Convert GBP to CHF Pound sterling ↔ Swiss franc Free Online Secure
Type an amount in Pound sterling and read it in Swiss franc at once. The page uses the European Central Bank's reference rate, and tells you which day that rate is from.
Nothing uploaded
Common amounts — Convert GBP to CHF (Pound sterling ↔ Swiss franc)
| GBP | CHF |
|---|---|
| 1 | |
| 5 | |
| 10 | |
| 20 | |
| 50 | |
| 100 | |
| 250 | |
| 500 | |
| 1000 | |
| 5000 |
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.
Aboard the Glacier Express: six Swiss stops for a traveller carrying pounds
Switzerland has never joined the European Union, never adopted the euro and never stopped being expensive for visitors. A British traveller crossing the border finds a currency that has its own coins, its own notes and a reputation for solidity that stretches back generations. Prices on menus, mountain railways and hotel doors are in Swiss francs, and the question is always the same: what is that in pounds? This page answers it. It combines the European Central Bank's reference rates for the pound and the franc, each quoted against the euro, into a pound-to-franc rate, and shows the date beside the result. Your amount stays in your browser. The text that follows rides one of the most famous railways in the world, the Glacier Express, and stops six times, with each stop an occasion to Convert GBP to CHF and to learn how money behaves in the Alps.
How the converter works
Pounds in, francs out
Whether the amount is for a coffee or for a month in the Alps, the way to Convert GBP to CHF is the same: type the pounds, read the francs, check the date.
Enter a sum in pounds sterling and the page shows the Swiss franc equivalent immediately. Under the result sits the date of the rate; at weekends the page says that the rate is Friday's. A table of round amounts and a line of the last thirty days complete the page. For the opposite direction, from francs into pounds, use Convert CHF to GBP.
The reference rate, in plain words
The rate is the middle of the market, set once a day. It contains no profit for any bank or card issuer. The offers you meet in practice are a little worse, and the gap is the price of the service. Each time you Convert GBP to CHF here, you obtain the number against which to measure them: a gap under one per cent is excellent, two or three per cent is typical for banks, and anything above four deserves a second look.
Stop one: Zurich, where the trip begins
The banking capital that does not look like one
Zurich is Switzerland's largest city and the centre of its finance, yet its old town, with the lake at its feet, looks more like a village than a financial hub. A British visitor arriving at the airport will find the franc everywhere and the euro accepted in some shops and cafés, usually at a poor rate. It is wise to pay in francs. A coffee costs between four and six francs, a modest lunch between twenty and thirty, and a dinner in a decent restaurant easily more than fifty.
Cash and cards
Keep the numbers in sync: Convert GBP to CHF for your daily allowance, write it on a note, and check your card statement against it each evening.
Switzerland still uses cash more than many neighbours do, but cards are accepted almost everywhere, including on trains. Bring a card with no foreign-transaction fee. Cash machines are plentiful and deliver francs at a rate close to the reference one, plus any fee your own bank charges. Before you leave, Convert GBP to CHF on the amount you expect to spend, and carry a small reserve of francs for mountain huts and village shops where the card reader may fail.
The coins with the funny name
The franc is divided into a hundred centimes, called Rappen in German-speaking areas. Coins run from five centimes to five francs. Prices in shops are rounded to the nearest five centimes for cash payments, though card payments are exact. This rounding makes no difference to the total, but it often puzzles first-time visitors.
Stop two: Lucerne, the wooden bridge and the lake
A postcard town with a postcard price
To judge a hotel fairly, Convert GBP to CHF for the room price and for the tourist tax, then add them up before you compare.
Lucerne's covered wooden bridge, its lake and its mountains attract millions of visitors a year. Hotels near the water are among the dearest in the country, and a room with a view can cost several hundred francs a night. Staying in a smaller town nearby and taking the train in saves a great deal. Compare the price of the two options by converting each total with the tool, and consider the cost of the railway ticket in the sum.
The mountain trips
Use the same approach for each excursion: Convert GBP to CHF for the ticket, add the lunch at the top and decide whether the view justifies the sum.
From Lucerne, cogwheel railways and cable cars climb to the summits of Pilatus and Rigi. A return ticket to the top costs between sixty and a hundred francs, which is a lot, and the Swiss Travel Pass, which covers most trains, boats and buses, gives a discount or free entry to many of these trips. The pass is priced in francs and may be bought online. Do the sum: if your itinerary has five or six paid excursions, the pass usually pays for itself.
Stop three: Interlaken and the Jungfrau region
Europe's highest railway station
The railway to the Jungfraujoch, at 3,454 metres, reaches the highest station in Europe. The ticket costs more than two hundred francs from Interlaken, with discounts for pass holders. The view of the Aletsch glacier is spectacular on a clear day and invisible on a cloudy one, so choose the day with care and check the webcam. If you prefer feet, Convert m to ft turns 3,454 metres into about eleven thousand three hundred feet.
