Good to know
Good to Know
- Overall, Budapest international-school tuition runs well below Vienna, Prague or Western European capitals for an equivalent IB, British or American curriculum, which is a big part of why multinational employers here often build a full or partial education allowance into relocation packages.
- There are two similarly named British-curriculum schools — 'The British International School Budapest (BISB)', part of Nord Anglia, and 'Budapest British International School (BBIS)' — double-check which one you're researching, since their fees, campuses and ownership are different.
- Most international schools sit on the Buda side (Districts II, III and XII) or further out in Nagykovácsi; factor commute time into your housing choice if a specific school is a priority.
- Ask every shortlisted school directly about sibling discounts (commonly 2-15%) and instalment/termly payment plans — these aren't always advertised clearly online and can meaningfully change the effective annual cost.
- Fee figures for smaller schools (SEK, ICSB, Lycée Français, the Austrian-Hungarian school, Real School, Greater Grace) are not consistently published online — get a direct, current quote before budgeting, as list prices change yearly.
- For popular Budapest international schools, missing the priority application window (often around February-March for a September start) can push a family straight to a waitlist rather than a rejection — apply early even if plans aren't fully firm.
- Hungarian-track grade transitions (entering local Grades 10-12) can require an official Hungarian-format transcript (évvégi bizonyítvány), which takes time to obtain if the child is coming from a non-Hungarian school — start this paperwork early.
- Homeschooling in Hungary is not a reliable fallback plan for a nomad family expecting to stay more than three months: the legal pathway is narrow, discretionary, and reported by advocacy groups to have become substantially harder to access since 2019-2020, and this reportedly applies to long-term foreign residents as well as citizens.
- If you're considering homeschooling, treat any claim that it's 'simply legal with notification' with caution — more detailed sources describe a restrictive, case-by-case 'private student' approval process rather than a simple notify-and-go system.
Schools
American International School of Budapest (AISB)
- Location
- Nagykovácsi, on the outskirts of Budapest (large rural campus, roughly 20-30 min from the city center)
- Age Range
- 3 to 18
- One Time Fees
- Registration ~$1,000, application ~$650, annual building/capital fee ~$3,000 (per older USD-denominated fee schedule; current schedule is HUF-denominated)
- Notes
- One of Hungary's oldest and largest international schools; not-for-profit; combines an American-style curriculum with the full IB Diploma. Different sources published slightly different HUF ranges for 2025/26, likely reflecting different grade levels.
Curricula
- American (US-style)
- IB Diploma Programme (grades 11-12)
Tuition Annual
- Low End
- HUF 5,200,000
- High End
- HUF 10,600,000
The British International School Budapest (BISB)
- Location
- Hűvösvölgy area, District II
- Age Range
- 3 to 18
- One Time Fees
- Application assessment fee 175,000 HUF (~$560); registration fee 500,000 HUF (~$1,600)
- Curriculum Authority
- Nord Anglia / British curriculum with IB elements
- Notes
- Part of the Nord Anglia Education network. The figure above is a first-year, all-in illustrative cost for a 3-year-old including one-off fees, not a pure recurring tuition line; a 4% early-payment discount and small sibling discounts (2-10%) are offered.
Curricula
- British National Curriculum
- IB Middle Years Programme (MYP)
- IB Diploma Programme (DP)
Tuition Annual
- First Year Example
- HUF 6,125,000
Britannica International School Budapest
- Location
- Central Budapest
- Age Range
- Early years through age 18
- One Time Fees
- Registration fee typically around €500 (~$570), plus extra charges for meals, trips and some extracurriculars
- Notes
- Known for a traditional British academic approach and strong IGCSE results.
Curricula
- English National Curriculum (EYFS through IGCSE and A-Levels)
Tuition Annual
- Low End
- €9,000
- High End
- €16,000
International School of Budapest (ISB)
- Location
- Budapest (Buda side)
- Age Range
- 5 to 18
- Notes
- Unusual dual-track setup: issues both a Cambridge-accredited international report and an official Hungarian state-accredited bilingual report, plus offers the IB Diploma since 2020. Fees differ between its 'International' and 'Bilingual' tracks; the bilingual track is cheaper than the figure above, which is for the international program.
Curricula
- British
- Hungarian bilingual
- Cambridge International
- IB Diploma Programme
Tuition Annual
- International Program First Year Example
- HUF 5,445,000
Budapest British International School (BBIS)
- Location
- Budapest
- Age Range
- 3 to 18
- Tuition Annual
- Not publicly disclosed by the school
- Notes
- Distinct from the similarly named 'The British International School Budapest (BISB)' above — the two names are easily confused. This school does not publish its fee schedule; prospective families need to contact admissions directly.
