Affordable IB schools in India

Where the affordable IB band sits in India

International school tuition in India spans a very wide range. At the top, the flagship campuses in Mumbai and the Delhi region charge senior year fees that rival the mid tier of many Western cities, while a number of established IB schools in Bengaluru and Mumbai publish tuition that sits comfortably below that level for the early and middle years. Our own city fee pages show published bands for these markets that start well within reach and rise with age, so the honest picture is that a single school is rarely at its cheapest across every year group. Early years and primary places are usually the most affordable, and fees climb into the diploma years. Currency movement matters too, because tuition set in rupees converts differently month to month against other currencies. Treat any headline figure as a starting point and confirm the exact fee for your child's year group in writing.

The wider point is that a budget shortlist is really a market shortlist. Rather than chase a single cheap school, look first at the cities where the whole fee level sits lower, then compare the established schools within them. Read this alongside our overview of the IB curriculum and the relevant international school fees pages so the figures below sit in context.

How we chose these schools

We have drawn this shortlist from established IB schools in the Indian cities where published tuition bands sit at the more affordable end of the international range, chiefly Bengaluru, Mumbai and the Delhi region. Every school named runs a recognised International Baccalaureate programme and has a full profile on this site. We do not attach a fixed figure to any single school, because fees change each year, differ between year groups and shift with the exchange rate, and printing a stale number would be worse than none. Instead we tell you which city each school sits in and what to confirm. Read each note as a prompt to ask, not as a quoted price.

Schools to shortlist

Each school below runs a recognised IB programme and has a full profile on this site. The notes tell you what to confirm rather than quote a price, because tuition moves each year and by year group.

• Bombay International School, an IB continuum school in Mumbai with a long history, often placed at the more accessible end of the city's international market. Confirm the current fee for your child's year group, as early years places typically sit below the diploma years.
• Bangalore International School, an established IB Diploma school in Bengaluru, one of the more affordable IB cities in India. Ask the admissions team for the fee schedule by year group and whether any registration or capital fees apply on top.
• Indus International School Bangalore, a full IB continuum school in Bengaluru with day and boarding options. Confirm the current tuition band for your stage, since senior years usually exceed the primary rate.
• The International School Bangalore, an IB World School in Bengaluru offering the diploma. Ask for the current fee by year group in writing and whether boarding changes the figure.
• Canadian International School Bangalore, offers the IB Diploma in Bengaluru at a competitive fee point for the city. Confirm which years fall under your budget and what is included.
• Pathways School Noida, an IB World School in Noida within the wider Delhi region. Ask the admissions office for the fee schedule and whether the diploma years remain within your ceiling.

How to check a fee properly

A published headline fee is only the start. Ask each school for the full fee schedule by year group, because a school that sits under your ceiling in primary can rise above it by the senior years. Ask what is charged on top of tuition, since registration, capital or building levies, transport, meals and exam entry are often billed separately and can add a fifth or more to the real cost. Ask whether the fee is set in US dollars or in the local currency, because a figure pegged to a local currency moves with the exchange rate and the number you were quoted may not hold. Finally, ask about sibling discounts and payment plans, which can change what is affordable for a family with more than one child. A school that answers all of this clearly and in writing is showing you the true cost of attendance rather than a marketing number.

It also helps to visit and to line up two or three schools in the same city before deciding, so you are comparing like with like. Use the city guides below to plan those visits alongside the rest of your research.

Markets and fees by city

These are the cities the schools above sit in. Each city guide sets out the local landscape, and each fees page shows the published tuition bands so you can sense check any figure a school gives you.

• Bengaluru international schools
• Bengaluru secondary fees
• Mumbai international schools
• Mumbai secondary fees
• New Delhi international schools
• New Delhi secondary fees
• More guides on the GlobalSchoolGuide blog

Frequently asked questions