The ranking holds 20 schools with an international accreditation or an authorised programme. International Baccalaureate programmes are taught at 3 of them. The British Cambridge route, IGCSE and A-Level, at 7. A year of school costs from $2 988 to $24 247. A swimming pool on site is confirmed at 11.
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 | $2 988 a year | Wichai Wittaya School |
| Median | $11 662 a year | top of the fee range at 12 schools with a published fee |
| Most expensive | $24 247 a year | Lanna International School Thailand |
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 Chiang Mai are taken from published price lists, not from what third parties say.
All 20 schools in the ranking are private. We have not yet found a state school in Chiang Mai 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 Chiang Mai with an IB programme (3): Prem Tinsulanonda International School, Panyaden International School, American Pacific International School. 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 7 schools in Chiang Mai: Meritton British International School, Satit International Bilingual School of Rangsit University Chiangmai, Lanna International School Thailand, Singapore International School, Chiangmai, Wichai Wittaya School, Montfort College (โรงเรียนมงฟอร์ตวิทยาลัย), British Concordance International School.
A facility counts only when the school names it outright on its own site: a modern campus is not a swimming pool. Swimming pool: 11 schools · Boarding: 2 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 Chiang Mai that is 7.6 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, Yandex Maps and 2GIS are not used: their terms forbid aggregation. Only verified reviews left here count. Full methodology →
Published fees run from $2 988 to $24 247 for a school year. The cheapest is Wichai Wittaya School, the most expensive Lanna International School Thailand. The median for the senior stage is $11 662 a year. Fees are converted into dollars at a weekly rate; schools publish them in their own currency.
Prem Tinsulanonda International School comes first with 82.3 points out of 100, counted from 7 of the 9 criteria. Next come Meritton British International School (78.3) and Satit International Bilingual School of Rangsit University Chiangmai (77.5). 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 20 schools: 20 private. We found no state school in Chiang Mai with an international accreditation. Private and state schools go into the ranking on equal terms.
International Baccalaureate programmes are taught at 3 schools: Prem Tinsulanonda International School, Panyaden International School, American Pacific International School. 2 of them run the full three-stage cycle: PYP, MYP and DP.
IGCSE and A-Level are offered by 7 schools: Meritton British International School, Satit International Bilingual School of Rangsit University Chiangmai, Lanna International School Thailand, Singapore International School, Chiangmai, Wichai Wittaya School, Montfort College (โรงเรียนมงฟอร์ตวิทยาลัย), British Concordance International School.
The earliest intake starts at 18 months old. 17 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 7.6 out of 9 on average. We do not use reviews from maps or directories.