The ranking holds 27 schools in Bulgaria with an international accreditation or an authorised programme. IB programmes at 16 of them. Cambridge, IGCSE and A-Level, at 8. A preschool section at 19. A year of school costs from €4 650 to €25 619.
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.
The median fee for a year of school in Bulgaria is $9 603. That is 16th for affordability out of 46 countries in the ranking. A comparison only means anything at a single exchange rate, so every figure is converted to dollars from one weekly snapshot.
| Country | Median a year | Schools | With an IB programme |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moldova | $1 356 | 4 | 0% |
| Paraguay | $4 673 | 9 | 56% |
| Tajikistan | $5 011 | 13 | 0% |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | $5 020 | 9 | 33% |
| Iceland | $5 832 | 3 | 67% |
| Kyrgyzstan | $6 324 | 27 | 7% |
| Uzbekistan | $6 521 | 47 | 19% |
| Albania | $6 552 | 19 | 16% |
| Chile | $7 239 | 61 | 61% |
| North Macedonia | $7 569 | 10 | 60% |
| Turkmenistan | $7 908 | 4 | 0% |
| Georgia | $7 930 | 29 | 17% |
| Azerbaijan | $8 824 | 28 | 36% |
| Luxembourg | $9 110 | 18 | 33% |
| Lithuania | $9 603 | 38 | 53% |
| Bulgaria | $9 603 | 27 | 59% |
| Slovenia | $9 744 | 12 | 75% |
| Argentina | $10 213 | 215 | 26% |
| Armenia | $10 336 | 15 | 33% |
| Ireland | $10 513 | 8 | 63% |
| Kazakhstan | $10 514 | 89 | 26% |
| Spain | $11 015 | 486 | 53% |
| Cyprus | $11 184 | 39 | 28% |
| Uruguay | $11 638 | 36 | 31% |
| Latvia | $11 749 | 14 | 79% |
| Portugal | $12 404 | 70 | 24% |
| Estonia | $12 693 | 7 | 86% |
| Montenegro | $12 947 | 9 | 33% |
| UAE | $13 043 | 413 | 15% |
| Croatia | $13 726 | 16 | 56% |
| Czech Republic | $13 789 | 36 | 56% |
| Finland | $14 452 | 23 | 83% |
| Serbia | $14 685 | 23 | 26% |
| Hungary | $14 904 | 26 | 38% |
| Thailand | $15 348 | 209 | 20% |
| Andorra | $15 986 | 9 | 44% |
| Greece | $16 155 | 41 | 73% |
| Brazil | $16 781 | 199 | 48% |
| Vietnam | $17 626 | 144 | 17% |
| Malta | $17 737 | 6 | 50% |
| Turkey | $20 170 | 246 | 46% |
| Slovakia | $21 465 | 20 | 55% |
| Austria | $24 682 | 23 | 83% |
| Belgium | $26 261 | 32 | 47% |
| Israel | $28 351 | 16 | 38% |
| Liechtenstein | $38 411 | 1 | 0% |
The median is steadier than the average: one school charging three times the rest does not shift it. It is taken from the top of a school's fee range, that is from the senior stage, which is what families budget for. Free state schools are left out of the median, or it would stop answering the question of what you pay.
| Cheapest | $5 253 a year | American College Arcus |
| Median | $9 603 a year | top of the fee range at 23 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 Bulgaria are taken from published price lists, not from what third parties say.
85 % of schools in Bulgaria name a fee on their own site (23 of 27). Across the whole ranking of 2829 schools it is 44 %. We read every school's site and worked out what schools write instead of a sum, and why openness follows the country and the network rather than the school: the study of school fees →
26 of the 27 schools in the ranking are private. The other 1 is a state school, set out below. 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.
1 school with an international accreditation is funded by the state: Vocational School of Computer Programming and Innovations. Admission to these schools is usually competitive, and tuition is free or markedly cheaper than at a private school. In the ranking they stand alongside private schools and are scored on the same nine criteria.
Schools in Bulgaria with an IB programme (16): American College Arcus, 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, Primary Progressive School 2 Varna, Vocational School of Computer Programming and Innovations, British International School Classic, 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 8 schools in Bulgaria: St. George International School and Preschool, British School of Sofia, Zlatarski International School of Sofia, British School of Plovdiv, Cosmos International School, British International School Classic, Izzi Science for Kids, Darbi College.
A facility counts only when the school names it outright on its own site: a modern campus is not a swimming pool. Swimming pool: 3 schools · Boarding: 3 schools · School transport: 19 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 Bulgaria 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 →
The ranking holds 27 schools with an international accreditation or an authorised programme: Sofia - 17, Varna - 3, Lozen - 1, Burgas - 1, Osoitsa - 1, Plovdiv - 1, Markovo - 1, Veliko Tarnovo - 1, Kamchia - 1. Every school says where its accreditation came from: found in a public register, confirmed by a document from the school, or claimed by the school with nothing behind it. We do not hide a claim, but it does not go into the score.
The median fee in Bulgaria is $9 603 a year. That is 16th for affordability out of 46 countries in the ranking. Cheaper: Moldova, Paraguay, Tajikistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Albania, Chile, North Macedonia, Turkmenistan, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Luxembourg, Lithuania. The comparison only holds inside one year: all fees are converted into dollars at one weekly rate.
Our list holds none in Bulgaria: all 27 schools with an international accreditation charge a fee. If a state school with an authorised programme appears, it will enter the ranking on equal terms with private ones.
We look the school up in the public register of the organisation itself. There are ten such registers today: International Baccalaureate, Cambridge International, CIS, NEASC, COBIS, AEFE, MSA (Middle States Association), Cognia, Pearson Edexcel and the network of German schools abroad. The list grows with the geography of the ranking: a new country usually has an organisation of its own. An accreditation found in a register is marked green and goes into the score. One confirmed only by a document from the school is yellow, and weighs less. One claimed in words is red, and the school's accreditation score is then the lowest. Membership of a network or an association is counted apart: a school joins a network, but earns an accreditation, so membership weighs one step lower. That is why a school calling itself international and a school standing in the ranking are two different things.