Key points:
- Switzerland was the most expensive country in Europe for international schools in 2025
- 3 of the 10 most expensive cities for international schools were in Eastern Europe
- Spain had the cheapest international school costs in Europe in 2025
At the International Schools Database, we help local and expat parents choose the perfect international school for their children. Our database allows parents to find, research and compare international schools around the world. Naturally, this means that we gather and analyse a huge amount of information about international schools.
Starting in 2019, we began using this data to evaluate the prices of international schools across the globe. In this article, we share and analyze the prices of international schools in Europe updated to 2025.
Below, we have analysed price data from 35 cities in 21 European countries, in graph and table forms. While we have used all price data available to us as of Dec 31st 2025, there may be additional schools and prices not included in each city. This is because they do not make their price data available or because it is unknown to us. Links to additional research focusing on each world region individually and globally can be found at the bottom of this article and here can be found the results of the previous year 2024.
Prices of International Schools in Europe, Per Year
The graph below is known as a box plot graph. It shows a comprehensive view of the range of prices in each city, instead of just an average. A single average price may not necessarily represent the full picture of prices in each destination. Since there is a lot to unpack in this graph, we have also provided a little explanation on how to read the graph easily at the end of the article.
Highlights and takeaways from the research findings
Europe is known for having a high cost of living in certain areas, and when it comes to the cost of international schools on the continent, the same is true - to an extent. According to our research, Switzerland had the highest median cost in Europe for international schools in 2025. In Zurich and its surrounding area the median cost was $35,472 in 2025.
In fact three of Switzerland’s cities had among the top 10 highest median costs in Europe for international schools. Aside from Zurich-Zug, Lausanne-Vaud was the second highest (with a median cost of $34,491) and Geneva was fourth, with a median cost of $28,808. Switzerland was also the only country in Europe where median costs exceeded $30,000 in 2025.
While it is easy to assume that Western Europe is home to some of the most expensive international schools in the region, our research reveals deeper insights. Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Austria, Belgium and France were all represented among the top 10 median costs, but so were three Eastern European countries. They were Latvia, where the median cost of international school in Riga was $21,001 in 2025; Hungary, where Budapest’s median cost was $17,262; and Romania, where international schools in the capital city of Bucharest had a median cost of $16,573.
Furthermore, one Western European country had the lowest median cost of international schools on the whole continent - Spain. In Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands, the median cost of an international school in 2025 was $5,896. That’s six times cheaper than the median cost in the most expensive city, Zurich-Zug. In fact of the 10 lowest median costs in Europe for international schools in 2025, 5 were located in Spain. Aside from Tenerife, there was also Valencia (median cost $7,410), Alicante - Costa Blanca ($8,359), Malaga - Costa del Sol ($9,621) and Barcelona ($10.577).
The remainder of the 10 lowest median costs for international schools in 2025 were mostly in Western Europe also - specifically Copenhagen, Porto and Amsterdam. Just one Eastern European city, Vilnius in Lithuania, was among them. In addition to that, two further Spanish locations, Madrid and Mallorca, had median costs that were only slightly more. They had the 12th and 11th lowest median costs in Europe respectively, $10,794 and $10,625.
You can find a breakdown of exact prices for each European city in the table below. But if Europe isn’t enough, we have also compiled price data for other regions and cities around the world; you can find links to this additional research at the bottom of this article. If you require any further information or have additional questions, don't hesitate to contact us at andrea@international-schools-database.com.
