A year at the median IB school costs about five times the median Indian CBSE school

The British curriculum is the largest in Dubai, taught at 106 of the 228 open schools, and has the widest spread. For Year 2 / Grade 1 in 2026–27, 99 British schools publish a fee: the lowest is AED 5,120, the highest AED 134,000, and the middle half charge between AED 22,644 and AED 57,644, around a median of AED 45,000. Of the 99, 37 charge under AED 30,000.

The spread stays wide all the way up. At Year 7 / Grade 6 the median is AED 55,000 (91 schools) and the range AED 5,760 to AED 161,000. At Year 12 / Grade 11 the median is AED 66,790 (70 schools); 15 of them charge under AED 30,000 and 8 charge AED 100,000 or more. Fewer British schools publish a sixth-form fee because many stop at Year 11 or have not yet opened their sixth form.

The schools themselves, each with its KHDA rating and its Year 1 fee (the year group that page lists): British curriculum schools in Dubai. For another year group, use the column headings in the table above.

The American curriculum is taught at 38 Dubai schools, and 37 publish a Year 2 / Grade 1 fee for 2026–27. The median is AED 28,257; the middle half charge between AED 18,876 and AED 36,044; the full range is AED 10,262 to AED 93,300. Of the 37, 21 charge under AED 30,000 and 33 under AED 50,000, so most American schools sit in the lower half of the Dubai ladder.

By Year 7 / Grade 6 the median is AED 32,719 (37 schools) and by Year 12 / Grade 11 AED 39,665 (33 schools). No American school charges AED 100,000 or more at any of the five stages.

Every school with its fee and rating: American curriculum schools in Dubai.

The International Baccalaureate is taught or offered at 31 schools; 10 of them also run a British programme and appear in both sections. For Year 2 / Grade 1 in 2026–27 the median IB fee is AED 58,034, the highest median of any curriculum with five schools or more, and the tightest middle half relative to its median: between AED 49,716 and AED 66,783, with the full range AED 32,260 to AED 104,999. From Year 2 / Grade 1 upwards no IB school charges under AED 30,000, and at that stage 8 of the 31 charge under AED 50,000.

The IB curve is the steepest. The median is AED 72,328 at Year 7 / Grade 6 (31 schools), AED 85,000 at Year 12 / Grade 11 (29 schools) and AED 89,246 at Year 13 / Grade 12 (29 schools). At Year 12 / Grade 11 no IB school charges under AED 50,000 and 8 of the 29 charge AED 100,000 or more.

The schools, with the programmes each one offers: IB schools in Dubai.

The Indian CBSE curriculum is taught at 31 schools, and 30 publish a Year 2 / Grade 1 fee for 2026–27. All 30 charge under AED 30,000. The median is AED 11,319, the middle half charge between AED 6,206 and AED 16,075, and the full range is AED 2,980 to AED 26,723. From lowest to highest the fee rises ninefold, yet the whole range fits under the British median.

The median rises to AED 13,526 at Year 7 / Grade 6 (30 schools) and AED 17,865 at Year 12 / Grade 11 (27 schools). The Year 13 / Grade 12 median, AED 16,549, is lower than the Year 12 / Grade 11 one for two reasons: two of the 27 schools publish no Grade 12 fee, and three schools list a lower fee for Grade 12 than for Grade 11.

The Indian ICSE curriculum is taught at three schools. With so few, a median would describe one school, so here is the range: AED 20,654 to AED 43,311 for Year 2 / Grade 1 and AED 37,355 to AED 56,706 for Year 12 / Grade 11 in 2026–27.

The schools themselves: Indian CBSE schools in Dubai.

French

The French curriculum is taught at 8 schools, and 7 publish a CP (Year 2 / Grade 1) fee for 2026–27: a median of AED 47,526 and a range of AED 35,385 to AED 80,000. The French median runs close to the British one at every stage: above it at FS2 / KG1 and Year 2 / Grade 1, below it at Year 7 / Grade 6 and Year 12 / Grade 11, and just above it again at Year 13 / Grade 12, where five French schools publish a fee. The table above has both. The Finder shows French schools on the map: French-curriculum schools in the Finder.

MOE

The UAE Ministry of Education curriculum (MOE) is followed at 16 schools, and 8 publish a Year 2 / Grade 1 fee for 2026–27, the lowest fees on this page: a median of AED 8,781 and a range of AED 4,722 to AED 13,202. By Year 12 / Grade 11 the median is AED 13,202 across 7 schools. The Finder shows them on the map: MOE-curriculum schools in the Finder.

Across the five stages the order of the medians barely changes, IB at the top and MOE at the bottom, and the gap between the IB and Indian CBSE medians grows from AED 43,033 at FS2 / KG1 to AED 72,697 at Year 13 / Grade 12. Every curriculum's median is higher at Year 12 / Grade 11 than at FS2 / KG1, but not every step goes up: the MOE median is flat or lower at two of the four steps, and the Indian CBSE median dips at Year 13 / Grade 12. Every value is in the table above.

Primary school fees in Dubai by curriculum

The medians for the first compulsory year, Year 2 / Grade 1, are in the opening paragraph and the table above. The year before, FS2 / KG1, costs less at most schools: of the 200 schools that publish both fees, 176 charge less for FS2 / KG1 and 21 charge the same. Every school's fee for these two year groups: FS2 / KG1, Year 2 / Grade 1.

Secondary and sixth-form fees by curriculum

At the step into secondary, Year 7 / Grade 6, IB stays at the top (AED 72,328) and MOE at the bottom (AED 9,215). In the last two years, Year 12 / Grade 11 and Year 13 / Grade 12, the medians run from IB (AED 85,000 and AED 89,246) down to MOE (AED 13,202 at both stages); the table above has every value. Fewer schools publish these fees (168 at Year 12 / Grade 11 and 159 at Year 13 / Grade 12, against 210 at Year 2 / Grade 1) because not every school runs to the final year.

