The ranking holds 97 schools with an international accreditation or an authorised programme. International Baccalaureate programmes are taught at 47 of them. The British Cambridge route, IGCSE and A-Level, at 12. A year of school costs from $3 832 to $52 500. A swimming pool on site is confirmed at 15.
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 | $3 832 a year | Ihsan International School |
| Median | $25 293 a year | top of the fee range at 18 schools with a published fee |
| Most expensive | $52 500 a year | The British International School Istanbul |
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 Istanbul are taken from published price lists, not from what third parties say.
80 of the 97 schools in the ranking are private. The other 17 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.
17 schools with an international accreditation are funded by the state: Kabataş Erkek Lisesi, Kartal Anadolu İmam Hatip Lisesi, Prof. Dr. Mümtaz Turhan Sosyal Bilimler Lisesi, Vefa Lisesi, Tenzile Erdoğan Kız Anadolu İmam Hatip Lisesi, Çemberlitaş Anadolu Lisesi, Hüseyin Avni Sözen Anadolu Lisesi, Beşiktaş Sakıp Sabancı Anadolu Lisesi, Yeşilköy Anadolu Lisesi, Kartal Anadolu Lisesi, Samiha Ayverdi Anadolu Lisesi, Cağaloğlu Anadolu Lisesi, Kadıköy Anadolu Lisesi, Demirören Medya ve Teknoloji Mesleki ve Teknik Anadolu Lisesi, İstanbul Erkek Lisesi, Nişantaşı Nuri Akın Anadolu Lisesi, Şişli Anadolu Lisesi. 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 Istanbul with an IB programme (47): MEF International School Istanbul, The British International School Istanbul, Irmak Okulları, Kabataş Erkek Lisesi, Kartal Anadolu İmam Hatip Lisesi, Istanbul International Community School, Aljazari International School of Science and Technology, ENKA Schools İstanbul, Terakki Vakfı Okulları, Prof. Dr. Mümtaz Turhan Sosyal Bilimler Lisesi, Vefa Lisesi, TED Üsküdar Koleji, FMV Ayazağa Işık Okulları, NÛN Okulları, FMV Erenköy Işık Lisesi - Fen Lisesi, MEF Lisesi (Ulus), Tenzile Erdoğan Kız Anadolu İmam Hatip Lisesi, Çemberlitaş Anadolu Lisesi, FMV Ayazağa Işık Lisesi - Fen Lisesi, Hüseyin Avni Sözen Anadolu Lisesi, Üsküdar Amerikan Lisesi, BJK - Kabataş Vakfı Özel Okulları, İELEV Özel Lisesi, FMV Işık Okulları Erenköy Yerleşkesi, AREL Koleji, Beşiktaş Sakıp Sabancı Anadolu Lisesi, Yeşilköy Anadolu Lisesi, SEV Amerikan Koleji, İstanbul ENKA Schools, The Koç School, Aka Koleji Bahçelievler Yerleşkesi, Özel Mürüvvet Evyap Okulları, Özel ALEV Okulları, Özel Taş İlkokulu - Ortaokulu, Kültür2000 Koleji, Eyüboğlu Kemerburgaz Kampüsü, İstanbul Marmara Okulları, İSTEK Kemal Atatürk Okulları, Gökkuşağı Koleji İstanbul Ataşehir Kampüsü, İTÜ Geliştirme Vakfı Okulları Özel Ekrem Elginkan Lisesi, Özel Sezin Okulu, ALKEV Özel Okulları, MEF Okulları, Özel Acıbadem Okulları, MBA Okulları İstanbul Çamlıca Kampüsü, YTÜ Okulları, Özel Ay Okulları. 4 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 12 schools in Istanbul: MEF International School Istanbul, The British International School Istanbul, Kabataş Erkek Lisesi, Kartal Anadolu İmam Hatip Lisesi, Prof. Dr. Mümtaz Turhan Sosyal Bilimler Lisesi, Tenzile Erdoğan Kız Anadolu İmam Hatip Lisesi, Çemberlitaş Anadolu Lisesi, Istanbul International School, International Gateway Academy, Özel Tarabya İngiliz Okulları, Gökkuşağı Koleji İstanbul Ataşehir Kampüsü, Samiha Ayverdi Anadolu Lisesi.
