Rent plus school fees in Dubai: the real year total
Two questions decide a move to Dubai with children, and they are usually answered on different websites: what does a flat cost, and what does a school cost. Put them in one line and the number changes character. Take one two bedroom flat in Al Garhoud at the median registered rent. With New Indian Model School the household year comes to AED 84,153. With Al Mawakeb School Al Garhoud L.L.C, a school in the same district, it comes to AED 96,774. Same flat, same street, AED 12,621 apart, and the whole difference is the school. Rents from Dubai Land Department, Ejari contract register, as of September 2026, new leases only. School fees from KHDA (Knowledge and Human Development Authority), Dubai Private Schools Open Data, school year 2024/2025, open data file at web.khda.gov.ae/KHDA/media/KHDA/DubaiPrivateSchoolsOpenData.xlsx.
You will not find an average school fee per district on this page, and that is deliberate. Averaging the schools of a district measures which curricula happen to sit there, not what the district costs: four of the six Al Garhoud schools follow the Indian curriculum, which would push a district figure down to a level no American curriculum family in the same street would ever pay. Every calculation below therefore names one school.
Al Garhoud: the rent side
Median registered new lease rent in Al Garhoud, apartments, AED. The annual rent is the monthly median multiplied by twelve.
| Unit | Registered contracts | Median rent per month | Rent per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | 29 | 4,600 | 55,200 |
| 1 bedroom | 57 | 5,416 | 64,992 |
| 2 bedrooms | 132 | 6,562 | 78,744 |
| 3 bedrooms | 20 | 7,916 | 94,992 |
The case number in this table is the number of registered new lease contracts behind the row, 132 of them for two bedroom flats. It is a different count from the one in the school tables further down, where the case number is the number of schools. Renewals and bulk contracts over several units are not in it.
The six schools in Al Garhoud, one by one
Annual tuition in AED, the median of each school across its own grades 1 to 12, school year 2024/2025. These are all Al Garhoud schools in the KHDA fee file, not a sample.
| School | Curriculum | Annual fee |
|---|---|---|
| New Indian Model School | Indian | 5,409 |
| The Indian High School-Branch | Indian | 5,525 |
| Gulf Indian High School | Indian | 6,205 |
| GEMS Legacy School - Dubai Branch | Indian | 11,126 |
| Dubai International Private School | American | 16,579 |
| Al Mawakeb School Al Garhoud L.L.C | American | 18,030 |
Six schools, from AED 5,409 to AED 18,030, in one district of a few streets. Four teach the Indian curriculum, two the American one, and the split runs almost exactly along the fee line: the four Indian schools sit between AED 5,409 and AED 11,126, the two American ones at AED 16,579 and AED 18,030. The clearest proof that the district is not the price driver comes from one operator: Al Mawakeb charges AED 18,030 in Al Garhoud and the same AED 18,030 at its Al Barsha branch, a district where the most expensive school asks AED 87,268.
The year total for one household
Year total in AED. Rents are the medians from the table above, school fees are the two named schools. The school fee column is one annual fee per child.
| Household | Rent per year | School fees | Total per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Two bedrooms, one child, New Indian Model School | 78,744 | 5,409 | 84,153 |
| Two bedrooms, one child, Al Mawakeb School Al Garhoud L.L.C | 78,744 | 18,030 | 96,774 |
| Two bedrooms, two children, New Indian Model School | 78,744 | 10,818 | 89,562 |
| Two bedrooms, two children, Al Mawakeb School Al Garhoud L.L.C | 78,744 | 36,060 | 114,804 |
| Three bedrooms, one child, New Indian Model School | 94,992 | 5,409 | 100,401 |
| Three bedrooms, one child, Al Mawakeb School Al Garhoud L.L.C | 94,992 | 18,030 | 113,022 |
The ratio is the useful part. Rent for the two bedroom flat is AED 78,744 a year and does not move. The school moves the total by AED 12,621 for one child and by AED 25,242 for two, which is why a family that fixes the district first and the school second has usually decided the smaller half of the budget. Moving up from two bedrooms to three costs AED 16,248 a year, less than the step between the two schools.
What the curriculum does city wide
Keep the flat and change the curriculum. The rent stays at AED 78,744 for a two bedroom flat in Al Garhoud, and the school fee becomes the Dubai wide median for each curriculum. The case numbers behind those medians are schools with that curriculum in the fee file: Ministry of Education 5 schools, American 32, International Baccalaureate 14, Indian 30, French 6.
| Curriculum | School fee per year | Rent per year | Total per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ministry of Education (UAE) | 11,602 | 78,744 | 90,346 |
| American | 35,154 | 78,744 | 113,898 |
| International Baccalaureate | 75,318 | 78,744 | 154,062 |
| Indian | 14,961 | 78,744 | 93,705 |
| French | 51,620 | 78,744 | 130,364 |
Same flat, same city, same child: AED 93,705 with an Indian curriculum school against AED 154,062 with an IB school. The curriculum moves the annual household total by AED 60,357, more than the entire year of rent for a studio in the same district at AED 55,200.