Adventure sports and their prices
It is easier to say yes to a jump when you have already done the sum, so Convert GBP to CHF for the booking before the instructor asks.
Interlaken is the capital of adventure: paragliding, canyoning, skydiving and bungee jumping. A tandem paraglide costs about a hundred and eighty francs, and a canyoning trip a little less. These prices are set in francs and usually paid by card. Convert GBP to CHF for the activity and add the cost of insurance, which many operators require you to confirm.
Stop four: Zermatt, in the shadow of the Matterhorn
A car-free village
Even the shuttle and the porter carry a price in francs; Convert GBP to CHF for the lot, because the small items add up over a few days.
Zermatt bans petrol vehicles, and visitors arrive by train from Täsch. The Matterhorn, at 4,478 metres, dominates the skyline. Hotels, restaurants and ski passes are priced at the top end of the Swiss scale. In winter a day pass for the lifts costs between eighty and a hundred francs. In summer, hiking is free, and the mountain huts offer a bed and a meal for a fair price.
Temperatures and clothing
Even in July, the nights at altitude fall close to freezing, and a forecast of two degrees is normal on a glacier. For visitors from North America, Convert °C to °F turns the forecast into familiar numbers. A good jacket costs far less in Britain than in Zermatt, so buy before you go.
Stop five: St Moritz and the Engadine
Luxury and the long view
Luxury is relative, and the best way to see where you stand is to Convert GBP to CHF for the room, the meal and the transfer.
St Moritz is a byword for winter luxury, but it is also a place for ordinary hikers and cyclists in summer. The Engadine valley, with its lakes and larch forests, is among the most beautiful in the Alps. Prices are high, with a night in a four-star hotel at about four hundred francs in season, yet there are youth hostels and apartments that cost a fraction of that. Decide your budget before you arrive and Convert GBP to CHF for each part of it.
The Romansh language
In the canton of Graubünden, one of Switzerland's four national languages, Romansh, is still spoken. Signs may appear in German, Italian and Romansh. It adds colour to the trip and has no bearing on prices, which are shown in francs in all of them.
Stop six: Lugano, the Italian side of Switzerland
Palm trees and espresso
For a quick dinner by the lake, Convert GBP to CHF for the menu price and compare it with what the same plate would cost at home.
The Ticino region lies south of the Alps, and Lugano has the air of an Italian lakeside town with Swiss efficiency. It is warmer, and the cuisine includes risotto, polenta and merlot wines. Prices are slightly lower than in Zurich but still higher than in northern Italy, which is why many residents shop across the border. A visitor staying in Lugano can easily cross to Como or Milan for the day.
Crossing into Italy
Italy uses the euro, so a day trip means a second currency. A day in Como might cost sixty to eighty euros, and Convert GBP to EUR prices it in pounds. Switzerland is in the Schengen area, so passport checks are minimal, but customs rules apply to goods carried across the border.
Ten ways to spend fewer francs without missing the Alps
Buy the pass before you land
A pass bought in advance is priced in francs, so Convert GBP to CHF on the day you buy and note the figure in your trip file.
The Swiss Travel Pass, in versions of three, four, six, eight and fifteen days, covers trains, buses, boats and many mountain railways at a discount. If you plan to move between cities every day, the pass is a bargain. If you stay in one place and make a few excursions, point-to-point tickets or the cheaper Half Fare Card may be cheaper. Work out both totals in francs, and Convert GBP to CHF for the winner.
Eat the main meal at lunch
Many restaurants offer a fixed-price lunch menu at a much lower price than the same dishes at dinner. Take your large meal at noon and a picnic in the evening, with bread, cheese, cold cuts and fruit from a supermarket. Supermarkets such as Migros and Coop have excellent ready meals, and the price of a simple dinner falls to ten or twelve francs.
Tap water and the fountain habit
Tap water in Switzerland is among the best in the world, and village fountains carry water that is safe to drink unless marked otherwise. A refillable bottle saves several francs a day, and the habit costs nothing.
Stay outside the resort
Hotels in the famous resorts charge a premium for the address. A room in a nearby village, connected by train, can be half the price, and the commute is a pleasant part of the trip. Check that the last train back leaves late enough for your plans.
Use the tourist cards
Many towns and regions offer a visitor card that is free with the hotel stay and gives discounts on local transport, museums and activities. Ask at the reception on arrival; some places include it automatically, and some only on request.
Book trains and hotels early
Savings fares exist on some Swiss routes, and hotel prices rise as dates approach. Book early, and read the cancellation terms. If you book in francs, a conversion at the time of booking sets your budget, but a free cancellation lets you change plans without a loss.
