Eton vs Harrow (2026/27): Fees, Entry, Boarding and Which Suits Your Son

Eton vs Harrow, in one paragraph: the fees will not decide this for you. For 2026/27 Eton charges £21,891 per Half (term) including VAT and Harrow charges £21,990 per term inclusive of VAT, a gap of £99 a term. What really separates them is daily life and the admissions calendar. Eton is the larger school (around 1,350 boys in 25 Houses of about 55), and every boy has his own room from the start. Harrow is smaller (830 boys in 12 Houses of 60 to 70), a new boy shares a room with a boy of the same age for his first three to six terms, and it sits on a hill in north-west London. Eton’s 13+ registration closes on 31 August at the end of Year 5; Harrow’s closes on 30 September of Year 6, with a late route after that. All figures are from the two schools’ official sites, checked 6 November 2026.

If you searched for Eton vs Harrow, Harrow vs Eton or Eton or Harrow, you may already have seen the fee numbers, and many of the comparison pages online quote figures from earlier years. This page does not rank the schools or tell you which is better, because both are long-established, selective, full boarding schools for boys aged 13 to 18, and the honest answer depends on your son. Instead, it sets the official facts side by side and shows where the two really differ: total cost, entry dates, rooms and Houses, learning, bursaries and the rules for families overseas. It also covers what to do if neither fits, including other UK schools and NIJIN GLOBAL ACADEMY (NGA), a very different online option for ages 6–18 that opens in September 2027 (planned). We have left out the famous-alumni lists on purpose: they make good reading, but they do not tell you whether your son would be happy.

The short answer: which family fits Eton, which fits Harrow

• Eton may fit better if: your son would value his own room from his first night. Eton says every boy has one from the start, in a House of about 55 boys with about 11 in each year group.
• Eton may fit better if: he wants a bigger community and a wide choice of subjects. Eton has around 1,350 boys and lists 28 subjects, including nine modern and classical languages.
• Eton may fit better if: you need a bursary and want to see how much is given out. Eton publishes that 300 boys received fee reductions in 2024/25, that 89 of them paid no fees, and that the average award was 77% of the fee.
• Harrow may fit better if: you like the idea of a roommate during the first terms and a smaller school. Harrow has 830 boys, and new boys share a room for three to six terms before having a room to themselves.
• Harrow may fit better if: London access matters. The school says it is 12 minutes by train from Marylebone and a 30-minute drive from Heathrow.
• Harrow may fit better if: you have just missed Eton’s date. A boy at a UK school who has passed 31 August of Year 5 can still register for Harrow by 30 September of Year 6, or as a late applicant by 1 January of Year 7, competing for fewer places.
• Neither may fit if: you have a daughter, want day school, or have a child under 13. Both are boys-only, full boarding schools with main entry at 13 and 16. Winchester College and the other options further down this page may suit you better.

Eton vs Harrow vs NIJIN GLOBAL ACADEMY at a glance (official data)

All Eton and Harrow details below come from each school’s official website and documents for the 2026/27 academic year, checked 6 November 2026. NGA is included because it is the kind of alternative many families never hear about, not because it resembles these two schools. It is online, not a boarding school, and not yet open.

Sources: Eton fees, Entry to Eton, Boarding at Eton, Harrow fees and deposits, Harrow admissions FAQ, Harrow boarding FAQ, all checked 6 November 2026. Inspection dates are from the ISI reports published by each school.

Fees and total cost: Eton vs Harrow in 2026/27

Both schools quote their main fee with VAT already in it, so there is no extra line to add. Since January 2025, VAT at 20% has applied to UK private school fees. Eton states that all relevant fees and charges are subject to the prevailing VAT rate, and the Eton bursary FAQ (July 2026) gives £65,674 for the year. Three times £21,891 is £65,673, so there is a one-pound rounding difference. Harrow publishes the termly fee only; the £65,970 annual figure is our own multiplication. Eton sets each year’s fees in the preceding May. Neither school had published 2027/28 fees when we checked.

Five years at today’s prices (Year 9 to Year 13)

This uses official 2026/27 numbers only and assumes no bursary and no fee rises, so real totals will be higher.

