Decision helper
Housekeeper or cleaner: what fits your household?
Tip: there is no wrong answer.
1 of 4What should they do for you?
A cleaner gets your home clean; a housekeeper keeps the whole household running. Both are employed the same way, but costs and duties change with the hours. The quiz gives you a recommendation in 30 seconds; the article shows where the lines are.
The difference: clean or done
A cleaner comes at a fixed time, usually once a week, and cleans: floors, dusting, kitchen, bathrooms. When she leaves, the home is clean. A housekeeper also takes on what would otherwise be left to you: laundry and ironing, shopping, cooking, letting the plumber in, keeping an eye on supplies. When she leaves, the household is done.
Legally there is no difference. Both are household employees under the same basic rules: registration with the AHV from the first franc, accident insurance, an employment contract under the Code of Obligations. What separates them is tasks and hours, and the duties hang on the hours.
Cleaner
HousekeeperWho does what, and how long it takes
Worked out for a family with two children in 5 rooms with two bathrooms. Times are guide values (plus/minus 20 %); cleaning and laundry come from the model behind our hours planner.
| Task | Cleaner | Housekeeper | Time per week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Floors, dusting, kitchen, bathrooms | part of the job | part of the job | 3½ h |
| Windows, oven, fridge (monthly rotation) | part of the job | part of the job | ¾ h |
| Changing the beds | part of the job | part of the job | ½ h |
| Laundry: wash, hang, fold | only if agreed, with more hours | part of the job | ¾ h |
| Ironing | only if agreed, with more hours | part of the job | 1 h |
| Shopping, restocking supplies | not part of the job | part of the job | 1½ h |
| Cooking 5 evenings, kitchen afterwards | not part of the job | part of the job | 5 h |
| Tradespeople, post, appointments | not part of the job | part of the job | ¾ h |
| Picking up and minding children | not part of the job | that's a nanny → | |
| Accompanying elderly relatives | not part of the job | that's a caregiver → | |
| Total per week | 4¾ h | 13¾ h |
Handing over just the cleaning means about 5 hours a week. With laundry, shopping and cooking it becomes about 14. Take that number into the next section: it shows which duties come in at how many hours.
Childcare and looking after elderly people are not housekeeper tasks. Someone who picks up and minds children is a nanny; someone who accompanies elderly relatives is a caregiver. Both have different wage benchmarks and different questions in the contract.
What changes with the hours
The same work, but from certain numbers of hours duties are added. Calculated for the canton of Zurich at the usual wage of CHF 34 an hour, holiday pay and employer contributions included.
| 4 ha weekCleaner, 1 visit | 8 ha weekCleaner with laundry | 15 ha weekPart-time housekeeper | 25 ha weekHousekeeper | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost per month, all-in | CHF 689 | CHF 1'378 | CHF 2'584 | CHF 4'306 |
| Gross wage per year | CHF 7'070 | CHF 14'145 | CHF 26'519 | CHF 44'197 |
| Minimum wage per hour (unskilled) | none, the NAV applies from 5 h | CHF 20.35 NAV | CHF 20.35 NAV | CHF 20.35 NAV |
| Non-work accidents via your accident insurance | no, via her health insurance | yes, from 8 h | yes, from 8 h | yes, from 8 h |
| Pension fund (BVG) | no | no | compulsory | compulsory |
| Simplified settlement procedure | possible | possible | no longer possible | no longer possible |
| Usual pay form | hourly wage | hourly wage | monthly salary | monthly salary |
The same at any number of hours: AHV from the first franc, insurance against work accidents, sick pay under Art. 324a CO, at least 4 weeks of holiday and a salary certificate every January (in the simplified procedure the compensation office issues a certificate instead).
The line that costs money
About 12.5 hours a week
Beyond that she earns more than CHF 22'680 a year with you. The pension fund becomes compulsory and the simplified procedure no longer applies: you settle with the compensation office under the ordinary procedure. If you are planning a housekeeper with more hours, set both up from the start rather than switching mid-year. The family from the task table is already above it at 13¾ h.
Go deeper:Accident insurance (UVG)Minimum wage by cantonHolidays on an hourly wageAll 2026 thresholds
Three typical households
Which solution fits depends less on the size of your home than on what is left undone.
