International school fees in Thailand 2026: the complete guide
What tuition really costs — including the charges that never make the headline — compiled from CredRadar's verified dataset, checked 2026-10-06. Every figure carries its source label.
Fees at a glance — Thailand, 2026/27
Source: CredRadar research pass 2026-10-06 — school fee documents [O] and aggregator listings [A] as labelled; see /methodology/.
1 · What tuition includes — and what it doesn't
The headline fee at almost every Thai international school is day tuition only. Budget separately for: an application fee (฿5,000–8,000 at the top tier); enrolment, registration or place fees (฿100,000–260,000 one-off at top-tier schools); refundable deposits (฿50,000–225,000); capital or development levies at some schools; and transport, meals, uniforms, trips and exam fees, which vary. Boarding is always extra — roughly ฿390,000 (e.g. Regents Pattaya) to ฿653,000 (UWC Thailand) per year at schools that publish boarding rates. Mid-tier schools publish one-off charges far less consistently than top-tier schools, which is itself a data point: if a school will not show you its full schedule, ask why.
2 · The Thailand price map
Typical published ranges from our 2026 research pass (annual tuition, excluding one-off fees and boarding):
| Region | Typical range (฿/yr) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Bangkok Metropolitan | 160,000 – 1,276,000 | Median all-through school ≈ 450,000–650,000; the widest spread in the country |
| North (Chiang Mai) | 140,000 – 815,000 | American/Christian and IB schools dominate |
| Northeast | 170,000 – 565,000 | Small market; Korat, Khon Kaen, Udon Thani, Ubon |
| East (Pattaya / Chonburi / Rayong) | 165,000 – 1,000,000 | Top end set by Rugby School Thailand |
| South (Phuket & islands) | ≈70,000* – 985,000 | *Lowest figure is a single aggregator number we treat with caution |
| Central / West (Hua Hin) | 200,000 – 625,000 | Small, British/IB-leaning market |
3 · The most expensive schools
Ranked by top-of-range published tuition, 2026/27:
| School | Annual tuition 2026/27 | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Wycombe Abbey International School Bangkok | ฿701,800 – ฿1,276,000 | [O] official school document |
| Shrewsbury International School Bangkok — Riverside | ฿696,300 – ฿1,260,000 | [A] aggregator figure |
| International School Bangkok (ISB) | ฿681,000 – ฿1,219,000 | [A] aggregator figure |
| NIST International School | ฿650,200 – ฿1,132,800 | [O] official school document |
| Harrow International School Bangkok | up to ฿1,060,000 | [A] aggregator figure |
| Brighton College Bangkok (Krungthep Kreetha) | up to ฿1,050,000 | [A] aggregator figure |
| KIS International School Reignwood Park | ฿585,000 – ฿1,040,300 | [A] aggregator figure |
| UWC Thailand International School | ฿345,000 – ฿933,000 | [O] official school document |
4 · The middle and the affordable end
Most families will land in the middle band (roughly ฿300,000–700,000 for most year groups): most St Andrews and SISB campuses, ASB, Berkeley, RIS, the Regent's schools, Garden Rayong, HeadStart Phuket (฿347,000–540,000 [O]) and many others sit here. Below that, genuine all-through options under ฿300,000 exist in every region — they are mostly smaller, often faith-based or single-campus schools, and several publish no fees at all, which is why our directory marks them [NV] rather than guessing. In Bangkok, start with the under-฿300k topic page.
5 · Why websites disagree about the same school's fees
Because most fee data on the internet is second-hand. Aggregators refresh on their own schedule; some carry per-term numbers dressed as annual ones (we found and discarded several, including a ฿10,658 "annual" fee for a school that charges fifty times that). CredRadar's rule: a figure is shown only with its source label — [O] from the school's own document, [A] from a named aggregator, [NV] when nothing reliable exists — and the school page quotes the raw published wording so you can audit it.
6 · A budgeting method that doesn't lie
Take the school's published range, use the midpoint for the years you actually need, add year-one one-off charges separately, and apply a 3–5% annual uplift for later years. Our cost calculator does the first part from the same labelled data and states exactly what it excludes; for any school where fees are [NV], it refuses to invent a total — and so should you.
7 · FAQ
What is a realistic annual budget for an international school in Bangkok?
For an all-through Bangkok school, plan on ฿400,000–900,000 a year in tuition for most established names, plus one-off enrolment charges that can add ฿100,000–260,000 in year one. Credible options exist well below that band — our dataset lists schools with a full published range under ฿300,000 in every region, including 14 in the Bangkok metropolitan area.
Why is the fee on an aggregator site different from the school's own site?
Aggregators update on their own cycle and sometimes carry per-term figures, stale years or single 'average' numbers. The school's own current fee PDF is the only authoritative figure. That is why every CredRadar fee is labelled [O] (school's document), [A] (aggregator) or [NV] (not verified).
Do fees rise every year?
Yes — typically by 3–5% a year, per our methodology notes. A 13-year projection should model increases rather than multiplying today's fee; our cost calculator states its method and limits openly, and its result excludes one-off charges.
Are boarding fees included in published tuition?
Almost never. Published tuition is day tuition unless a school's wording says otherwise. Boarding adds roughly ฿390,000–653,000 a year at the schools that publish it (research pass, 2026).
See also: IB vs British vs American · Accreditation explained · Methodology