With Eton’s stated extras, its five-year figure is about £340,185 to £355,185. Do not read that as Eton costing more than Harrow, because Harrow does not publish a comparable extras figure. The fee lines also cover slightly different things. Harrow’s fee names textbooks, a stationery allowance and laundry. Eton’s covers the majority of educational materials, and its bursary FAQ says standard extras such as dry cleaning of school dress, House subscriptions and tutorial outings come to about £400 per term, with £400 to £1,000 per term as a budgeting estimate (its fees page says usually £500 to £1,500 per Half). The sensible way to compare is to ask each school for a sample bill for a boy in your son’s year.

Sixth Form only (two years)

Six terms cost £131,346 at Eton and £131,940 at Harrow. Harrow adds £450 registration and £600 acceptance, for a total of £132,990. Eton adds £480 registration, and its fees page gives only one acceptance figure, £3,840 for boys joining in Michaelmas 2026, without a separate Sixth Form amount, so confirm this with Admissions. For a broader view of what boarding budgets mean, see our guide to online vs in-person international school costs and the full breakdowns in our Eton College fees review and Harrow School fees review.

Admissions: the entry process and dates side by side

The two processes look alike on the surface. Both use the same ISEB Common Pre-Test in the autumn of Year 6, then a visit to the school, and then exams in Year 8. The differences lie in the dates and in what happens after a late start.

Can you apply to both?

Yes, as far as the official pages show. Harrow’s FAQ says a boy may apply to more than one school, though he is only permitted to take Common Entrance for one school. Its Year 9 page also says that a boy can sit the ISEB test only once in an academic year, and that Harrow can access his results if he has already sat it for another school. So one sitting can also count for Harrow. In practice, if you are still deciding, register for Eton by the end of Year 5, because that is the earlier date and missing it closes the normal route; registering for both costs £930 in non-refundable fees (£480 + £450). Eton’s Year 9 entry page says the acceptance fee is due by the end of March in Year 7. Harrow’s date for accepting an offer is not published on the official pages we checked, so ask if you may be holding two offers.

What if you have missed the date?

At Eton, the remaining routes are a King’s Scholarship or Music Award in Year 8, or Sixth Form entry. At Harrow, a late application to Year 9 is possible up to 1 January of Year 7, but those boys compete for fewer places and need a very strong reference and test performance. The Harrow FAQ adds that it cannot assess late applicants from overseas schools.

Sixth Form (16+) entry

Both schools take a small group at 16. Eton offers approximately 20 fee-paying places, with a minimum of six GCSEs at grade 7 or overseas equivalent, though it says the real level is likely to be significantly higher. Applications are due by early October of the year before entry, with assessment in the second half of November and results in early December; applications for 2028 entry open in June 2027. There is no bursary support on this fee-paying route. The separate Orwell Award offers up to 14 places a year for boys who have spent Years 9 to 11 in UK state schools. Harrow admits up to 20 boys into Year 12, looking for a predicted seven or eight GCSEs at grades 7, 8 or 9, with applications by early September of Year 11 and offers in December. Its key dates page shows late applications for 2027 entry open until 6 January 2027, with assessment on 6 March 2027.

Boarding life: rooms, Houses and going home

This is where the schools differ most in a way your son will feel every day. At Eton, there are 25 Boarding Houses with about 55 boys each and about 11 boys in each year group. Every boy has his own room from the start, and the House is led by a House Master and a Dame. Homework, called Extra Work, is done in the House. At Harrow, there are 12 Houses of 60 to 70 boys, each with a House Master, Assistant House Master, Matron and House Tutors. There are no dormitories. A boy shares with a boy of the same age for his first three to six terms and then has a room to himself. For a shy boy, a roommate may be a comfort, or a private room may be a relief, and only you and your son can judge that.

The rhythm of a week and a term

Harrow publishes a typical day: breakfast at 8am, then assembly or Chapel, with eight lessons on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and five on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, when the afternoon is for sport, music, art or drama. Its boarding FAQ says there is Chapel or Thought for the Day on Sunday morning and formal prep on Sunday evening. Eton’s detailed daily timetable is not published on the official pages we checked, so ask for a typical week on a tour. Both schools run three terms. Eton’s are called Halves, and Eton says boys go home every two or three weeks.

