The ranking holds 49 schools with an international accreditation or an authorised programme. International Baccalaureate programmes are taught at 15 of them. The British Cambridge route, IGCSE and A-Level, at 22. A year of school costs from $1 227 to $38 327. A swimming pool on site is confirmed at 22.
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 | $1 227 a year | Victory High School |
| Median | $22 911 a year | top of the fee range at 41 schools with a published fee |
| Most expensive | $38 327 a year | British International School Ho Chi Minh City |
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 Ho Chi Minh City are taken from published price lists, not from what third parties say.
47 of the 49 schools in the ranking are private. The other 2 are state schools, 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.
2 schools with an international accreditation are funded by the state: Vietnam-Finland International School, VNU-HCM High School for the Gifted. 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 Ho Chi Minh City with an IB programme (15): Australian International School Saigon, International Schools of North America - Saigon South Campus (SNA), Saigon South International School, International School Ho Chi Minh City (ISHCMC), British International School Ho Chi Minh City, Renaissance International School Saigon, Tesla Education, European International School Ho Chi Minh City, The Canadian International School, TAS International School, Western Australian International School System, International German School Ho Chi Minh City (IGS), Viet Nam Tinh Hoa - The Futures School, Vietnam-Finland International School, Nam Uc Scotch AGS. 5 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 22 schools in Ho Chi Minh City: Australian International School Saigon, EMASI Van Phuc School, Anne Hill International School, EMASI Nam Long School, The ABC International School, British International School Ho Chi Minh City, Renaissance International School Saigon, Sedbergh Vietnam, Vinschool Central Park, The Canadian International School, Singapore International School @ Saigon South, British Vietnamese International School Ho Chi Minh City, Vinschool Golden River, Vinschool Grand Park, Trường Quốc tế Việt Úc (VAS) - Cơ sở Sala, Trường Quốc tế Việt Úc (VAS) - Cơ sở Ba Tháng Hai, Trường Quốc tế Việt Úc (VAS) - Cơ sở Garden Hills, Trường Quốc tế Việt Úc (VAS) - Cơ sở Hoàng Văn Thụ, Trường Quốc tế Việt Úc (VAS) - Cơ sở Riverside, Trường Quốc tế Việt Úc (VAS) - Cơ sở Sunrise, Pennsylvania American School System (PennSchool), Victoria School - Nam Sai Gon.
A facility counts only when the school names it outright on its own site: a modern campus is not a swimming pool. Swimming pool: 22 schools · Boarding: 6 schools · School transport: 30 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 Ho Chi Minh City that is 7.4 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 $1 227 to $38 327 for a school year. The cheapest is Victory High School, the most expensive British International School Ho Chi Minh City. The median for the senior stage is $22 911 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.
Australian International School Saigon comes first with 84.2 points out of 100, counted from 8 of the 9 criteria. Next come International Schools of North America - Saigon South Campus (SNA) (83.1) and Saigon South International School (82.6). 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 49 schools: 47 private and 2 state (Vietnam-Finland International School, VNU-HCM High School for the Gifted). Private and state schools go into the ranking on equal terms.
International Baccalaureate programmes are taught at 15 schools: Australian International School Saigon, International Schools of North America - Saigon South Campus (SNA), Saigon South International School, International School Ho Chi Minh City (ISHCMC), British International School Ho Chi Minh City, Renaissance International School Saigon, Tesla Education, European International School Ho Chi Minh City, The Canadian International School, TAS International School, Western Australian International School System, International German School Ho Chi Minh City (IGS), Viet Nam Tinh Hoa - The Futures School, Vietnam-Finland International School, Nam Uc Scotch AGS. 5 of them run the full three-stage cycle: PYP, MYP and DP.
IGCSE and A-Level are offered by 22 schools: Australian International School Saigon, EMASI Van Phuc School, Anne Hill International School, EMASI Nam Long School, The ABC International School, British International School Ho Chi Minh City, Renaissance International School Saigon, Sedbergh Vietnam, Vinschool Central Park, The Canadian International School, Singapore International School @ Saigon South, British Vietnamese International School Ho Chi Minh City, Vinschool Golden River, Vinschool Grand Park, Trường Quốc tế Việt Úc (VAS) - Cơ sở Sala, Trường Quốc tế Việt Úc (VAS) - Cơ sở Ba Tháng Hai, Trường Quốc tế Việt Úc (VAS) - Cơ sở Garden Hills, Trường Quốc tế Việt Úc (VAS) - Cơ sở Hoàng Văn Thụ, Trường Quốc tế Việt Úc (VAS) - Cơ sở Riverside, Trường Quốc tế Việt Úc (VAS) - Cơ sở Sunrise, Pennsylvania American School System (PennSchool), Victoria School - Nam Sai Gon.
The earliest intake starts at 6 months old. 27 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 7.4 out of 9 on average. We do not use reviews from maps or directories.