Canadian dollar to Swiss francs, in your head
One rule, the error band that comes with it, and the point at which it stops being the right rule. Updated from the live rate feed.
Canadian dollars to Swiss francs. Accurate to within 4.0% at today's rate, which means it reads about 4.0% dearer than the real price.
The ladder
The middle column is what the rule gives you standing in a market. The right column is the real number, so you can see exactly where the shortcut costs you.
| Canadian dollar | Rule of thumb | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| C$0.5 | CHF 0.3 | CHF 0.288 |
| C$1 | CHF 0.6 | CHF 0.577 |
| C$2 | CHF 1.2 | CHF 1.15 |
| C$5 | CHF 3 | CHF 2.88 |
| C$10 | CHF 6 | CHF 5.77 |
| C$20 | CHF 12 | CHF 11.54 |
| C$50 | CHF 30 | CHF 28.84 |
| C$100 | CHF 60 | CHF 57.68 |
| C$200 | CHF 120 | CHF 115.4 |
Going the other way
Useful at the ATM, where you choose an amount in Swiss francs and want to know what lands in your hand.
| Swiss francs | Canadian dollar |
|---|---|
| CHF 1 | C$1.73 |
| CHF 5 | C$8.67 |
| CHF 10 | C$17.34 |
| CHF 20 | C$34.67 |
| CHF 50 | C$86.68 |
| CHF 100 | C$173.4 |
What catches people out in Canada
Canadian and US dollars both use the dollar sign and sit close together, which makes cross-border price comparison deceptively easy to get wrong.
When this rule stops working
Rules of thumb rot quietly. This one holds while the rate stays roughly between 1.6 and 1.74 CAD to the franc. Outside that band a different divisor becomes the better one to memorise. We regenerate this page from the live rate feed, so the date above tells you how fresh the number is — if you are reading this a long way after August 2026, check it before you rely on it.
Or skip the arithmetic entirely
RoamRate does this conversion with no signal, in one hand, on a number pad built for a thumb. Free for CHF; CAD and 150+ other currencies unlock for $4.99, once.
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