Rex says
Money math without the spreadsheet headache. Plug in your numbers and I'll show you exactly where the dollars land.
Try a scenario
Click to load — tweak from there.Inputs
Result
Financial opportunity cost path
Public School + Investing
Total private school cost
$253,500
Value if invested instead
$420,235
Opportunity cost difference
$166,735
Psst — share this and help Rex grow
One click, a permanent link with your numbers baked in.
How to use this
- 1Enter private school annual tuition ($).
- 2Enter additional annual fees ($).
- 3Enter years of schooling.
- 4Enter assumed investment return (%).
- 5Read your financial opportunity cost path on the right — it updates as you type.
- 6Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone.
About this calculator
Public school is effectively free at the point of use (funded by taxes), while private school tuition can run into the tens of thousands per year but may offer smaller class sizes or specialized programs. This tool totals private tuition and fees over the years your child would attend, and compares that against what the same money could grow to if invested instead, so you can weigh the financial tradeoff clearly.
Worked example
Using the values the calculator loads with:
Inputs
- Private school annual tuition: 18000 $
- Additional annual fees: 1500 $
- Years of schooling: 13
- Assumed investment return: 7 %
Results
- Financial opportunity cost path: Public School + Investing
- Total private school cost: $253,500
- Value if invested instead: $420,235
- Opportunity cost difference: $166,735
What each field means
Inputs
- Private school annual tuition ($)
- The private school annual tuition used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 18000 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Additional annual fees ($)
- The additional annual fees used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 1500 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Years of schooling
- The years of schooling used in the calculation. Starts at 13 so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 1–20.
- Assumed investment return (%)
- The assumed investment return used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 7 % so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0–15 %.
Results
- Financial opportunity cost path
- Returned as a plain value and shown as the headline result. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Total private school cost
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Value if invested instead
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Opportunity cost difference
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
FAQ
Does this account for public school being truly free?
It assumes public school has no direct tuition cost; local property taxes fund it indirectly, but this tool focuses on the discretionary spending decision, not tax burden.
Should I include college savings in this comparison?
Consider it separately — many families weigh private K-12 tuition against redirecting that money into a 529 plan for college, which this tool's invested-alternative figure approximates.
What if private school leads to college scholarships?
That's a real but hard-to-quantify benefit; some private schools report strong scholarship outcomes that can offset years of tuition, which isn't captured in this pure cost model.
Accuracy and limitations
- Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.
- Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.
- This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant.
Related tools
Cite this calculator
Writing about this topic? Grab a citation — every link helps keep these tools free.
RevenueLab. (2026). Public vs Private School Cost Calculator. Retrieved from https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/public-vs-private-school-cost
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/public-vs-private-school-cost" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Public vs Private School Cost Calculator — RevenueLab</a> (2026).</p>
Source: [Public vs Private School Cost Calculator — RevenueLab](https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/public-vs-private-school-cost) (2026).