In Switzerland, published rates for start at CHF 5,610 a month on staff, with CHF 514–CHF 555 a day as a freelance.
Pay rates for journalists in Switzerland, as published by unions, governments and surveys, each quoted as printed and turned into a day's pay to compare. How the pay guide works →
Each published rate as a day's pay
US$ a day at the ECB rate for the month. A month is 12 payments over 260 working days, or 13 or 14 where the agreement says so; a year is 260 days; a shift counts as a day.
| Type of work | What | As printed | US$ a day | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| On staff | Staff journalist, 1st year, Ticino: monthly minimum | CHF 5,610 a month | $316.36 | impressum · Recommended minimums |
| On staff | Staff journalist, 1st year, rest of Switzerland incl. Liechtenstein: monthly minimum | CHF 5,931 a month | $334.46 | impressum · Recommended minimums |
| On staff | Staff journalist, 1st year, Basel, Bern and Zürich: monthly minimum | CHF 6,379 a month | $359.73 | impressum · Recommended minimums |
| On staff | Staff journalist, 9th year, Basel, Bern and Zürich: monthly minimum | CHF 8,560 a month | $482.72 | impressum · Recommended minimums |
| Freelance | Freelance, rest of Switzerland incl. Liechtenstein: per day | CHF 514 a day | $628.03 | impressum · Recommended minimums |
| Freelance | Freelance, Basel, Bern and Zürich: per hour | CHF 69 an hour | $674.46 | impressum · Recommended minimums |
| Freelance | Freelance, Basel, Bern and Zürich: per day | CHF 555 a day | $678.13 | impressum · Recommended minimums |
Advertised pay in Switzerland
Open marketWhat employers offered in public job ads over the last 12 months, from 3 job ads with pay. These figures come from the open job market, not from journalist.net, and we do not check them.
Journalism in Switzerland
Leading news outlets
The highest-ranked news sites based in Switzerland in EventRegistry's news-source ranking, most important first. Updated monthly.
In the 2026 World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Switzerland ranks 8 of 180, with a score of 84.8 out of 100. Up 1 place on the year before.
RSF World Press Freedom Index ↗By job type
Rates documents 4
Unions and bodies in Switzerland
Nearby
Lowest staff minimum in each country's agreements, as US$ a day.
About this data. These rates are compiled from publicly available sources and quoted as printed, with their date. We do not guarantee the accuracy of any figure. For information only: Journalist.net does not recommend or set rates. How we count