Frankfurt's Finance Sector Is Why International School Places Are So Hard to Get
Frankfurt hosts the European Central Bank and the Bundesbank in the same city, plus the German headquarters of Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank, and dozens of other banks that expanded here after Brexit, and that concentration of finance employers is the single biggest reason international school places here are competitive and expensive. Frankfurt International School (FIS), in Oberursel, is the largest, with 1,831 students from more than 60 nationalities as of the 2023-24 school year and tuition running from about 11,600 euros for a half-day three-year-old up to roughly 31,400 euros for Grade 11-12, plus a 6,600 euro capital assessment fee in a new student's first two years; FIS describes receiving hundreds more applications than it has spaces, with waits of a year or longer common. ISF International School Frankfurt Rhein-Main, in the Sindlingen district, and Strothoff International School, in nearby Dreieich, offer comparable English-medium, IB-track education with fees roughly between 12,700 and 24,000 euros a year. Metropolitan School Frankfurt is the only IB World School inside the city limits and gets a partial city subsidy for its early years program, which helps but doesn't make it free. One option genuinely unique to Frankfurt is the Europäische Schule Frankfurt, one of only a handful of official European Schools continent-wide, built for the children of European institution staff: families where a parent works for the ECB or another EU institution pay no tuition at all, a benefit tied directly to Frankfurt's role as an EU financial center that no other German city offers. If you're relocating for a finance job, raise school fee support at the offer stage rather than after you've signed, since many employers in this sector build it into relocation packages.
The Official Rule
Frankfurt’s international school market exists at the scale it does because of a specific, identifiable driver: the city hosts the European Central Bank and the Deutsche Bundesbank in the same location, alongside the German headquarters of Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank, and a long list of foreign banks. When Brexit pushed EU-facing banking operations out of London, Frankfurt absorbed a large share of the relocation. Frankfurt Main Finance, the lobbying group promoting the city as a financial hub, estimated at the time that up to 10,000 finance jobs could shift from London to Frankfurt, and reporting from that period described Deutsche Bank block-booking hundreds of international school places to secure spots for relocating staff before schools filled up. That employer-driven demand is the direct reason fees and waitlists here run higher than in German cities without the same concentration of finance employers.
| School | Location | Enrollment | Annual tuition range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frankfurt International School (FIS) | Oberursel (Taunus) | 1,831 students, 60+ nationalities | ~11,600 to ~31,400 EUR |
| ISF International School Frankfurt Rhein-Main | Sindlingen (Frankfurt) | 850 students, 50+ nations | ~14,850 to ~24,000 EUR |
| Strothoff International School | Dreieich-Sprendlingen | Up to 600 places | ~12,660 to ~23,660 EUR |
| Metropolitan School Frankfurt (MSF) | Frankfurt (city center) | 580+ students, 55 countries | Partial city subsidy in Early Years, plus registration/joining fees |
| Europäische Schule Frankfurt (ESF) | Frankfurt | Category I: EU institution families | Free for Category I (ECB/EU staff); fee-paying for other categories |
Frankfurt International School, the largest option, enrolled 1,831 students representing more than 60 nationalities as of the 2023-24 school year, spread across its Oberursel campus. Tuition runs from roughly 11,590 euros for a half-day three-year-old in First Steps up to about 31,365 euros for Grades 11-12, and new students in their first two years also pay a 6,600 euro capital assessment fee on top of a 1,500 euro registration fee. FIS has been explicit that it receives hundreds more applications than it has spaces, with families waiting a year or longer for some grades.
Photo by Norma Mortenson on Pexels
Two schools offer a comparable English-medium, internationally recognized education at a somewhat lower price point. ISF International School Frankfurt Rhein-Main, in Frankfurt’s own Sindlingen district, runs a SABIS curriculum from Kindergarten through Grade 12 with around 850 students from more than 50 nations, at fees roughly between 14,850 and 24,000 euros a year. Strothoff International School, further out in Dreieich-Sprendlingen to the south, offers up to 600 places on an IB track for ages 3 to 19, with fees between roughly 12,660 and 23,660 euros. Metropolitan School Frankfurt, the only IB World School located inside Frankfurt’s own city limits, sits at a different point again: its Early Years program receives a partial subsidy from the City of Frankfurt, which keeps fees more competitive than the fully private options, though families there still pay a registration fee, a joining fee, and monthly tuition on top of that support.
One option is genuinely unique to Frankfurt among the four German cities SettledIn covers: the Europäische Schule Frankfurt, one of a small number of official European Schools across the continent, built specifically for the children of staff at European institutions. Families in Category I, meaning a parent employed by the ECB or another EU institution, pay no tuition at all. It’s a direct structural consequence of Frankfurt hosting the ECB, and no other German city with a SettledIn guide has an equivalent.
What Real People Say
Relocation guidance aimed specifically at finance professionals moving to Frankfurt treats school placement as, in the words of more than one source, the single biggest practical barrier to accepting a move here, ahead of housing or even salary negotiations in some cases. The advice that comes up consistently is to apply “before signing a lease,” since committing to a neighborhood before confirming a realistic school option can lock a family into a long commute or force a second move later. FIS’s own guidance to apply by March 1, with January preferred, is echoed by third-party relocation sources as advice worth taking literally rather than as a soft suggestion, given how far ahead of capacity the applications run.
