Germany seem cheap. A hotel night in Rome or Barcelona that costs 150 euros looks modest in francs. Convert CHF to EUR before you leave, to turn a budget in francs into a spending limit in euros. Prices in Italian ski resorts and beach towns are often a fraction of those in Swiss counterparts.
Second homes and retirement
Retirees who spend in euros should Convert CHF to EUR for their monthly allowance, and check how the figure changes with the seasons.
Many Swiss people own holiday homes or retire in southern France, Spain, Italy or Portugal, where their pensions in francs stretch further. They must watch the exchange rate, tax rules and health insurance arrangements. A tax adviser who knows both systems earns the fee many times over.
The franc, the euro and the central banks
A safe haven and its price
The Swiss franc is a safe-haven currency: in times of crisis, investors buy it, and its price against the euro rises. This benefits Swiss consumers who buy abroad, but hurts exporters of watches, machinery and chemicals. The Swiss National Bank has intervened at times to limit the franc's strength, including in 2011, when it set a minimum rate against the euro, which it abandoned in 2015, causing a sudden jump in the franc's value.
What moves the pair today
A shopper timing a big purchase can Convert CHF to EUR on three different days and see how restless the pair has been.
The franc-euro pair responds to interest-rate differences between the European Central Bank and the Swiss National Bank, to inflation in each area, to the euro zone's economic health and to global risk sentiment. A move of several per cent in a month is not unusual in nervous periods. If you plan a large purchase in the euro area, such as a car or furniture, look at the thirty-day line on this page.
Practical tips for the cross-border shopper
Plan the trip
Make a list, check prices online, take reusable bags and bring a cool bag for fresh food. Keep receipts in a folder, and sort the goods in the car so that customs can see them easily. Choose a weekday for fewer queues at the supermarket and at the border.
Pay smartly
Even a small card payment is better judged against the reference: Convert CHF to EUR and compare the figure with your statement.
A card with no foreign-transaction fee is the best way to pay. When a terminal offers to charge you in francs, say no and choose euros. Avoid exchanging cash at counters in border towns, where the rates include high margins. If you need euros in cash, take them from a machine.
Know when not to go
If the franc weakens against the euro, the saving shrinks. Add the cost of petrol, the time spent and the value of your day. For small shopping lists, staying in Switzerland and using discount chains such as Aldi, Lidl and Denner may be wiser.
Related conversions
Other currencies
Shoppers who range further east can check Convert CHF to PLN, Convert CHF to CZK and Convert CHF to HUF for the cheaper neighbours of the euro area.
For the pound, Convert CHF to GBP; for the dollar, Convert CHF to USD; for Romania, Convert CHF to RON. Swiss distances are in kilometres, and Convert km to mi turns them into miles. Switzerland and Germany share a time zone, but for other places Convert CET to EET gives the difference with eastern Europe.
Mistakes to avoid
Forgetting to declare
Goods above the limit must be declared at the border. Fines for not declaring are heavy.
The terminal's offer
If a card machine offers to charge you in francs, say no. Pay in euros and let your bank convert.
An old rate
A rate noted last month may be a percentage point or more away from today's. The date beside the result protects you.
At the checkout
The page downloads only the table of daily reference rates. The amount you type never leaves your device, and no account is needed. In every border supermarket, the habit is the same: Convert CHF to EUR, read the date, compare any offer against the figure and keep the receipts.