Curricula
- IB philosophy
- IB Middle Years Programme (MYP)
- IB Diploma Programme (DP)
SEK Budapest International School
- Location
- District II, Budapest
- Age Range
- Preschool through secondary
- Tuition Annual
- Not found in public sources for the current academic year
- Notes
- Bilingual English/Hungarian instruction; part of the international SEK school network; draws students from around 35 countries.
Curricula
- Hungarian national curriculum
- optional IB Diploma or Hungarian Matura from grade 11
- Spanish taught as a foreign language
International Christian School of Budapest (ICSB)
- Location
- Near the M0 motorway, roughly 18 minutes from the city center
- Age Range
- Not specified (elementary through secondary)
- Tuition Annual
- Advertised as among the most competitive of Budapest's English-speaking schools, but a specific current fee figure was not found in public sources
- Notes
- Runs one of the most extensive special-needs support programs among Budapest's international schools; faith-based community.
Curricula
- American curriculum
- Christian, values-based education
Lycée Français Gustave Eiffel De Budapest
- Location
- Budapest
- Age Range
- Kindergarten through high school
- Tuition Annual
- Not found in public sources
- Notes
- The main French-medium option in Budapest for expat and Hungarian families wanting a French Baccalauréat pathway.
Curricula
- French national curriculum
German School Budapest – Thomas Mann Gymnasium
- Location
- Budapest
- Age Range
- Not specified
- Notes
- Historically the least expensive of Budapest's international schools. This fee figure comes from a 2018 news report — treat as dated and likely understated for the current year; confirm directly with the school.
Curricula
- German curriculum
Tuition Annual
- Low End
- HUF 980,000
- High End
- HUF 1,240,000
Austrian-Hungarian European School
- Location
- Budapest
- Age Range
- 6 to 14
- Tuition Annual
- Not found in public sources
- Notes
- Part of the international Austrian school system, run under the guidance of the Catholic Order of the Brothers of the Christian Schools.
Curricula
- German and Hungarian instruction
Real School Budapest
- Location
- District II, Budapest
- Age Range
- Not specified
- Tuition Annual
- Not found in public sources for this specific school
- Notes
- Smaller, faith-based school aimed at international families wanting a more intimate setting.
Curricula
- English-medium, with Hungarian language classes
Greater Grace International School
- Location
- Budapest
- Age Range
- Not specified
- Tuition Annual
- Not found in public sources for this specific school
- Notes
- Smaller faith-based international option.
Curricula
- English-medium / American-influenced, faith-based
Sector Wide Indicative Ranges 2026
- Typical Extra Annual Costs
- Registration ~€150-300 ($170-340); one-time enrolment ~€1,000-3,000 ($1,140-3,420); capital/building levy (where charged) ~€1,500-4,000 ($1,710-4,560); bus, lunch and uniform typically add another €2,000-3,500 ($2,280-3,990) per year
Secondary Ages 12 16
- Low
- €10,000
- High
- €17,000
Early Years Pre K Kindergarten
- Low
- HUF 4,500,000
- High
- HUF 6,500,000
IB Diploma Or A Level Years 16 18
- Low
- €12,000
- High
- €20,000
Homeschooling
- Legal Status
- Restrictive / discretionary — not an outright ban, but functions through a narrow legal mechanism rather than a straightforward 'homeschooling law'
- Practical Reality
- One home-education advocacy source (HSLDA) describes the post-2019/2020 environment as close to a de facto ban for most applicants, with requests commonly refused even for well-documented cases; a separate academic source (NHERI) frames it more neutrally as 'neither banned nor supported,' heavily bureaucratic, and poorly tracked in official statistics (homeschooled children are lumped into the same category as special-education private students in national data).
- How It Actually Works
- Hungary has no homeschooling law as such. Home education is only possible by a child being formally enrolled at a school while holding 'private student' (magántanuló) status, which exempts them from daily attendance but keeps them under the school's/authority's oversight, including required exams. A 2019-2020 legal amendment removed local school principals' discretion to grant this status and shifted the decision to a centralized government office, which advocates describe as having made approval far harder to obtain in practice, including for families with long-established, academically successful home education.
- Applicability To Foreign Families
- According to homeschooling-advocacy sources, the same restrictive rules apply to foreign-national families once they have legally resided in Hungary for more than three months — there is no separate, easier track for expats.
- Reasons Status Is Granted
- An official 2014 government report on private students listed the documented grounds for the status as including family circumstances, health status, age, long-term residence abroad, transport difficulties, conduct issues, sport/arts talent, social conditions, student employment, and dual enrollment with another (including foreign) school.
