When subscriptions shine
Newcomers without local insurance history, uncertain time horizons (project stays, trial phases), and anyone who values one predictable number over ownership admin. Cancellation terms of 1–3 months keep you flexible.
The honest comparison
Compare the subscription price against FULL ownership cost (depreciation, insurance, tax, service, tyres, parking) – not against a leasing rate. Frame it per month over your realistic usage horizon.
Or neither
Run the numbers against a GA/Halbtax + occasional car-sharing combination too – in Swiss cities that's often the quiet winner.
Track these costs in your own budget: create your free Swiss budget in BudgetHub – in English, with Swiss categories built in.
What Swiss subscriptions typically include
Registration and cantonal vehicle tax, liability + full casco insurance, service, tyres and vignette are normally bundled; fuel/charging, parking and fines stay yours. Terms differ on mileage caps (often 850–1,500 km/month), deposit, minimum age and excess (deductible) – the excess is where cheap offers hide their risk.
What a car subscription includes
Typically insurance, vehicle tax, servicing, tyres and the vignette in one monthly amount, with a mileage allowance and a short notice period. Only fuel or charging and parking remain separate.
The appeal is predictability and the absence of a residual-value risk: you never own the depreciation. The cost of that is a monthly figure well above leasing for a comparable vehicle.
Notice periods are short – often monthly – which is the genuine differentiator against leasing, and the reason it suits uncertain situations rather than settled ones.
The honest comparison
Against ownership of a used car: a subscription is almost always more expensive over three years, because it prices convenience and flexibility. Against leasing a new car with a three-to-five-year commitment: closer, and the subscription wins whenever the commitment itself is the problem.
Against car sharing plus occasional rental: the subscription only wins above a certain frequency of use. Below roughly 8'000–10'000 km a year, sharing remains cheaper for most urban households.
The comparison that decides it for most people is not financial but situational: how certain are you about the next twelve months? Subscriptions are a hedge against uncertainty, priced accordingly.
What to check in the contract
The mileage allowance and the per-kilometre surcharge above it, since this is where the advertised price and the payable price separate most often.
The insurance deductible in the event of damage, whether a young-driver surcharge applies, and how a change of vehicle mid-term is handled.
Delivery, return and cleaning charges at handover, which are frequently outside the headline figure – the same pattern as with rental cars, and equally easy to overlook.