Add up one school's 2026–27 fees from FS2 / KG1 to Year 13 / Grade 12, fourteen year groups, and you get what the whole run would cost at today's prices. This is a sum of this year's fees, not a forecast: it assumes no fee changes, one child and no sibling discount. Only schools that publish a fee for every one of the fourteen year groups count; this page calls that a full ladder.

The median British school on a full ladder comes to AED 782,005 over fourteen years and the median IB school to AED 969,854. The median American school comes to AED 408,236 and the median Indian CBSE school to AED 179,779. The ranges overlap: the highest-fee American ladder, AED 1,251,970, is close to the highest-fee British one.

For the same school and the same year group, Year 2 / Grade 1, most 2026–27 sheets list the same tuition as 2025–26, after the listed discount: 80 of 97 British schools, 32 of 37 American, 25 of 30 IB, 23 of 30 Indian CBSE, and every MOE, French and Indian ICSE school. The median change is 0.0% in every curriculum with five schools or more. Of the 34 schools whose figure moved, 33 kept the same approved fee: a listed discount appeared or disappeared on the sheet, which changes the after-discount figure without changing the fee KHDA approved.

A KHDA rating describes a school's inspection, not its price, and most current ratings date from the 2023–24 cycle. Within a curriculum the pattern differs. Among British schools at Year 2 / Grade 1 in 2026–27, schools rated Outstanding charge a median of AED 59,491 (15 schools), Very good AED 54,081 (23), Good AED 27,041 (33) and Acceptable AED 20,551 (15). Among IB schools the three rating groups charge almost the same: Outstanding AED 58,948 (8), Very good AED 57,573 (14), Good AED 59,023 (7). The 13 British schools without a rating yet are mostly new and charge a median of AED 51,477. Where a rating group has one or two schools, as for American Outstanding and Very good, no median is given. The Year 5 story shows where ratings sit on the whole price ladder: Where the ratings sit. What the ratings mean: KHDA ratings explained.

A curriculum's corridor says what its schools charge. It says nothing about what the curriculum is worth. The curricula serve different communities, with different class sizes, staff, campuses and exam boards; several MOE-curriculum schools teach in Arabic; Indian-curriculum schools run an April year; and a school teaching two curricula counts under both. The fair comparison is a school against others of its own curriculum, at the same year group, and that is what the curriculum pages and the fee pages do.

Every figure on this page is tuition only. Uniforms, books, transport, trips, exam fees and registration deposits are extra and add up differently at every school; each school's profile lists them from the same sheet, and Other costs on Market Statistics shows the market picture. School costs adds them to one school's tuition, year by year to the final year. If an employer pays part of the fee, the education allowance guide shows how many schools of each curriculum fit each amount.

How much does a British school cost in Dubai in 2026–27?

For Year 2 / Grade 1, the median of the 99 British schools that publish a fee is AED 45,000 a year, tuition only, and the middle half charge between AED 22,644 and AED 57,644. The full range is AED 5,120 to AED 134,000. For Year 12 / Grade 11 the median is AED 66,790 across 70 schools, with the middle half between AED 33,578 and AED 89,642.

Do American schools charge less than British ones in Dubai?

At the same year group the American median is lower: AED 28,257 against AED 45,000 for Year 2 / Grade 1 in 2026–27. The ranges overlap widely, though. Of the 37 American schools, 21 charge under AED 30,000 for that year group, as do 37 of the 99 British schools, and the highest-fee American school, at AED 93,300, is higher than most British schools charge.

What do IB schools charge in Dubai?

For Year 2 / Grade 1 in 2026–27 the 31 schools that teach or offer the IB charge from AED 32,260 to AED 104,999, with a median of AED 58,034. For Year 12 / Grade 11 the range is AED 56,706 to AED 143,681 and the median AED 85,000 across 29 schools. Of the 31, 10 also run a British programme and appear under both curricula.

What is the fee range of Indian CBSE schools in Dubai?

AED 2,980 to AED 26,723 for Year 2 / Grade 1 in 2026–27 across 30 schools, with a median of AED 11,319; all 30 are under AED 30,000. By Year 12 / Grade 11 the range is AED 7,212 to AED 41,993 and the median AED 17,865. The three Indian ICSE schools charge AED 20,654 to AED 43,311 for Year 2 / Grade 1.

Do fees rise with every year group?

The median is higher at Year 12 / Grade 11 than at FS2 / KG1 in every curriculum, but not every step goes up: the Indian CBSE and MOE medians dip or stay flat between some stages. The British median goes from AED 39,799 at FS2 / KG1 to AED 68,265 at Year 13 / Grade 12, the American from AED 24,744 to AED 41,165, and the IB from AED 53,651 to AED 89,246. Within one school the fee often stays flat for two or three year groups and then steps up, and the step comes at a different stage at each school. The full picture is in the By year group section above.

Is the fee the whole cost?

No. The figures here are tuition for one year group, after the school's listed discount. Uniforms, books, transport, trips, exam fees and deposits are extra and are listed on each school's profile from the same KHDA sheet. School costs adds them up for one school, year by year to the final year.

One CSV with the summary for every curriculum and year group on this page: year group, curriculum, number of schools, lowest fee, first quartile, median, third quartile, highest fee. No school names. A curriculum with fewer than five schools carries no median, and with one or two schools only its count.

Summary table, CSV40 rows, 3 KB, no school names

Cite as: Dubai School Atlas, from KHDA Fees Fact Sheets 2026–27.