Documented Local Community
- Name
- Hungarian Homeschooling Association (founded by longtime home-educator and advocate Imre Szőke)
- Details
- This is a registered national association that promotes homeschooling in Hungary; its founder has estimated 800-1,000 homeschooling families nationally. Reporting from home-education advocacy sources also notes that smaller local co-ops largely dissolved after the 2019-2020 tightening, so an actively meeting, present-day Budapest-specific co-op is not clearly documented as still operating.
- Geographic Note
- This is a national, not Budapest-specific, association — no distinct, documented Budapest-only homeschooling co-op was found.
International Bilingual School Enrollment
- Overview
- Budapest's international/bilingual school market for foreign families is real but not brutally competitive compared to hubs like London or Paris — the main risk is missing the application window for a specific popular grade, not a total lack of seats citywide.
- Waitlist Reality
- Waitlists ('wait pools') exist at several Budapest international schools once a grade level fills — applicants who meet requirements but can't be offered a seat due to space are held and contacted if a spot opens. Some schools also distinguish 'priority' applicants (who apply and complete assessments by an early-year cutoff) from 'late' applicants, who are only considered after priority seats are filled and are otherwise moved straight to the wait pool. A few schools (e.g. Budapest British International Academy, Budapest British International School) instead run rolling, year-round admissions with no fixed deadline.
Practical Tips
- Apply to two schools in parallel where possible — even a strong first-choice school deserves a backup given grade-level waitlists.
- Book campus tours early in spring, since visit slots can fill during the peak application months (roughly February-May).
- Factor the Danube split into the decision: choose a school that matches your intended Buda or Pest base to avoid a daily cross-river commute.
Recommended Timeline
- For Mid Year Start
- For a mid-year (non-September) start, apply roughly 6-10 weeks ahead of the intended start date; some schools (e.g. SEK Budapest, ICSB) are noted as more flexible about mid-year admissions than others.
- For September Start
- Aim to begin enquiries 8-14 months ahead. One admissions-focused source recommends starting initial enquiries between October and January for a September start, submitting formal applications by March, sitting assessments February-May, with offers arriving March-June. A separate expat-guide source recommends starting 12-18 months ahead for premium schools, since Years 7, 10 and 12 places at the most sought-after schools (AISB, BISB) can carry waiting lists.
Typical Process Steps
- Initial enquiry: share the child's age, current curriculum, and intended arrival month; ask whether the specific entry year is open or waitlisted, and request a tour or virtual meeting.
- Formal application: complete the application form and pay a registration fee.
- Assessment: from roughly Year 2 upward, most schools run an English-language assessment; from Year 5/6 upward this typically extends to maths and often a cognitive test (e.g. CAT4, MAP), usually 60-120 minutes, on campus or remote.
- Interview: parents (and sometimes the applicant) meet an Admissions Director or Head.
- Offer and seat reservation: some schools (e.g. International Christian School of Budapest) require a seat-reservation fee paid within a set window (commonly around 10 days) to hold the offer, after which an enrollment contract is signed.
- Onboarding: final documents (proof of address in Hungary, vaccination records) plus payment plan setup before the first day.
Application And Related Fees Examples
- Seat Reservation Fee Example
- HUF 156,700
Example from one Christian international school in Budapest, which quotes its seat-reservation fee directly in USD (500 USD), payable within about 10 days of an admission offer to hold the place.
Enrollment Fee
- Low
- HUF 356,000
- High
- HUF 1,068,000
- Note
- Typical one-off enrollment fee range (approx. 1,000-3,000 EUR as quoted by schools), converted to forint and USD.
Registration Fee
- Low
- HUF 53,400
- High
- HUF 106,800
- Note
- Typical registration fee range across Budapest international schools, as quoted by schools in euros (approx. 150-300 EUR); converted here to forint and USD at current rates.
Required Documents Commonly Requested
- Last two years of school reports and current transcripts
- Passport copy
- Vaccination record
- Birth certificate
- Recommendation letter from the current school
- For entry into local Grades 10-12, official Hungarian-format transcripts (évvégi bizonyítvány) are specifically requested by at least one Budapest international school
- Proof of address in Hungary (typically requested at contract-signing stage rather than initial application)
Budapest has roughly a dozen international and bilingual schools, most clustered on the Buda side (Districts II, III and XII, plus one large campus further out in Nagykovácsi). Curricula on offer include the International Baccalaureate (PYP/MYP/DP), British (National Curriculum/IGCSE/A-Levels), American (AP-style), French, German, and Hungarian bilingual programs. Overall tuition is noticeably cheaper than Vienna, Prague or Western European capitals for a comparable curriculum.
AI-generated estimateData refreshed July 2026
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Data last updated July 2026 · Verify anything important.