Couple, 3½ rooms, both working
Cleaner, 3 to 4 hours a week
Cleaning once a week is enough. Laundry and shopping stay with you, or you add an hour of ironing. At 4 hours about CHF 689 a month, all-in.
Family with two children
Housekeeper, 12 to 20 hours a week
Cleaning, laundry, shopping and dinner on some evenings. From about 12.5 hours the pension fund is added. If she should also pick up and mind the children, hire a nanny instead: different role, different wage, different contract.
Elderly parents who want to stay at home
Housekeeper, a caregiver if needed
For cleaning, cooking and shopping a housekeeper is enough. Once trips to the doctor, company or help with dressing come in, it is a caregiver. Then check the helplessness allowance: it pays for part of the hours.
Registering: the same path for both
Whether a cleaner for 3 hours or a housekeeper for 25: registration works the same way. Depending on the hours, only the points from the table above are added.
- 1
Register with the compensation office
AHV from the first franc, with the compensation office of your canton of residence.
Registering in Zurich → - 2
Take out accident insurance
Before the first working day. From 8 hours a week it also covers non-work accidents.
Accident insurance compared → - 3
Employment contract with a task list
Tasks, hours and wage in writing. If your housekeeper has a vocational qualification in home economics (EFZ), a higher minimum wage applies: CHF 24.55 an hour.
Employment contract template → - 4
A payslip every month
With the deductions for AHV, IV, EO and ALV. In January the salary certificate is added (in the simplified procedure, the compensation office's certificate).
Create a payslip → - 5
Over CHF 22'680 a year: pension fund
Affects almost only the housekeeper. The ordinary procedure then applies and you need a pension fund that accepts household employees.
Pension funds compared →
Done with Clino
Cleaner or housekeeper: Clino prepares the registration
Registration with the compensation office, accident insurance, employment contract and a payslip every month: Clino prepares everything for your canton.
CHF 19.90/month · 30 days free · nothing charged before day 30 · cancel anytime
Quick answers
Is housekeeper just another word for cleaner?
No. A cleaner cleans the bathroom, kitchen, dust and floors, the things on a standard cleaning checklist. A housekeeper runs the whole household: cleaning plus cooking, laundry, shopping and organising. Legally both are household employees under the same basic rules; what differs is tasks, hours and therefore wage and duties.
Can a cleaner also cook or do laundry?
Yes, but then her role expands toward housekeeper. Which tasks are usual, and how to put them in the contract, is shown in our overview of a household helper's tasks. Someone who cooks, cleans and does laundry is in fact a housekeeper and should be paid accordingly.
What does a housekeeper cost compared to a cleaner?
At the usual hourly wage in the canton of Zurich, CHF 34: 4 hours of cleaning a week cost about CHF 689 a month, 20 hours of a housekeeper about CHF 3'445, holiday pay and employer contributions included. A trained housekeeper (EFZ) is entitled to at least CHF 24.55 an hour. From about 12.5 hours a week the pension fund comes on top.
Do I register a housekeeper differently from a cleaner?
No, registering a household helper works the same way for both: with the cantonal compensation office, with accident insurance and a written employment contract. The only difference: if the annual wage is above CHF 22'680, the ordinary procedure applies and the pension fund (BVG) becomes compulsory.
Hourly wage or monthly salary: which is better?
For a few hours an hourly wage is usual. Holidays are still owed: as paid weeks off, or as a supplement on the hourly wage, which the Federal Supreme Court only allows for irregular work. If your housekeeper works the same hours every week, a monthly salary is clearer: she gets the same amount every month and her holidays are paid within it.
What applies if the housekeeper lives with us?
Board and lodging count as wages: for the AHV, CHF 33 a day, or CHF 990 a month, are added to the cash wage. Working time, rest and time off are governed by your canton's standard employment contract, including for household employees who live with you.
Note: Overview, not legal advice. Costs from Clino's payroll model (2026 rates, holiday pay, employer contributions per canton), usual hourly wage from Clino's wage data per canton. · Last updated: September 30, 2026
NAV Hauswirtschaft (SR 221.215.329.4) · UVV Art. 13 · OR Art. 324a · AHV-Merkblatt 2.06