Avoid the airport kiosks
Currency kiosks in arrival halls charge a heavy margin. If you need cash, use a cash machine in the city or your own bank's service before you leave. The saving on three hundred francs is often twenty or thirty pounds.
A week in Switzerland for two, itemised
The baseline
This is where the page earns its keep: Convert GBP to CHF for each line, then for the total, and the plan becomes a budget.
A couple spending a week in a mid-range style might budget as follows: accommodation of seven nights at about two hundred and twenty francs, which is fifteen hundred and forty; transport with a six-day pass for two of around eleven hundred; food at a hundred and twenty francs a day for two, eight hundred and forty; excursions of four hundred. The total is about three thousand nine hundred francs. Convert GBP to CHF for the total, and you know how much to put aside, with a ten per cent margin on top.
The economical version
Using hostels or small guesthouses at a hundred and ten francs a night, cooking half the meals and choosing one major excursion, the same week might fall to about two thousand francs. Plenty of travellers enjoy Switzerland at this level, and it requires only planning and a willingness to picnic.
The splurge version
A week in a five-star hotel with spa, fine dining, private transfers and a helicopter flight can reach thirty thousand francs or more for a couple. Then every percentage point of the exchange rate matters, and a negotiated rate with the bank is worth asking for.
Why the franc is called strong
A currency that investors seek in a crisis
The Swiss franc is known as a safe-haven currency. In times of uncertainty, investors often move money into it, which tends to push its price up. Switzerland's low inflation, stable politics and large current-account surplus support this reputation. The Swiss National Bank occasionally intervenes in the market to prevent the franc from becoming too strong, which would hurt exporters of watches, machines and chemicals.
The pound and the franc over time
When the franc is strong, the same plan costs more pounds; one simple Convert GBP to CHF each month shows how your holiday fund is doing.
Over the decades, the franc has gained against the pound, which means that a British visitor today finds Switzerland costlier in sterling terms than a generation ago. The pair moves according to the same forces that drive the pound against the euro, plus the franc's own safe-haven flows. Nobody can predict the next move, so keep a margin of ten per cent in your budget.
Interest rates and the pair
Swiss interest rates are usually lower than British ones, and the difference influences the exchange rate. A saver would earn more in pounds than in francs, but the franc's tendency to appreciate offsets part of that. For a traveller the lesson is simple: the franc is unlikely to become cheap.
Living and working between Britain and Switzerland
British professionals in Zug, Geneva and Zurich
For those who earn in francs and plan to spend in pounds, the same page lets you Convert GBP to CHF in your head, then reverse it for the pay slip.
Many British professionals work in Swiss finance, pharmaceuticals and commodity trading. Their salaries are in francs, high by European standards, but rent and health insurance are costly too. Switzerland's compulsory health insurance is bought privately and costs several hundred francs a month per adult. A British worker who transfers savings home each month will Convert CHF to GBP, not the other way round, so the reverse page is useful.
Importing from Switzerland
A buyer of Swiss goods should Convert GBP to CHF on the supplier's price list at least once a quarter and ask when the rate used will be fixed.
British shops that sell Swiss watches, chocolate, cheese or outdoor gear pay suppliers in francs or euros. A strong franc raises their costs, and prices on the British high street follow with a delay. Importers who sign long contracts often agree a rate in advance.
Students and researchers
Swiss universities, ETH Zurich and EPFL among them, are among the best in the world, and tuition fees are low by international standards, though living costs are high. British students on exchange schemes budget separately for rent, food and transport, all in francs.
Related conversions
More currencies for the same journey
A Swiss trip often connects with other countries. For the dollar, Convert GBP to USD gives the American price of a flight or a hotel, and Convert USD to CHF gives the franc value of the dollar. For a comparison with the euro, use Convert EUR to CHF.
Distances and time
Swiss signposts show distances in kilometres and walking times in hours. Convert km to mi turns them into miles. Switzerland is one hour ahead of Britain throughout the year, apart from the short weeks when the clocks change on different dates.
Mistakes to avoid
Paying in euros
Many Swiss shops accept euros, but the rate they offer is poor, and change comes back in francs. Pay in francs instead.
The terminal's offer
When a card machine proposes to charge you in pounds, say no. Converting at the terminal usually costs more than letting your bank do it.
An old rate
Last month's rate can be several per cent away from today's. The date shown with the result is there for that reason.
End of the line
The page downloads only the table of daily reference rates. The amount you type never leaves your device, and there is nothing to register. At every stop from Zurich to Lugano the habit is the same: Convert GBP to CHF, read the date, compare any offer against the figure and keep the note. The scenery will look after itself.