Single tickets, the Halbtax, Halbtax PLUS or the GA: type in how you travel and see what each one costs you in a year, with the official prices that apply now and the new ones from 13 December 2026.
- Free, no sign-up
- Official SBB and Alliance SwissPass prices
- Checked 14 October 2026
Not living in Switzerland? Visitors travel with the Swiss Travel Pass or the Swiss Half Fare Card instead: see For visitors below.
About you
Women 26 to 63, men 26 to 64.
The loyalty price is CHF 170 instead of CHF 190 when you renew without a break.
Your regular journeys
Each trip you make every week or every month, with the full fare the SBB app shows without a Halbtax.
52 weeks minus about 6 weeks of holidays.
Other travel in a year
Holidays, visits and day trips: what they would cost you in a year without a Halbtax.
Empty price fields count the lowest price, CHF 29 and CHF 52. The SBB app shows both prices when you change your reduction.
The Day Pass Children costs CHF 19 in 2nd class. Empty means CHF 19.
Your cost in a year
Add a regular journey or other trips, and you see here what each option costs you in a year.
Prices from sbb.ch and Alliance SwissPass, checked 14 October 2026. All sources
How the four options work
Single tickets
You pay the full fare for each trip. Children from 6 to 15 pay half price or the minimum fare, and children under 6 travel free, with or without an adult.
Halbtax (Half Fare Travelcard)
For a year you pay about half on trains, buses and boats and on most mountain railways, in 2nd and 1st class, and you get reductions on local transport in towns too. It costs CHF 190 from age 25 and CHF 120 from 16 to 24. If you renew without a break, or switch straight from a GA, you pay the loyalty price: CHF 170, or CHF 100 for young people. From 13 December 2026 adults pay CHF 195 and CHF 175; for young people the price stays the same. The Halbtax renews itself every year until you cancel it. On short trips, reduced fares and combined offers, the discount can be smaller than half.
Halbtax PLUS
A credit package that you spend like money on tickets, on top of the Halbtax. You pay CHF 800 and get CHF 1’000 of credit, CHF 1’500 for 2’000, or CHF 2’100 for 3’000. Halbtax PLUS Jugend, from the 6th birthday to just before the 25th, costs CHF 600, 1’125 or 1’575 for the same credit. You use up what you paid in first, then the bonus. What you paid in and did not use is refunded after a year; the bonus expires. When the credit runs out, you can top up with a new package of any size, but it does not refill by itself.
The credit pays for tickets, day passes and Saver Day Passes, but not for travelcards, multi-journey tickets, RailAway offers or international tickets. The Halbtax itself is not included. Halbtax PLUS also works without a Halbtax, but SBB itself says that does not pay.
GA travelcard
Unlimited travel on trains, buses, trams and boats in almost all of Switzerland; on many mountain railways the GA gives a reduction instead. You pay for the year or every month. Every GA runs for at least six months; after that you can cancel with one month’s notice to the end of a month. If you pay monthly and the price goes up, you may cancel when the first bill at the new price arrives, even before the six months are over.
Prices at a glance
In Swiss francs, as published by SBB and Alliance SwissPass and checked on 14 October 2026. The new prices apply from the timetable change on 13 December 2026.
| Halbtax and Halbtax PLUS | Until 12 Dec 2026 | From 13 Dec 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Halbtax, from 25 | 190 | 195 |
| Halbtax, from 25, loyalty price | 170 | 175 |
| Halbtax, 16 to 24 | 120 | 120 |
| Halbtax, 16 to 24, loyalty price | 100 | 100 |
| Halbtax PLUS 1000: CHF 1’000 of credit | 800 | 800* |
| Halbtax PLUS 2000: CHF 2’000 of credit | 1’500 | 1’500* |
| Halbtax PLUS 3000: CHF 3’000 of credit | 2’100 | 2’100* |
| Halbtax PLUS Jugend 1000 (6 to 24) | 600 | 600* |
| Halbtax PLUS Jugend 2000 (6 to 24) | 1’125 | 1’125* |
| Halbtax PLUS Jugend 3000 (6 to 24) | 1’575 | 1’575* |
* No change to Halbtax PLUS is announced for 13 December 2026: it is not in the list of new prices, and Alliance SwissPass says the bonus of the packages stays the same.
