Jakarta · Fees & Costs
Value is not the same thing as cheap. A school charging $8,000 a year that produces mediocre results and cannot retain staff is not good value. A school charging $25,000 that delivers strong IB scores, CIS accreditation, and a track record of placements at competitive universities might be.
The question is not "which schools are cheapest?" - we cover that elsewhere. The question is: where do the outcomes justify the fees, and where are families paying more than the results suggest they should?
Written by Mia Windsor · Originally published: 24 February 2026 · 7 min read
TL;DR
- Value means outcomes relative to cost - not low fees alone
- The best value schools in Jakarta are mid-priced ($13,000-$20,000) with published exam results, external accreditation, and credible university placements
- Binus Simprug ($15,000) and Sekolah Ciputra ($19,000) offer the strongest IB results-to-fees ratio in Jakarta
- ISJ ($24,000) and ACS Jakarta ($20,000) deliver premium-tier quality without premium-tier pricing
- Schools that charge $15,000+ but refuse to publish exam results or hold no external accreditation are the worst value in the market - regardless of what their brochures say
In this article
- How we define value
- The best value schools
- Where value breaks down
- Red flags for poor value
- FAQs
How We Define Value
This is not a feelings-based exercise. We assess value using four measurable criteria, all weighted against what the school charges.
Published exam results. IB Diploma averages, IGCSE grade distributions, A-level results. Schools that publish these are accountable. Schools that do not are asking you to trust them without evidence. We weight published results heavily.
External accreditation. CIS accreditation is the gold standard - it covers governance, teaching quality, learning outcomes, and student welfare. IB World School authorisation and Cambridge International centre status are meaningful but narrower. A school holding CIS plus IB or Cambridge is demonstrating quality to external evaluators, not just marketing it.
University destinations. Where do graduates go? A school sending students to Russell Group, Ivy League, or top-50 global universities is delivering tangible outcomes. A school that does not publish this data, or publishes only the two or three best placements, is being selective with the evidence.
Teacher qualifications and retention. Higher fees should fund higher salaries, which should attract better-qualified teachers. A school charging $20,000 with high staff turnover and teachers without subject-specific qualifications is not delivering on the promise its fees imply. This is the hardest criterion to assess from outside - but asking the question on a school tour tells you a lot about whether the school has an answer.
We are not scoring or ranking schools on a points system. This is editorial judgment based on available data. Where data is missing, we say so.
The Best Value Schools in Jakarta
These schools deliver outcomes that meet or exceed what their fee level would predict. They are not the cheapest. They are the ones where the money is working hardest.
Binus Simprug - $15,000
IB Diploma average: 34. Pass rate: 95%. Full IB continuum (PYP, MYP, Diploma). South Jakarta location.
At $15,000 for the highest year group, Binus Simprug posts IB results that match or beat several Jakarta schools charging $25,000+. The world IB average is around 30. A 34-point average puts Binus Simprug comfortably above that - and the 95% pass rate means this is not being achieved by culling weaker candidates before the exams.
The school is part of the wider Binus network, which gives it operational scale that standalone schools at this price point lack. South Jakarta location on Jl. Hang Lekir works for families in Kebayoran Baru, Pondok Indah, and surrounding areas.
The question mark: Binus Simprug is an SPK school - an Indonesian-founded institution with an international curriculum licence. The student body is majority Indonesian. For families who want a diverse expatriate community, this will feel different from JIS or BSJ. For families who care about IB results and university pathways at a reasonable price, it is one of the strongest options in Jakarta at any fee level.
Sekolah Ciputra - $19,000
IB Diploma average: 34. Pass rate: 95%. Full IB continuum. CIS-accredited. Greater Jakarta (Tangerang).
Sekolah Ciputra matches Binus Simprug on IB numbers and adds CIS accreditation - an external quality assurance that most schools in this price bracket do not hold. CIS accreditation covers governance, teaching, and learning outcomes, and the process is rigorous. Holding it at $19,000 is notable.
The school sits within the Ciputra development in Tangerang - good for families in BSD, Gading Serpong, and West Jakarta. Less practical if you live in the south or east.
For families in the $15,000-$20,000 range who want IB with third-party quality assurance, Ciputra is the pick.
ACS Jakarta - $20,000
Cambridge IGCSE, IB Diploma. CIS-accredited. 1,200+ students. East Jakarta (TB Simatupang area).
ACS Jakarta has been operating in Jakarta for decades and sits at $20,000 high end - the top of what most families in this bracket can stretch to. The combination of CIS accreditation, a Cambridge-to-IB pathway, and strong enrolment numbers makes it one of the most established schools outside the top tier.
ACS does not publish aggregate IB results publicly, which counts against it in a value assessment. But CIS accreditation provides external accountability that most mid-tier schools lack, and anecdotal feedback from the parent community is consistently strong. The TB Simatupang location works for Cilandak, Kemang, and parts of South Jakarta.
At $20,000 it is not cheap - but it delivers institutional credibility and stability that justify the fee.
ISJ - ~$25,000-$28,000
Cambridge IGCSE, A-levels (coming). 100% British-qualified teachers. BSO inspected. Pondok Indah, South Jakarta.
ISJ sits in the premium price bracket - its all-in annual fee for Year 1-2 is ~$25,000, which is essentially on par with BSJ once you include BSJ's compulsory Capital Levy Contribution. The value case is about what the fee buys.
