Opponents, including the Swiss government, argued the measure would be costly and discourage people from finding a job.
Provisional final results showed more than three-quarters of Swiss voters were against the move to introduce a monthly salary of around $A3,466 per adult, and $867 for each child under 18.
Those who already earned more than this amount would not have received it in addition to their income.
The wealthy alpine nation of 8 million people is the first country to hold a referendum on an unconditional basic income, though others, including Finland and Holland, are considering similar measures.
Despite the rejection proponents, such as Gabriel Barta from the Basic Income Earth Network, were positive.
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"My reaction is that we expected the initiative to be rejected, and it is being rejected, but it's been rejected by three people out of four. That means that one person in Switzerland out of four not only knows what the basic income is, which they didn't a few years ago, but is actually voting for it. But the main part for us is to start the debate, because most of us knew that we wouldn't win this time around."
The initiative was launched by a cafe owner in the northwestern city of Basel, with campaigners collecting 100,000 signatures to bring it to a vote under Switzerland's direct democracy system.
Supporters claimed it would help people pursue a more meaningful life, freeing them from working just to earn money.
Che Wagner, from Basic Income Switzerland, says it comes at time when the world is facing widespread job loss to robots and technological automation.
"I think in the future, a basic income, an introduction of a basic income scheme is inevitable, it is the direction we have to go anyway, because of the technology and digitalisation, the question is how are we going to introduce (it), how we de-couple work and income on an existential basis."
Others, including the Swiss government, warned it would undermine social stability and discourage people from joining the workforce.
It estimated spending cuts or tax increases would be needed to cover a shortfall of $A35 billion.
Nathalie Fontanet, of the Swiss Radical-Liberal Party, says the move would lead to more people becoming reliant on welfare.
"We are talking about very big sums of money which, rather than encouraging people who can work to actually go and work and to be financially independent, will encourage people to not do anything, and I think that this goes against our values, and against social cohesion."
The basic income was one of a number of measures voted on on Sunday, with proposals to require companies not to actively pursue financial profit and financing transport routes dismissed.
Plans to simplify application procedures for asylum seekers and to allow the screening of embryos before they are implanted were passed.
