This page compares 8 international schools in San Francisco with lower published tuition, drawn from the 12 schools ExpatSchoolGuide lists in the city. The lowest published annual fee is $ 500 and the highest in this comparison set is $ 58,900, quoted in $.
"Affordable" here means lower published tuition relative to other schools in San Francisco — not a judgement about quality, and not an objective list of the cheapest schools in the city. Fees vary by year group and rise through secondary school, and most schools charge registration, transport, uniform and examination costs on top of tuition.
| School | Curriculum | Ages | Lowest published fee | Highest published fee | Currency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Presidio Knolls School | Reggio Emilia | 2-14 | 500 | 50,995 | $ |
| Waldorf School of the Peninsula | International Baccalaureate (IB), Waldorf | 3-18 | 19,600 | 47,500 | $ |
| Stratford International School | US private-school curriculum with a strong liberal-arts foundation and STEAM-focused learning. Stratford describes its programme as academically rigorous, student-centred and designed to develop creative problem-solving, innovation and leadership. The San Francisco network includes Preschool/Pre-K, Elementary and Middle School programmes | 2 to 10 years | 24,580 | 31,710 | $ |
| The International School of San Francisco | French, IB, Bilingual | 3-18 | 25,000 | 42,000 | $ |
| Marin Horizon School | Montessori | 2 to 5 years | 26,073 | 49,732 | $ |
| Lycée Français de San Francisco | International Baccalaureate (IB), French curriculum, French | 2-18 | 28,000 | 58,900 | $ |
| Silicon Valley International School | International Baccalaureate (IB), DSD I, DSD II | 3-18 | 39,970 | 49,130 | $ |
| The San Francisco School | The San Francisco School is an independent, coeducational, progressive day school in San Francisco's Portola neighborhood serving children from Preschool through Grade 8. Founded in 1966, the school provides a student-centred education combining strong academics, experiential learning, creativity, the arts, science and engineering, Spanish, social-emotional learning and a strong emphasis on diversity, inclusion, humanitarianism and social justice. The school has approximately 282 students and 70 faculty and staff. | 3-14 | 41,374 | 43,764 | $ |
The figures above are annual tuition as published by each school, quoted in $. Where a school publishes a range, the lower figure normally applies to the earliest year groups and the higher figure to the senior school. Application and registration fees, deposits, transport, uniform, meals, trips and external examination entries are commonly billed separately.
Across this comparison set the curricula on offer are International Baccalaureate (IB) (3 schools), French (2 schools), Reggio Emilia (1 school), Waldorf (1 school), US private-school curriculum with a strong liberal-arts foundation and STEAM-focused learning. Stratford describes its programme as academically rigorous (1 school), student-centred and designed to develop creative problem-solving (1 school).
The age ranges above show the full span each school covers. A school with a lower starting fee may still cost more overall if fees step up sharply at secondary level, so check the published fee for the year group your child will enter and the years after it.
ExpatSchoolGuide does not rank schools by price alone. Among the 12 schools in San Francisco that publish tuition, the lowest published annual fee is $ 500 at Presidio Knolls School. Published fees usually cover tuition only and vary by year group, so confirm current figures with the school.
Across the schools compared here, published annual tuition runs from $ 500 to $ 58,900 ($). Registration, transport, uniform and examination charges are normally additional and are not included in these figures.
The comparison table lists the 8 schools in San Francisco with the lowest published annual tuition in the ExpatSchoolGuide dataset, alongside curriculum and age range. A further 0 schools in San Francisco do not publish fees and are shown separately as "Not published".
The lower-fee schools compared here teach International Baccalaureate (IB), French, Reggio Emilia, Waldorf, US private-school curriculum with a strong liberal-arts foundation and STEAM-focused learning. Stratford describes its programme as academically rigorous, student-centred and designed to develop creative problem-solving. Curriculum information comes from each school's own published material. Accreditation and examination centre status should be confirmed directly with the school.
This page compares the international schools ExpatSchoolGuide already lists in San Francisco, ordered by the lowest annual tuition each school publishes. It is not an editorial ranking, no school pays to be included or excluded, and fees a school does not publish are shown as "Not published" rather than estimated.