Every classroom teacher holds British QTS (Qualified Teacher Status). That is a verifiable claim - and one no other Jakarta school makes. BSO (British Schools Overseas) inspection provides external quality assurance. The school follows the English National Curriculum assessed through Cambridge qualifications.
ISJ is newer than BSJ or JIS, which means less alumni network and less institutional history. But on the core metric - qualified teachers delivering a recognised curriculum at a competitive price - it offers premium-tier teaching quality at a fee that undercuts the established premium schools.
Global Jaya - $13,000
Full IB continuum (PYP, MYP, Diploma). Greater Jakarta (Bintaro). Established 1997.
Global Jaya has been running the IB programmes since the late 1990s - longer than most Jakarta schools. At $13,000 high end, it is one of the cheapest full IB continuum options in the market.
The school does not publish aggregate IB results, which limits what we can say about outcomes. But IB authorisation for all three programmes is maintained through regular IB evaluation visits, which provides a baseline of external oversight. The Bintaro location serves families in the South Tangerang corridor.
For families who want IB at a price point below $15,000, Global Jaya is the most established option. Ask about recent IB results and university destinations on your visit - the school has the data even if it does not publish it.
GMIS - $8,600
IB (all four programmes - PYP, MYP, DP, CP) plus Cambridge IGCSE. Central Jakarta (Kemayoran). Founded 1950.
At $8,600 for the highest year group, GMIS offers the widest IB programme breadth in Jakarta - PYP, MYP, Diploma, and the Career-related Programme - plus Cambridge IGCSE as a parallel pathway. No other school under $10,000 comes close to this range of recognised qualifications.
GMIS does not publish aggregate IB results. The campus and facilities reflect its fee level - functional, not premium. The student body is drawn from Indonesian, Indian, Korean, and Chinese communities. The Kemayoran location is central but outside the expatriate residential belt.
The value case rests on qualification breadth at a remarkable price point. Four IB programmes and Cambridge for under $9,000 is a proposition no other Jakarta school matches. Whether the quality of delivery matches the breadth of offering is a question that requires a visit.
Where Value Breaks Down
Value works both ways. Some schools charge more than their outcomes suggest they should. We are not going to name individual poor-value schools - the data is not complete enough to do that fairly - but the pattern is clear.
Mid-tier fees, no published results. Several Jakarta schools charge $15,000-$20,000 a year but publish no exam results, hold no CIS accreditation, and provide no verifiable data on university destinations. At $8,000 a year, the absence of data is understandable - the school is operating on tight margins. At $18,000 a year, it is a choice. And it is a choice that should concern you.
Premium branding, mid-tier delivery. Some schools in the $20,000-$25,000 range market themselves alongside JIS and BSJ but do not deliver equivalent outcomes. Glossy campuses and international-sounding names are not proxies for teaching quality. If the school charges premium-adjacent fees, it should be able to show premium-adjacent results. If it cannot, you are paying for the marketing.
New schools without a track record. Jakarta has seen several new international schools open in the past five years. Some charge $15,000+ from day one. Without exam cohorts, university placement data, or external accreditation, families are being asked to pay for a promise. That may be a reasonable bet if the school's leadership has a strong track record elsewhere - but it is a bet, not a certainty. Price it accordingly.
Red Flags for Poor Value
These are not definitive - any one of them might have a reasonable explanation. But if you see two or three together, ask harder questions.
No published exam results. Any school running IB Diploma or Cambridge IGCSEs has results data. If they do not publish it, the numbers are probably not flattering. Ask for them directly. If the school refuses, that tells you something.
High fees, no external accreditation. CIS accreditation is demanding - not every good school has it. But a school charging $18,000+ should be able to demonstrate quality through some form of external evaluation. CIS, BSO, WASC, or at minimum, current IB authorisation or Cambridge centre status. If there is nothing, you are relying entirely on the school's own claims.
Opaque fee structures. If the full cost is difficult to calculate - if there are development fees, technology levies, and activity charges scattered across multiple documents - ask why. The fee structure itself tells you something about how the school operates.
High teacher turnover. If you visit and half the staff are in their first year, the school is struggling to retain teachers. That usually means salaries are not competitive for the fee level, or the working environment is poor. Either way, your child's education is being disrupted.
Marketing language without substance. Schools that lead with "21st century learning", "global citizens", and "innovative pedagogy" - but cannot tell you their IB average or where last year's graduates went - are selling atmosphere, not outcomes.
How We Assessed These Schools
This is not a scoring model. We assessed value editorially, using available data on fees, published exam results, accreditation status, and reported university destinations. Where data was unavailable, we noted the gap.
We have not inspected every school's finances, observed every classroom, or surveyed every parent. The assessments above reflect what a well-informed family could reasonably conclude from publicly available information and a school visit.
Schools that publish data - exam results, accreditation reports, university destinations - are easier to assess and tend to score better in a value analysis. This is not a coincidence. Transparency is itself an indicator of confidence in outcomes.
All fee data is approximate and based on the highest year group at each school. Verify directly before making decisions. See our fees guide for the full market breakdown.
For the cheapest international schools in Jakarta (under $10,000), see Cheapest International Schools in Jakarta. For the mid-tier market, see International Schools Under $20,000. For our overall ranking, see Best International Schools in Jakarta.
Exchange rate: USD 1 = IDR 16,826 (24 February 2026). All fees approximate - verify directly with each school.
We work hard to make every figure, date and description on this page accurate. We don't always get it right. If you spot an error - a fee that's changed, a fact that's out of date, something we've got wrong - please tell us. Use the feedback button above or email us directly. We'll check it and update the article.
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