This page compares 12 international schools in Shanghai with lower published tuition, drawn from the 21 schools ExpatSchoolGuide lists in the city. The lowest published annual fee is 8,000 and the highest in this comparison set is 116,400, quoted in $ / ¥.
"Affordable" here means lower published tuition relative to other schools in Shanghai — 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shanghai French School (Lycée Français de Shanghai) | French National Curriculum; French Baccalauréat; International Chinese Section; American International Section; European Section | 2-18 | 8,000 | 16,000 | $ |
| Shanghai Korean School | Korean National Curriculum | 6-18 | 8,000 | 14,000 | $ |
| Magnolia Kindergarten | Chinese National Preschool Curriculum; British Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS); French National Curriculum. English/Mandarin and French/Mandarin bilingual sections. | 2 to 3 years | 8,000 | 14,000 | $ |
| Shanghai Singapore International School | IB, British | 2 to 18 years | 12,000 | 22,000 | $ |
| Britannica International School, Shanghai | Cambridge International, British | 1-18 | 15,000 | 28,000 | $ |
| Shanghai United International School | Chinese National Curriculum; International Curriculum; IB PYP; IB Diploma Programme; Cambridge IGCSE; A Level; Advanced Placement (AP); British Columbia (BC) Curriculum | 3-18 | 15,000 | 25,000 | $ |
| Yew Chung International School of Shanghai | IB, British | 11 to 14 years | 18,000 | 30,000 | $ |
| Western International School of Shanghai | IB, British | 5 to 5 years | 18,000 | 30,000 | $ |
| Concordia International School Shanghai | IB | 3-18 | 20,000 | 32,000 | $ |
| Dulwich College Shanghai Pudong | British, IB | 2-18 | 22,000 | 38,000 | $ |
| Harrow International School Shanghai | British National Curriculum, British | 5 to 9 years | 25,000 | 40,000 | $ |
| Shanghai Japanese School | Japanese national curriculum based on the Japanese Course of Study; international understanding and local-area education; English and Chinese language instruction as supplementary programmes | 6-18 | 30,000 | 116,400 | ¥ |
| School | Curriculum | Ages | Annual fees |
|---|---|---|---|
| British International School Shanghai, Puxi | IB, British curriculum, British, A levels | 5 to 11 years | Not published |
| YK Pao School | Chinese National Curriculum with an international approach; IGCSE; International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) | 6-18 | Not published |
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 British (6 schools), IB (5 schools), French National Curriculum; French Baccalauréat; International Chinese Section; American International Section; European Section (1 school), Korean National Curriculum (1 school), Chinese National Preschool Curriculum; British Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS); French National Curriculum. English/Mandarin and French/Mandarin bilingual sections. (1 school), Cambridge International (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 19 schools in Shanghai that publish tuition, the lowest published annual fee is 8,000 at Shanghai French School (Lycée Français de Shanghai). 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 8,000 to 116,400 ($ / ¥). Registration, transport, uniform and examination charges are normally additional and are not included in these figures.
The comparison table lists the 12 schools in Shanghai with the lowest published annual tuition in the ExpatSchoolGuide dataset, alongside curriculum and age range. A further 2 schools in Shanghai do not publish fees and are shown separately as "Not published".
Yes. Magnolia Kindergarten teaches a British curriculum and has the lowest published annual tuition among British-curriculum schools in this comparison, starting at $ 8,000.
Yes. Shanghai French School (Lycée Français de Shanghai) teaches an American curriculum and has the lowest published annual tuition among American-curriculum schools in this comparison, starting at $ 8,000.
The lower-fee schools compared here teach British, IB, French National Curriculum; French Baccalauréat; International Chinese Section; American International Section; European Section, Korean National Curriculum, Chinese National Preschool Curriculum; British Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS); French National Curriculum. English/Mandarin and French/Mandarin bilingual sections., Cambridge International. 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 Shanghai, 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.