International School Fees in Chiang Mai 2026: Full Fee Tables (From ฿111k)

International School Fees in Chiang Mai 2026: Full Fee Tables (From ฿111k)

International school in Chiang Mai in 2026 starts around ฿111,000 a year (~$3,360) at the budget bilingual-international end, and runs up to ฿496,800–736,000 (~$15,050–22,300) for senior years at the city's established international schools — Nakornpayap, CMIS, Grace and Prem. That is the headline reason families move north from Bangkok: a comparable education costs roughly 20–30% less once you're past the entry tier, though the gap narrows at the very top since Prem's senior boarding fees rival mid-tier Bangkok schools.

Every figure below is annual tuition only. Add registration, capital levies, uniforms, lunches and transport, and a real first-year bill runs 15–30% above the sticker tuition figure at every school in this article.

Quick answer: what Chiang Mai international school costs

• Budget bilingual-international entry: ฿111,000–180,000/yr (~$3,360–5,450)
• Nakornpayap International School (NIS): ฿290,000 ECC to ฿496,800 senior (~$8,790–15,050)
• Grace International School (GIS): ฿294,500 (Gr K–5) to ฿361,000 (Gr 12) (~$8,920–10,940)
• Chiang Mai International School (CMIS): ฿325,400–552,600 across grades (~$9,860–16,750)
• Prem Tinsulanonda (PTIS): ฿380,000–736,000 across grades (~$11,520–22,300), the city's priciest
• Hidden first-year add-ons: registration ฿66,000–130,000, plus uniforms, lunches and transport

Fee tables by school (annual tuition, THB, 2025/26–2026/27)

Chiang Mai has no single published fee database — like Bangkok, ISAT (the schools association) offers only a member directory, not fees, so every figure below comes from the school's own published schedule or a named third-party aggregator, dated as such.

Source: each school's official 2025/26–2026/27 fee schedule (ptis.ac.th, cmis.ac.th, gisthailand.org, nis.ac.th, lannaist.ac.th) plus International Schools Database aggregation · verified July 2026 · ฿33/USD. Lanna's figures vary noticeably between aggregators — treat as directional and confirm on the school's own fee page before budgeting.

The named schools above (Nakornpayap, Grace, CMIS, Lanna, Prem) are Chiang Mai's recognized international-curriculum tier. Below them sits a wider layer of bilingual and small international programs advertised from around ฿111,000, which is the number that anchors most "Chiang Mai school fees from…" headlines you'll see online. Treat that floor figure as real but atypical of the five schools most expat families actually shortlist.

The hidden costs that inflate the sticker price

Tuition is never the whole bill. Every Chiang Mai school in this table charges one-time or annual extras on top:

• Prem: ฿5,000 application + ฿130,000 non-refundable foundation fee, making a realistic first year ฿585,000 ($17,730) even at the lower tuition bands.
• Grace: ฿70,000 one-time entrance fee, plus a recurring ฿30,000/yr capitalization fee and ฿10,000/yr re-enrollment fee — both non-refundable, on top of tuition every year, not just year one.
• Nakornpayap: ฿5,000 application + ฿66,000 registration (non-refundable), plus refundable book and damage deposits of ฿10,000 and ฿20,000.
• Lanna: ฿6,000 assessment fee, ฿90,000 registration, ฿13,000 equipment deposit, plus a ฿40,000 initial payment credited against the first invoice.

Across the wider market, aggregators put typical registration at ฿9,500–28,000, a capital levy or bond around ฿19,000–56,500, and uniforms plus supplies at ฿4,000–9,500 a year, with lunches, bus and trips adding another ฿65,000–110,000. That is broadly the same shape of hidden-cost stack as Bangkok, just smaller in absolute baht — see the fuller hidden-costs breakdown for how capital levies get refunded (or don't) on withdrawal, which matters more the longer your child stays enrolled.

Chiang Mai versus Bangkok

Bangkok's international schools run from about ฿200,000 at the budget end to ฿1,200,000+ for senior years at the top tier — ISB's Grade 9–12 tuition sits near ฿1,197,000 ($36,270) and Bangkok Patana's senior fee is around ฿1,044,000 ($31,640). Chiang Mai's equivalent senior-year ceiling, Prem's ฿736,000 (~$22,300), is roughly 35–40% below that. At the entry level the gap is narrower in percentage terms but still real: Chiang Mai's ~฿111,000 floor undercuts Bangkok's genuine-budget floor of around ฿300,000.

The gap isn't just tuition. Bangkok's capital/building levies alone run ฿100,000–500,000 per child at established schools, well above anything charged in Chiang Mai's named five. If your family is choosing between the two cities primarily on schooling cost, see the full Bangkok fee tables and the cheapest Bangkok options for the direct comparison, and the Chiang Mai cost of living page for how school fees sit against the rest of a family budget in this city.

Bilingual schools as a lower-cost alternative

If full international tuition doesn't fit the budget, Chiang Mai's bilingual schools (Thai curriculum taught partly in English) typically undercut international schools by 40–60%, which is where that ฿111,000 floor mostly lives. The trade-off is a more Thai-weighted curriculum and less consistency in English-medium instruction quality between schools. Bilingual versus international school costs breaks down the curriculum and university-pathway trade-offs alongside the fee gap, and is worth reading before you commit to either tier — switching later usually means eating a second capital levy.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does an international school cost in Chiang Mai in 2026?

Budget bilingual-international schools start near ฿111,000 a year (~$3,360). The five established international schools most expat families consider — Nakornpayap, Grace, CMIS, Lanna and Prem — start at ฿290,000–380,000 for entry grades and rise to ฿361,000–736,000 for senior years, before hidden fees.

Is Chiang Mai cheaper than Bangkok for international school?

Yes, generally 20–40% cheaper at the senior-year tier. Chiang Mai's most expensive school, Prem, tops out around ฿736,000 for senior/boarding years, while Bangkok's top tier (ISB, Patana) runs ฿1,000,000–1,200,000+. Entry-level tuition is cheaper in Chiang Mai too, though the percentage gap is smaller there.

What hidden costs come on top of tuition?

Expect a one-time registration or foundation fee (฿66,000–130,000 depending on school), plus annual extras like capitalization or re-enrollment fees (฿10,000–30,000/yr at Grace), uniforms, lunches, and transport. Budget 15–30% above the headline tuition figure for a realistic first-year cost.

Which is the cheapest recognized international school in Chiang Mai?

Among the five established schools, Grace International School and Nakornpayap both start lower than Lanna, CMIS or Prem, with entry-grade tuition around ฿290,000–294,500. Below that tier, bilingual-international schools advertise from roughly ฿111,000, but with a more Thai-weighted curriculum.

Do Chiang Mai school fees rise every year?

Most Thai international schools increase tuition roughly 3–5% annually, consistent with the pattern seen in Bangkok. Always request the current published fee schedule directly from the school rather than relying on an aggregator, since third-party sites can lag official updates by a year or more — Lanna's fees in particular showed conflicting figures across sources at time of writing.

The bottom line

Chiang Mai gives you a genuine discount on international education versus Bangkok, but the discount is biggest at the top of the fee scale, not the bottom. If you're choosing a school, get the current official fee schedule in writing, ask specifically whether the capital or registration levy is refundable on withdrawal, and budget the full first-year number — tuition alone understates the real cost by 15–30% at every school in this market.