A facility counts only when the school names it outright on its own site: a modern campus is not a swimming pool. Swimming pool: 15 schools · Boarding: 11 schools · School transport: 35 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 Istanbul that is 6.6 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 $3 832 to $52 500 for a school year. The cheapest is Ihsan International School, the most expensive The British International School Istanbul. The median for the senior stage is $25 293 a year. Fees are converted into dollars at a weekly rate; schools publish them in their own currency.
MEF International School Istanbul comes first with 79.9 points out of 100, counted from 6 of the 9 criteria. Next come The British International School Istanbul (76.7) and New Vision International School (76.7). 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 97 schools: 80 private and 17 state (Kabataş Erkek Lisesi, Kartal Anadolu İmam Hatip Lisesi, Prof. Dr. Mümtaz Turhan Sosyal Bilimler Lisesi, Vefa Lisesi, Tenzile Erdoğan Kız Anadolu İmam Hatip Lisesi, Çemberlitaş Anadolu Lisesi, Hüseyin Avni Sözen Anadolu Lisesi, Beşiktaş Sakıp Sabancı Anadolu Lisesi, Yeşilköy Anadolu Lisesi, Kartal Anadolu Lisesi, Samiha Ayverdi Anadolu Lisesi, Cağaloğlu Anadolu Lisesi, Kadıköy Anadolu Lisesi, Demirören Medya ve Teknoloji Mesleki ve Teknik Anadolu Lisesi, İstanbul Erkek Lisesi, Nişantaşı Nuri Akın Anadolu Lisesi, Şişli Anadolu Lisesi). Private and state schools go into the ranking on equal terms.
International Baccalaureate programmes are taught at 47 schools: MEF International School Istanbul, The British International School Istanbul, Irmak Okulları, Kabataş Erkek Lisesi, Kartal Anadolu İmam Hatip Lisesi, Istanbul International Community School, Aljazari International School of Science and Technology, ENKA Schools İstanbul, Terakki Vakfı Okulları, Prof. Dr. Mümtaz Turhan Sosyal Bilimler Lisesi, Vefa Lisesi, TED Üsküdar Koleji, FMV Ayazağa Işık Okulları, NÛN Okulları, FMV Erenköy Işık Lisesi - Fen Lisesi, MEF Lisesi (Ulus), Tenzile Erdoğan Kız Anadolu İmam Hatip Lisesi, Çemberlitaş Anadolu Lisesi, FMV Ayazağa Işık Lisesi - Fen Lisesi, Hüseyin Avni Sözen Anadolu Lisesi, Üsküdar Amerikan Lisesi, BJK - Kabataş Vakfı Özel Okulları, İELEV Özel Lisesi, FMV Işık Okulları Erenköy Yerleşkesi, AREL Koleji, Beşiktaş Sakıp Sabancı Anadolu Lisesi, Yeşilköy Anadolu Lisesi, SEV Amerikan Koleji, İstanbul ENKA Schools, The Koç School, Aka Koleji Bahçelievler Yerleşkesi, Özel Mürüvvet Evyap Okulları, Özel ALEV Okulları, Özel Taş İlkokulu - Ortaokulu, Kültür2000 Koleji, Eyüboğlu Kemerburgaz Kampüsü, İstanbul Marmara Okulları, İSTEK Kemal Atatürk Okulları, Gökkuşağı Koleji İstanbul Ataşehir Kampüsü, İTÜ Geliştirme Vakfı Okulları Özel Ekrem Elginkan Lisesi, Özel Sezin Okulu, ALKEV Özel Okulları, MEF Okulları, Özel Acıbadem Okulları, MBA Okulları İstanbul Çamlıca Kampüsü, YTÜ Okulları, Özel Ay Okulları. 4 of them run the full three-stage cycle: PYP, MYP and DP.
IGCSE and A-Level are offered by 12 schools: MEF International School Istanbul, The British International School Istanbul, Kabataş Erkek Lisesi, Kartal Anadolu İmam Hatip Lisesi, Prof. Dr. Mümtaz Turhan Sosyal Bilimler Lisesi, Tenzile Erdoğan Kız Anadolu İmam Hatip Lisesi, Çemberlitaş Anadolu Lisesi, Istanbul International School, International Gateway Academy, Özel Tarabya İngiliz Okulları, Gökkuşağı Koleji İstanbul Ataşehir Kampüsü, Samiha Ayverdi Anadolu Lisesi.
The earliest intake starts at 2 years old.
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 6.6 out of 9 on average. We do not use reviews from maps or directories.