Dubai private school fees: what one year actually costs
A place at a private school in Dubai costs a median of AED 21,806 a year in Grade 1 and AED 32,787 in Grade 12. Around those two numbers sits a spread wide enough to decide where a family can afford to live. The figures below are the official fee list of the Dubai schools regulator: KHDA (Knowledge and Human Development Authority), Dubai Private Schools Open Data, school year 2024/2025, published as an open data file at web.khda.gov.ae/KHDA/media/KHDA/DubaiPrivateSchoolsOpenData.xlsx.
Fees by grade level
Annual tuition in AED per child, school year 2024/2025. The column headed Schools reporting gives the case number behind every row.
| Grade level | Schools reporting | Lower quartile | Median | Upper quartile | Lowest | Highest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-primary | 64 | 21,000 | 31,666 | 48,454 | 11,732 | 89,629 |
| KG 1 | 115 | 9,679 | 19,662 | 37,368 | 2,793 | 93,949 |
| KG 2 | 116 | 10,883 | 19,861 | 38,400 | 2,793 | 102,588 |
| Grade 1 | 118 | 11,990 | 21,806 | 41,500 | 2,612 | 102,588 |
| Grade 2 | 118 | 11,990 | 22,427 | 42,325 | 2,612 | 102,588 |
| Grade 3 | 118 | 11,990 | 24,386 | 44,621 | 2,612 | 102,588 |
| Grade 4 | 118 | 12,172 | 24,890 | 45,730 | 2,612 | 105,827 |
| Grade 5 | 118 | 12,305 | 25,515 | 48,500 | 2,612 | 105,827 |
| Grade 6 | 117 | 13,210 | 26,002 | 53,993 | 3,201 | 124,185 |
| Grade 7 | 113 | 14,569 | 28,324 | 56,153 | 3,310 | 124,185 |
| Grade 8 | 110 | 14,575 | 28,017 | 58,229 | 3,310 | 124,185 |
| Grade 9 | 108 | 14,754 | 29,072 | 60,472 | 3,637 | 129,584 |
| Grade 10 | 102 | 16,044 | 31,539 | 62,656 | 3,945 | 129,584 |
| Grade 11 | 101 | 17,030 | 32,627 | 66,102 | 3,945 | 140,382 |
| Grade 12 | 93 | 15,956 | 32,787 | 68,431 | 3,945 | 140,382 |
One word on the case number, because the column is easy to misread. Schools reporting is the number of schools that offer this grade level and state a fee for it in the KHDA file. It counts schools, not pupils, not classes and not places.
Read Grade 1 as the anchor: AED 21,806 is the median across 118 schools, the middle half of them charge between AED 11,990 and AED 41,500, and the full range runs from AED 2,612 to AED 102,588. The gap between the two quartiles alone is AED 29,510 a year, which is more than most families spend on rent for a month. Kindergarten is cheaper on the median, AED 19,662 in KG 1 from 115 schools, but the upper quartile is already AED 37,368.
How the fee climbs from Grade 1 to Grade 12
Fees rise with the grade, steadily rather than in one jump. The median goes from AED 21,806 in Grade 1 to AED 26,002 in Grade 6 and AED 32,787 in Grade 12, a difference of AED 10,981 between the first school year and the last. The upper quartile moves further: AED 41,500 in Grade 1 against AED 68,431 in Grade 12. Across the whole table the distance is larger still: AED 137,770 a year separate the lowest fee in it, AED 2,612, from the highest, AED 140,382.
The number of schools shrinks towards the top of the list: 118 schools report a Grade 1 fee, 102 report Grade 10 and 93 report Grade 12. Many Dubai schools stop before the final years, so a family choosing a primary school is also choosing whether a move will be needed later.
What the fee does not include
The figures are annual tuition only. Registration and admission charges, school transport and books, uniforms, exam entry and trips sit outside them, so a family budget built on the tuition line alone comes out short. Bus routes across Dubai and the annual book and uniform bill are the two items families underestimate most often. The fee list also says nothing about places: a school can be full at any price.
Frequently asked questions
What does a private school in Dubai cost per year?
In Grade 1 the median is AED 21,806 across 118 schools. A quarter of schools are below AED 11,990 and a quarter above AED 41,500. The cheapest Grade 1 fee in the list is AED 2,612, the highest AED 102,588.
Is there a cheap end to the market?
Yes. In every grade from Grade 1 to Grade 5 the lowest reported fee is AED 2,612 a year, and the lower quartile stays under AED 12,305. These are mostly schools following the Indian or the UAE Ministry of Education curriculum.
Why do you show a median instead of an average?
Because a handful of schools charge above AED 140,382 and would drag an average away from anything a family recognises. The median stays where half the schools are.
Do the fees include the bus and the registration?
No. The figures are annual tuition only. Registration and admission charges, school transport and books, uniforms, exam entry and trips sit outside them, so a family budget built on the tuition line alone comes out short.
I need a place and a flat in the same district, where do I start?
There is a short enquiry form at the foot of this page. Name the area, the grade level and the budget; the request goes to contacts in Dubai who answer you directly. Nothing is published.
Source and method
Every figure on this page comes from KHDA (Knowledge and Human Development Authority), Dubai Private Schools Open Data, school year 2024/2025. The file is published by the authority itself: web.khda.gov.ae/KHDA/media/KHDA/DubaiPrivateSchoolsOpenData.xlsx. We reproduce the numbers with the source named and do not present them as a survey of our own. The list covers 226 private schools in Dubai, 128 of which report a fee. Amounts are in UAE dirham per school year. A school is counted once per grade level, and the school figure used for rankings is the median of its own grades 1 to 12. The median is the value with half the schools above it and half below, which is steadier than an average because one very expensive school cannot pull it. Quartiles mark the middle half: a quarter of schools charge less than the lower quartile, a quarter charge more than the upper one. Figures are exact as published, not rounded.
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