The other theme that comes up repeatedly is employer negotiation. Because Frankfurt’s international school demand is so directly tied to finance-sector hiring, relocation guides aimed at this audience specifically recommend raising school fee contributions during the job offer conversation itself, since employers accustomed to relocating staff here often have an existing framework for this kind of support, but it’s a much harder ask once a contract is signed. Families who skip this step and only discover the cost later describe it as one of the more avoidable financial surprises of a Frankfurt relocation.
Step by Step
- Decide how much commute distance matters to your family, since FIS (Oberursel), ISF (Sindlingen, inside Frankfurt), Strothoff (Dreieich), and MSF (central Frankfurt) sit in genuinely different parts of the region.
- Compare fee schedules directly on each school’s own site rather than relying on older third-party summaries, since tuition adjusts annually and one-time fees (registration, capital assessment, joining fees) vary significantly between schools.
- Check whether your family qualifies for the Europäische Schule Frankfurt’s tuition-free Category I, if a parent works for the ECB or another EU institution, before assuming a private school is your only option.
- Apply early and by grade-specific deadlines: FIS recommends submitting by March 1 (January preferred) for a September start, and ISF’s window runs into early May, but earlier is consistently better across all of them.
- If you’re relocating for a finance role, raise school fee support at the offer stage, not after signing, since many employers in this sector already have a framework for this.
- Apply to more than one school in parallel given the waitlist situation at FIS in particular, rather than waiting on a single application before considering alternatives.
Compliance Note
This page summarizes publicly listed enrollment figures, fee schedules, and application guidance for Frankfurt-area international schools as of 2026, but tuition, capacity, and waitlist status change from year to year and can vary by grade level. Confirm current figures and availability directly with each school before making enrollment or relocation decisions.
FAQ & Common Pitfalls
Why are international school fees in Frankfurt so much higher than what we'd expect in another German city?
It comes down to concentrated demand from a specific employer base. Frankfurt hosts the European Central Bank and Bundesbank in the same city, along with the German headquarters of major banks and, since Brexit, a wave of institutions that relocated staff from London. Frankfurt Main Finance, a lobbying group promoting the city as a financial hub, has estimated that up to 10,000 finance jobs could move from London to Frankfurt, and reporting at the time described Deutsche Bank block-booking hundreds of international school places for relocating staff. That kind of employer-driven demand pushes both fees and competition for spaces higher than in cities without the same density of finance employers.
Is there any free or subsidized international school option in Frankfurt?
Two, in different ways. The Europäische Schule Frankfurt is genuinely tuition-free for Category I families, meaning at least one parent works for the European Central Bank or another EU institution; this is a direct benefit of Frankfurt's role as an EU financial center and isn't available in cities without an EU institution presence. Separately, Metropolitan School Frankfurt's Early Years program receives a partial subsidy from the City of Frankfurt, which keeps its fees more competitive than fully private schools, but families there still pay a registration fee, a joining fee, and monthly tuition, so it isn't free.
How far in advance do we need to apply, and does it matter which grade our child is entering?
Earlier than you'd probably expect, and yes, grade level matters. Frankfurt International School recommends submitting applications by March 1 for a September start, with January preferred, and the school has been explicit that it receives hundreds more applications than it has spaces, with some families waiting a year or longer. ISF accepts applications into early May but still advises applying in late winter or early spring for the best chance. Across these schools, higher grade levels tend to carry longer waitlists than the earliest years, since fewer spaces open up as cohorts move through the system.
We're negotiating a relocation package for a finance job in Frankfurt. Should we ask about school fees now or wait until we've settled in?
Raise it now, at the offer stage. It's a consistent piece of advice in relocation guidance for this specific finance-driven market: many employers who regularly relocate staff to Frankfurt build school fee contributions into their packages, but that's far easier to negotiate before you've signed than to request afterward. If your employer hasn't mentioned it, ask directly, since school placement is often described as the single biggest practical barrier to finance professionals accepting a Frankfurt relocation in the first place.
What's actually different between FIS, ISF, and Strothoff, beyond location?
Location is a real practical difference: FIS is in Oberursel in the Taunus, north of the city center, ISF is in Frankfurt's own Sindlingen district to the west, and Strothoff is further out in Dreieich to the south, so your choice affects your daily commute regardless of curriculum. Curriculum-wise, all three offer English-medium, internationally recognized programs built around the IB framework (FIS and Strothoff both run IB Diploma tracks, ISF uses the SABIS curriculum with a college-preparatory focus), and fees across the three land in a broadly similar range, roughly 11,600 to 31,400 euros a year depending on the school and grade. The practical decision usually comes down to commute distance from where you're living or planning to live, plus each school's specific waitlist situation for your child's grade at the time you apply.
Does Metropolitan School Frankfurt count as one of the 'big three' like FIS, ISF, and Strothoff?
It's a genuine alternative but positioned a little differently. MSF is the only IB World School located inside the city of Frankfurt itself, rather than in a surrounding town, which some families weigh heavily for commute reasons. It also stands out because its Early Years program receives a partial subsidy from the city, unlike the other private options. Enrollment is smaller than FIS, at a bit over 580 students from 55 countries, and it's worth including in your comparison alongside FIS, ISF, and Strothoff rather than treating those three as the only choices.