At a glance
| Factor | Tokyo | New Delhi |
|---|---|---|
| Average international school fees (primary) | USD 8,000 to 24,000 | USD 5,500 to 14,000 |
| Average international school fees (secondary) | USD 14,000 to 27,000 | USD 8,500 to 18,000 |
| Dominant curricula | American, British, IB and Japanese bilingual | IB, Cambridge IGCSE/A Level, American and Indian national CBSE |
| Family visa | Engineer/Specialist in Humanities working visa or Highly Skilled Professional with dependant visas for spouse and minors | employment visa or business visa with dependant inclusion; OCI route remains the simplest for Indian-origin families |
| Expat share of population | around 580,000 foreign residents across Greater Tokyo | diplomatic and corporate expat community across Chanakyapuri, Vasant Vihar and South Delhi |
| Regulator | Japan Council of International Schools alongside the Ministry of Education licensing for tax-recognised schools | Council of British International Schools and Cambridge International accreditation alongside Delhi government registration |
| Typical relocation timeline | 10 to 12 weeks | 8 to 12 weeks |
Tokyo and New Delhi sit at opposite ends of the international schooling spectrum. Use the table above to anchor your shortlist, then read on for the texture beneath each row.
Schools landscape side by side
Tokyo is regulated by Japan Council of International Schools alongside the Ministry of Education licensing for tax-recognised schools, with around 25 fully international schools that publish international curricula across Setagaya, Minato and the Yokohama corridor. The schools families most often shortlist are The American School in Japan (ASIJ), The British School in Tokyo (BST), Tokyo International School, Seisen International School and Saint Mary's International. Tokyo families tend to apply 9 to 12 months ahead of the academic year for premium places.
New Delhi's market is regulated by Council of British International Schools and Cambridge International accreditation alongside Delhi government registration, with around 35 international and premium private schools across South Delhi diplomatic enclaves and the Gurgaon-Noida ring. The premium tier families talk about includes American Embassy School (AES), British School Delhi, Pathways World School Gurgaon, Shiv Nadar School and Vasant Valley. Use our compare tool to put three schools side by side, then ask each one for last year's IB Diploma or A Level results in writing.
Both cities publish inspection or accreditation data that lets parents validate a brand before they visit. See our Tokyo city hub and New Delhi city hub for full school directories and catchment notes.
Not sure which city fits your family?
Take the 5 minute school finder quiz, then run the cost calculator for both cities. You get shortlisted schools plus a side by side relocation budget in under ten minutes.
Fees and value for money
Annual primary tuition in Tokyo runs USD 8,000 to 24,000 (JPY 1,200,000 to 3,500,000), with secondary at USD 14,000 to 27,000 (JPY 2,000,000 to 4,000,000). In New Delhi, primary tuition runs USD 5,500 to 14,000 (INR 450,000 to 1,200,000), with secondary at USD 8,500 to 18,000 (INR 700,000 to 1,500,000). Premium IB and British schools sit at the top of each range, and capital levies, transport and lunches add 15 to 25 percent on top of headline tuition in both cities.
For an all-in load including transport and capital levies see our Tokyo fees guide and New Delhi fees guide. Model a five year per child total in the cost calculator before you commit.
Curriculum availability
Tokyo covers American high school diploma with AP, British IGCSE and A Level, the full IB continuum and Japanese bilingual immersion, while New Delhi covers IB Diploma, Cambridge IGCSE and A Level, the American high school diploma and the Indian CBSE national pathway. The IB Diploma is the safest portable credential in either city for families who may move again within five years. For curriculum specific deep dives see our IB hub, British curriculum hub and American curriculum hub.
Neighbourhoods families pick
In Tokyo, international school families cluster in Hiroo, Azabu, Shoto, Den-en-chofu and the school-bus catchments around Setagaya, Shibuya and the Yokohama waterfront. Expect rents of JPY 500,000 to 1,200,000 (USD 3,300 to 8,000) per month for a four bedroom apartment in Hiroo or a Den-en-chofu family house, with school-bus routes from these catchments to the major school clusters. In New Delhi, the equivalent catchments are Chanakyapuri, Vasant Vihar, Shanti Niketan, Golf Links, DLF Phase 1 to 5 in Gurgaon and Jaypee Greens in Noida, where rents sit at INR 150,000 to 400,000 (USD 1,800 to 4,800) per month for a four bedroom villa in DLF Phase 5 or a Vasant Vihar bungalow. Plan around the school first and the postcode second; commute times in both cities can be brutal in rush hour.
Lifestyle and climate
Tokyo: Humid subtropical with hot wet summers above 32 degrees Celsius, mild winters around 8 degrees and a tsuyu rainy season in June. Japanese is helpful but English carries international schools, large multinationals and most expat services in central Tokyo. Daily life leans on structured, safe, with weekends in Hakone or Karuizawa and ski trips to Nagano or Hokkaido.
New Delhi: Continental with very hot summers above 40 degrees Celsius, brief cold winters around 7 degrees and a defined monsoon. English is the working language for international schools, business and most middle-class life; Hindi helps with deeper integration. Daily life leans on household help, gated communities and short breaks to Rajasthan, Goa and the Himalayan foothills. Climate and working language tend to be the deciding factors once cost and curriculum are roughly equal.
Verdict: who picks which city
Pick Tokyo when
Pick Tokyo if you value safety, public infrastructure, an Anglophone international school market and a still-affordable JPY at 2026 exchange rates. School fees can look surprisingly competitive against Europe given the currency.
Pick New Delhi when
Pick New Delhi if value matters more than infrastructure, you want IB and Cambridge schooling for less than half the European premium, and you can navigate Delhi's air quality and traffic. The five year all-in delta is usually USD 90,000 to 140,000 in Delhi's favour.
Most families run both cities through the cost calculator before they commit, and use the school finder to shortlist three concrete options at each end before booking visits.
Frequently asked questions
Is New Delhi really that much cheaper than Tokyo for international families?
Yes. Cost of living indices put Tokyo around two and a half times New Delhi for a family of four, with rent the biggest driver. School fees follow the gap at the premium tier, though Delhi's top IB schools have closed the difference in recent years.
Which city has stronger international school choice?
Tokyo has the deeper market for Japanese bilingual and US-curriculum families; Delhi has the broader IB and Cambridge cluster and a strong American Embassy School option for diplomatic and corporate families.
Will my children pick up Japanese or Hindi at school?
Japanese is taught daily at international schools in Tokyo and most children become conversational within three years. Delhi schools teach Hindi as a second language but expat children rarely use it outside the classroom.
How does air quality compare across the school year?
Tokyo's air is generally clean year round. Delhi has serious winter pollution episodes from October to February, which most international schools manage with indoor air filtration; families with respiratory conditions need to plan around this.
