Private vs State School Calculator NZ
This calculator works out the true lifetime cost difference between private and state schooling in New Zealand, using real published 2026 fees from ten leading private schools. Pick a school from the list, or enter your own fee, and the calculator applies each school's actual fee steps as your child moves from the junior years through to Year 13, because Year 1 is usually the cheapest year and senior fees can be $10,000 a year higher. It then adds a yearly fee increase, 4 percent by default, so a $20,000 fee today is costed at $20,800 next year, plus a Low, Medium or High allowance for the extras private schooling brings: uniforms, activities, travel and disbursements. Against that it runs the state path, mainly donations and incidentals, and a third path where you stay with state schooling and invest the yearly difference in the sharemarket at your chosen return. The results are cumulative to the end of Year 13, shown in the chart year by year, so you can see the full financial scale of the decision for one child. The figures measure the money only; teaching quality, environment and values matter just as much, and no market return is guaranteed, so treat everything here as an indicative estimate rather than a quote.
Path one: private school, a total spend of $533,198. Path two: state school plus investing the difference, a total spend of $24,940 and an investment pot of about $739,511 at the end of Year 13.
Per child; multiply for more children. Extras cover uniforms, activities, travel and disbursements, and apply in private schooling years only. The yearly fee increase applies to fees, extras and state costs alike. The invested figure adds each year's difference at your return through to the end of Year 13; returns are not guaranteed. This is the money only; the choice is also about education and values. Estimate only.
The gap year by year
2026 private school fees in New Zealand
The table below shows published 2026 annual tuition for domestic students at ten of New Zealand's best-known private schools, as listed on each school's own fees page. A dash means the school does not offer those year levels; if you pick such a school in the calculator, the earlier years are costed as state schooling. Fees generally exclude uniforms, activities, travel, boarding and other charges, which is what the extras allowance above is for, and schools typically review fees every year. Confirm current fees directly with the school.
| School | Years 1 to 2 | Years 3 to 4 | Years 5 to 6 | Years 7 to 8 | Year 9 | Year 10 | Years 11 to 12 | Year 13 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| King's College (Auckland) | - | - | - | - | $32,572 | $32,572 | $32,572 | $32,572 |
| St Cuthbert's College (Auckland) | $27,500 | $27,500 | $27,500 | $31,544 | $31,544 | $31,544 | $31,544 | $31,544 |
| Christ's College (Christchurch) | - | - | - | - | $35,900 | $37,705 | $35,900 | $35,900 |
| Diocesan School for Girls (Auckland) | $26,786 | $26,786 | $26,786 | $30,916 | $30,916 | $30,916 | $30,916 | $30,916 |
| St Andrew's College (Christchurch) | $21,100 | $23,400 | $25,100 | $26,600 | $30,600 | $30,600 | $30,600 | $30,600 |
| Saint Kentigern College (Auckland) | - | - | - | $28,422 | $28,422 | $28,422 | $28,422 | $28,422 |
| Kristin School (Auckland) | $24,021 | $24,021 | $24,021 | $29,669 | $29,669 | $29,669 | $30,291 | $30,291 |
| Scots College (Wellington) | $22,980 | $22,980 | $22,980 | $28,550 | $28,550 | $28,550 | $29,700 | $29,700 |
| St Paul's Collegiate School (Hamilton) | - | - | - | - | $27,756 | $27,756 | $27,756 | $27,756 |
| Samuel Marsden Collegiate School (Wellington) | $19,488 | $19,488 | $19,488 | $25,912 | $25,912 | $25,912 | $26,688 | $26,432 |
Published 2026 domestic tuition per year, sourced from each school's fees page; last checked July 2026. Most schools charge additional enrolment, building or activity levies not shown here.
How it works
For every school year from your child's current year through to Year 13, the calculator looks up the fee for that year level, applies the yearly fee increase compounding from today, and adds the extras allowance in any year your child is at private school. The state path applies the same yearly increase to your state cost. Both paths accumulate year on year, and the difference between them each year is fed into the investment path, which grows at your chosen sharemarket return through to the end of Year 13. If the chosen school does not offer the early year levels, those years are costed as state schooling in the private path, which mirrors what families actually do. The chart shows all three lines cumulatively, so the widening gap and the compounding of the invested difference are visible year by year.
Worked example
Take St Andrew's College from Year 1 with the Medium extras allowance of $5,000, fees rising 4 percent a year, state costs of $1,500 a year rising the same way, and a 6 percent sharemarket return. Year 1 costs $21,100 plus $5,000 in extras; by Year 9 the fee tier is $30,600 and the 4 percent increases have compounded on top. Across all thirteen years the private path totals about $533,200, against roughly $24,900 for state schooling, an extra cost of about $508,300 for one child. Invested at 6 percent as you went, that same difference would be worth about $739,500 at the end of Year 13, which is the true financial scale to weigh against the value you place on the schooling itself.
Assumptions and limitations
Fees are each school's published 2026 domestic tuition and exclude enrolment fees, levies, boarding, international rates and sibling discounts. The fee increase you set applies equally to fees, extras and state costs, compounding from today. Extras apply only in years your child attends private school. The investment path assumes the difference is invested each year and earns a steady return to the end of Year 13; real markets do not deliver smooth returns, tax on investment earnings is not modelled, and none of this is financial advice. All figures are per child and indicative only.
Related calculators
- School Costs Calculator: annual state school costs.
- Back to School Cost Calculator: stationery and uniform costs.
- Cost of Raising a Child Calculator: full child cost.
- Compound Interest Calculator: how invested money grows.
- Education Loan Repayment Calculator: borrowing for education.