In the two GA tables, the small figure under each price is the new price from 13 December 2026.
| GA, paid for the year | 2nd class | 1st class |
|---|---|---|
| Children 6 to 15 | 1’720new 1’780 | 2’850new 2’955 |
| Young people 16 to 24 | 2’780new 2’875 | 4’450new 4’610 |
| Age 25 | 3’495new 3’535 | 5’670new 5’730 |
| Adults (women 26 to 63, men 26 to 64) | 3’995new 4’095 | 6’520new 6’770 |
| Seniors (women from 64, men from 65) | 3’040new 3’260 | 4’950new 5’260 |
| GA, paid monthly (price a month) | 2nd class | 1st class |
|---|---|---|
| Children 6 to 15 | 165new 170 | 260new 270 |
| Young people 16 to 24 | 260new 265 | 400new 415 |
| Age 25 | 310new 315 | 490new 495 |
| Adults (women 26 to 63, men 26 to 64) | 355new 365 | 565new 585 |
| Seniors (women from 64, men from 65) | 275new 295 | 440new 465 |
A GA for a single month (1-month GA Travelcard) costs CHF 440 in 2nd class from age 25 and CHF 295 up to 24; from 13 December 2026 CHF 465 and CHF 310.
When each one pays off
- Halbtax: as soon as half of your full fares come to more than its price, so from CHF 380 of full fares a year, CHF 340 at the loyalty price and CHF 240 for young people. From 13 December 2026: CHF 390 and CHF 350.
- Halbtax PLUS: once you travel for more than you pay in, so more than CHF 800, 1’500 or 2’100 a year at Halbtax prices. Then each franc of travel costs you 80, 75 or 70 centimes, as long as you use up each package within the year; with Halbtax PLUS Jugend 60, 56 or 53 centimes. If you travel less, you get back what you did not use, so you only lose the bonus. Up to CHF 1’875 a year at Halbtax prices the 1000 package works out best, up to CHF 2’800 the 2000 package, above that the 3000 package. The same limits hold for Halbtax PLUS Jugend.
- GA: for adults in 2nd class from about CHF 7’610 of full fares a year compared with the Halbtax alone, and from about CHF 10’871 compared with the Halbtax and Halbtax PLUS 3000. From 13 December 2026: CHF 7’800 and CHF 11’143. For young people the GA pays off from CHF 5’320 and CHF 10’133, for seniors from CHF 5’700 and CHF 8’143.
The calculator above works this out for your own trips, age and class.
Three examples
Lea commutes every day
Lea commutes five days a week. Her trip costs CHF 30 one way at full fare, she makes it 46 weeks a year, and holidays and visits add CHF 600. She already has a Halbtax. At full fare she would pay CHF 14’400 a year. The GA costs her CHF 3’995: CHF 1’215 less than the Halbtax with Halbtax PLUS 3000 (CHF 5’210) and little more than half of what the Halbtax alone would cost her (CHF 7’370). From 13 December 2026 the GA costs CHF 4’095 and is still the cheapest. The GA pays off for her from about CHF 10’929 of full fares a year.
Marco visits his family
Marco visits his parents twice a month: CHF 45 one way at full fare, there and back. Other trips add CHF 800, and he buys four Saver Day Passes a year, at about CHF 39 with the Halbtax or CHF 68 without. He has a Halbtax. His travel comes to CHF 1’636 a year at Halbtax prices, so a 1000 package is used up and topped up once more. The cheapest for him is the Halbtax with Halbtax PLUS 1000: CHF 1’478.80 a year, CHF 327.20 less than the Halbtax alone (CHF 1’806) and CHF 1’753.20 less than full-fare tickets (CHF 3’232). The GA (CHF 3’995) would cost him more than double.
Noah is a student
Noah is 20 and travels to his university 16 times a month: CHF 12 one way at full fare, there and back, plus CHF 500 of other trips. He has no Halbtax yet, so his first one costs CHF 120. The cheapest for him is the Halbtax with Halbtax PLUS Jugend 2000: CHF 1’556.63 a year, CHF 95.77 less than with the 1000 package and CHF 1’117.37 less than the Halbtax alone. The GA for young people would cost CHF 2’780. For trips in the evening, young people under 25 also have the GA Night for CHF 99 a year.
