The ranking holds 19 schools with an international accreditation or an authorised programme. International Baccalaureate programmes are taught at 12 of them. The British Cambridge route, IGCSE and A-Level, at 6. A year of school costs from €6 531 to €25 619. A swimming pool on site is confirmed at 1.
1 school publishes a monthly fee rather than a yearly one and does not say how many payments it charges over a school year. We count such a year as ten payments: that is the number charged by the schools that do state it, and that is how long the school year runs in most countries of the ranking.
We do not take reviews from maps and directories: their terms forbid it, and nobody checks the quality there. Everything below comes from the official registers of the accrediting organisations and from the schools' own sites, and every fact carries its source and the date of the check.
| Cheapest | $7 378 a year | Lycée français Victor Hugo |
| Median | $11 071 a year | top of the fee range at 17 schools with a published fee |
| Most expensive | $28 943 a year | Anglo-American School of Sofia |
Figures are converted to dollars at a weekly rate; schools publish their fees in their own currency. One-off charges, meals, transport and uniform are not included unless the school says otherwise. Fees for schools in Sofia are taken from published price lists, not from what third parties say.
All 19 schools in the ranking are private. We have not yet found a state school in Sofia with an international accreditation. The type of school does not affect the score: private and state schools sit in one list and are scored by the same formula, and only verifiable data moves the number.
Schools in Sofia with an IB programme (12): British School of Sofia, Zlatarski International School of Sofia, Anglo-American School of Sofia, Meridian 22 Private High School, Uwekind International School, American College of Sofia, Britanica Park School, Discover International School, Bulgarsko Shkolo, Educational Technologies Private Profiled High School, Primary Progressive School 1 Sofia, Primary Progressive School 3 Sofia. 2 of them run the full three-stage cycle: PYP, MYP and DP. Authorisation is confirmed against the International Baccalaureate register.
The British Cambridge programme - IGCSE and A-Level - is taught at 6 schools in Sofia: St. George International School and Preschool, British School of Sofia, Zlatarski International School of Sofia, Izzi Science for Kids, Darbi College, Cosmos International School.
These schools stand in the suburbs, up to 23 km from the centre of Sofia. Each card names the school's own town; they are gathered here because a family in Sofia chooses between them as between districts of one place.
A facility counts only when the school names it outright on its own site: a modern campus is not a swimming pool. Swimming pool: 1 school · Boarding: 1 school · School transport: 14 schools.
Comparing schools on a single feature is useless: the most expensive is not the best, and a famous name says nothing about what is backed by documents. The score is therefore built from nine criteria with different weights - from academic programmes and accreditation to facilities, clubs and fees relative to other schools in the country.
A criterion counts towards the score only when there is verifiable data behind it. That is why every score says how many of the nine criteria were counted: at schools in Sofia that is 7.9 out of 9 on average. A school with a detailed site and a school with no site cannot earn an equally reliable score, and that is shown rather than hidden.
Ratings and reviews from Google Maps and other map services are not used: their terms forbid aggregation. Only verified reviews left here count. Full methodology →
Published fees run from $7 378 to $28 943 for a school year. The cheapest is Lycée français Victor Hugo, the most expensive Anglo-American School of Sofia. The median for the senior stage is $11 071 a year. Fees are converted into dollars at a weekly rate; schools publish them in their own currency. 1 school publishes a monthly fee rather than a yearly one and does not say how many payments it charges over a school year. We count such a year as ten payments: that is the number charged by the schools that do state it, and that is how long the school year runs in most countries of the ranking.
St. George International School and Preschool comes first with 80.3 points out of 100, counted from 8 of the 9 criteria. Next come British School of Sofia (79.3) and Zlatarski International School of Sofia (79.0). The score is built from data anyone can check: accreditations found in official registers, programmes, facilities and published fees. A place in the ranking is not for sale.
The ranking holds 19 schools: 19 private. We found no state school in Sofia with an international accreditation. Private and state schools go into the ranking on equal terms.
International Baccalaureate programmes are taught at 12 schools: British School of Sofia, Zlatarski International School of Sofia, Anglo-American School of Sofia, Meridian 22 Private High School, Uwekind International School, American College of Sofia, Britanica Park School, Discover International School, Bulgarsko Shkolo, Educational Technologies Private Profiled High School, Primary Progressive School 1 Sofia, Primary Progressive School 3 Sofia. 2 of them run the full three-stage cycle: PYP, MYP and DP.
IGCSE and A-Level are offered by 6 schools: St. George International School and Preschool, British School of Sofia, Zlatarski International School of Sofia, Izzi Science for Kids, Darbi College, Cosmos International School.
The earliest intake starts at 18 months old. 14 schools have a preschool section.
The score of every school adds up from nine criteria with different weights: academic programmes, accreditation, facilities, clubs, the fee against other schools in the country, reviews, university destinations, safety and teachers. A criterion counts only when there is data behind it that can be checked, so every score says how many of the nine were counted. Right now that is 7.9 out of 9 on average. We do not use reviews from maps or directories.