Where the two files do not meet
The KHDA file names districts the way the land registry does, in capitals, and our rental figures use the same registry names. They still overlap in one district only, which is why Al Garhoud carries the calculation above. The table shows what the school side looks like in each of the ten districts: the cheapest and the most expensive school actually listed there, by name.
Annual tuition in AED. The two schools named per district are the extremes of the schools listed there, not a district average.
| District (registry name) | Cheapest school listed | Fee | Most expensive school listed | Fee | Rent figure available |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AL QUSAIS FIRST | Crescent English School | 3,310 | Amity School L.L.C | 29,364 | no rent figure in our data |
| AL BARSHA FIRST | Al Arqm Private School | 11,602 | GEMS World Academy | 100,027 | no, our Al Barsha South Third and Fourth are Arjan and JVC |
| AL BARSHA SECOND | Al Mawakeb School Al Barsha L.L.C | 18,030 | American School Dubai | 87,268 | no, same reason as Al Barsha First |
| AL GARHOUD | New Indian Model School | 5,409 | Al Mawakeb School Al Garhoud L.L.C | 18,030 | yes, see the calculation above |
| AL MIZHAR FIRST | Dubai Modern Education School | 13,954 | American Academy for Girls | 61,614 | no, Mirdif next door is a separate registry district |
| DUBAI INVESTMENT PARK FIRST | Bright Riders School | 26,500 | Greenfield International School | 64,044 | no rent figure in our data |
| Meydan City | Lycee Libanais Francophone Prive Meydan L.L.C - FZ | 49,248 | North London Collegiate School Middle East L.L.C - FZ | 124,185 | no, our Al Merkadh and Hadaeq entries are neighbouring districts |
| MUHAISNAH FIRST | Gulf Model School | 4,931 | Greenwood International School | 26,219 | no, we hold Muhaisanah Fourth, a different sub-district |
| AL QOUZ FIRST | GEMS Our Own Indian School | 9,132 | Clarion School L.L.C | 75,744 | no rent figure in our data |
| AL WARQA FIRST | Our Own High School - Dubai Branch | 10,478 | Sharjah American International Private school | 28,224 | no rent figure in our data |
The file lists between four and nine schools per district: AL QUSAIS FIRST 9, AL BARSHA FIRST 4, AL BARSHA SECOND 4, AL GARHOUD 6, AL MIZHAR FIRST 5, DUBAI INVESTMENT PARK FIRST 4, Meydan City 4, MUHAISNAH FIRST 5, AL QOUZ FIRST 7, AL WARQA FIRST 5. Read the rows as ranges, not as levels. Al Barsha Second spans AED 18,030 to AED 87,268, a factor of almost five inside one district, and Al Qusais First spans AED 3,310 to AED 29,364. A district figure would hide exactly that, which is why we do not publish one and why we do not pair a school fee with the rent of a neighbouring district either.
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. On the rent side the same warning applies: the registered rent is the rent, without the agency fee, the security deposit, the Ejari registration or the utility deposit, and these land in the same first month as the school invoice.
Frequently asked questions
What do rent and school together cost per year in Dubai?
For a two bedroom flat in Al Garhoud at the median registered rent of AED 78,744 a year: AED 84,153 with New Indian Model School, AED 96,774 with Al Mawakeb School Al Garhoud L.L.C. With two children the same flat comes to AED 89,562 and AED 114,804.
Why name single schools instead of a district average?
Because an average over the schools of a district measures the curriculum mix that happens to be there. In Al Garhoud four of six schools are Indian curriculum, so a district figure would sit near AED 5,409 and mislead every family looking at the American curriculum school in the same street at AED 18,030.
How much does a second child add?
Exactly the fee of the school you choose, once more: AED 5,409 at New Indian Model School, AED 18,030 at Al Mawakeb School Al Garhoud L.L.C. That takes the two bedroom household from AED 84,153 to AED 89,562, or from AED 96,774 to AED 114,804.
Are these rents what I will be quoted?
They are what was registered in new leases, not what is advertised. Asking prices on the portals run above them, and renewals run below because of the rent cap.
Can you look at one specific district for me?
The form at the foot of the page takes the district, the number of bedrooms, the grade level and the budget. It reaches contacts in Dubai who reply to you directly, and nothing about your enquiry is published.
Sources and method
Two separate sources, named separately. Rents: Dubai Land Department, Ejari contract register, as of September 2026. These are registered new leases, monthly figures derived from the annual contract value divided by twelve, bulk contracts over several units excluded, and the case number for a rent row is the number of contracts. School fees: KHDA (Knowledge and Human Development Authority), Dubai Private Schools Open Data, school year 2024/2025, the open data file published by the authority at web.khda.gov.ae/KHDA/media/KHDA/DubaiPrivateSchoolsOpenData.xlsx. The list covers 226 private schools in Dubai, 128 with a reported fee; each school is shown with the median of its own grades 1 to 12, and the case number for a school row is the number of schools. Year totals on this page are calculated by us: monthly rent times twelve, plus the annual fee of the named school, multiplied by the number of children. We do not publish a school fee average per district. Amounts are exact as published, not rounded, and in UAE dirham.
New Dubai figures reach the DXB Radar channel on Telegram first.