Questions and answers
- Does the Halbtax always halve the fare?
- Almost. SBB says the discount can be smaller than half on short trips, reduced fares and combined offers. The calculator counts half of the full fare, so check the Halbtax price of your most frequent trip in the SBB app.
- What is the loyalty price?
- The lower price when you renew your Halbtax without a break, or switch straight from a GA to a Halbtax: CHF 170 instead of 190 for adults (CHF 175 instead of 195 from 13 December 2026) and CHF 100 instead of 120 for young people.
- Can I pay the GA every month?
- Yes, but over a year it costs more: for adults in 2nd class CHF 355 a month, CHF 4’260 a year, against CHF 3’995 paid at once. From 13 December 2026 it is CHF 365 a month. Every GA runs for at least six months, then you can cancel with one month’s notice.
- What if I do not use all of my Halbtax PLUS credit?
- After a year you get back what you paid in and did not use. Only the bonus is lost, so a package that is too big costs you nothing extra; it just saves you nothing.
- What changes on 13 December 2026?
- The GA for adults goes up from CHF 3’995 to 4’095 in 2nd class and from 6’520 to 6’770 in 1st class, and the Halbtax for adults from CHF 190 to 195. The GA for children, young people, 25-year-olds and seniors costs more too (see the tables). The Halbtax for young people and the bonus of the Halbtax PLUS packages stay the same. Single tickets change as well, by route. Use the Prices switch in the calculator to compare.
- What about children?
- Children from 6 to 15 pay half price anyway, so there is no Halbtax for them, and under 6 they travel free. If your own children mostly travel with you, the Junior Travelcard lets them travel free with you. Otherwise compare child tickets, Halbtax PLUS Jugend and the GA for children in the calculator. The Day Pass Children costs CHF 19 in 2nd class.
- I am under 25. Is the GA Night worth it?
- If you travel mostly in the evening, yes: the GA Night costs CHF 99 a year and is valid from 7 pm to 5 am, at weekends and on public holidays until 7 am, in 2nd class. The calculator does not count it, because it only covers evening trips.
- I often buy Saver Tickets. Does that change the result?
- Yes. The calculator uses normal fares. Saver Tickets make single tickets and the Halbtax cheaper, so with many of them the GA pays off later than shown here.
- I only travel within my region. What then?
- Then a Regional Travelcard (Verbund-Abo) or a Point-to-Point Travelcard (Strecken-Abo) may beat all of these. The calculator does not cover them; the regional fare networks and SBB sell them.
- Where are my entries saved?
- Only in this browser, on this device. Nothing is sent to travelfrugally.com. Copy link puts your entries into a link, so you can open them on another phone or computer.
- Is it free?
- Yes. No sign-up and no app.
For visitors
The Halbtax, Halbtax PLUS and the GA are made for people who live in Switzerland. If you live abroad, there are two passes for you instead: the Swiss Travel Pass, unlimited travel on 3, 4, 6, 8 or 15 days in a row from CHF 254 in 2nd class (a Flex version lets you pick the days), and the Swiss Half Fare Card, which halves most fares for one month and costs CHF 150. The Swiss Half Fare Card pays off once your full fares in that month come to more than CHF 300. Prices from Switzerland Tourism, checked on 14 October 2026; the Swiss Travel System site now sends travellers there.
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Sources
- SBB: Half Fare Travelcard (prices until 12 and from 13 December 2026, loyalty price), Half Fare Travelcard PLUS and its questions and answers (packages, refund, top-ups).
- SBB: all GA Travelcards and the pages for adults, 25-year-olds, young people, seniors and children (yearly and monthly prices, minimum term).
- Alliance SwissPass: tariff measures from 13 December 2026 (in German, all new GA and Halbtax prices) and the press release of 4 August 2026 (Halbtax PLUS bonus unchanged).
- SBB: Saver Day Pass and tickets for children.
- Switzerland Tourism: Swiss Travel Pass and Swiss Half Fare Card.
All checked on 14 October 2026. The prices in the calculator are checked every month and at every timetable change.
Help with sums, not advice from SBB or Alliance SwissPass. Check the price in the SBB app or at the ticket office before you buy.