Parents are welcome at both. Eton mentions parents watching sport, music or drama and taking sons out on a Sunday afternoon; Harrow says Sunday afternoon is a popular time to visit, with House Master agreement. Dates are from the Eton term dates page and the Harrow 2026–27 term dates PDF. Harrow also says that boys in the first three years hand in their phones and computers at bedtime; Eton’s equivalent policy is not published on the pages we checked. Open mornings at Harrow run on 12 Saturdays a year, while Eton runs 13+ tours on Monday and Wednesday afternoons in term time and no weekend tours, which matters if you are flying in.

Learning and results: what each school publishes

Both schools teach the English route of GCSE (or IGCSE) followed by A levels, so the qualifications are the same kind and are recognised by universities in the UK and abroad. We did not find the International Baccalaureate on either school’s pages that we checked. Eton lists 28 subjects, including nine languages, with internal exams called Trials at the end of the Michaelmas and Summer Halves. Harrow describes a Super-Curriculum that stretches boys beyond exam syllabuses, and says around 20% of its teachers hold doctorates.

The results pages are not a like-for-like contest, because each school reports different measures:

• Eton: 85% of all GCSE grades in 2025 were grade 8 or 9. In 2026, 27 boys received early offers from US universities, more than 15% of leavers apply to the US, and roughly a third of leavers go to higher education after a gap year (After Eton). Year-by-year results are on its exam results page. An overall Oxbridge number is not published on the pages we checked.
• Harrow: 73% of A level grades at A* or A and 94% at A* to B, with half the year group gaining 10 or more GCSE grades 9 to 7 (the results page does not state the year). In 2026, nine boys took up places at Oxford or Cambridge and 50 went to US universities, 14 of them in the Ivy League (university destinations).

Both schools report strong outcomes, and both have dedicated advisers for US applications. Comparing these numbers line by line would mislead, because the cohorts, years and measures differ. A better question for each school is how it would support your son’s particular subjects and university plans. Both are also inspected rather than accredited: UK independent schools are registered and inspected, not accredited in the American sense. The ISI reports for Eton (November 2024) and Harrow (February 2024) are on the schools’ websites, and our individual reviews summarise their findings.

Bursaries and scholarships: where the rules really differ

Both schools separate scholarships, which mainly recognise achievement, from bursaries, which are means-tested and are where the real fee reductions come from. Both also say they cannot meet every request, and neither publishes income thresholds.

Eton also has a Rokos Scholarship, offering means-tested support for up to four boys a year educated in the UK state system at primary level, and these boys are identified during admissions. Harrow runs a Year 7 Award route for UK primary school boys who need close to full fee support, with applications by 1 July of Year 5. Eton’s FAQ says funding is allocated at least two years before a boy starts and that late applications are not considered, so if money is the question, raise it from the beginning at either school. Sources: Eton financial aid, Eton scholarships and awards, Harrow bursaries, Harrow Guidance on Bursaries (June 2026) and Harrow scholarships, all checked 6 November 2026.

If you live outside the UK: what changes

For families abroad, the two schools’ extra charges are almost identical. Each asks for an additional deposit of one full term’s fees if at least one parent normally lives overseas, credited on the final bill and refundable if you withdraw with a full term’s notice before the year of entry. Each charges £3,000 a year, payable termly, for a boy who needs the school to sponsor a UK student visa.

The practical differences are these. Harrow’s bursary rules exclude overseas applicants, and its FAQ says approximately 20% of boys live overseas. In answering a question from overseas families, it notes that around 50% of those who take up a Year 9 place attend a UK prep school first, which can help with English and the curriculum. English is assessed free of charge, but extra lessons are charged, and the amount is not published. Harrow also says applicants from Hong Kong or China should first register with its named representatives, and the extra Common Entrance maths paper is compulsory for applicants from Singapore, Mainland China and Hong Kong. Eton’s fees page sets out the deposit and visa charge. Its pages that we checked do not state an overseas residency rule for bursaries or an English level, so ask its Admissions and Fees and Bursaries teams directly. Before budgeting for either, make sure you are looking at the right school: Harrow’s name also appears on separate Harrow International Schools, which have their own owners, fees and admissions, as explained in our Harrow School review.

If neither fits: Winchester, other UK schools and NIJIN GLOBAL ACADEMY

Winchester College is the natural third school to compare if you want a different format. Its 2026–27 fees page lists boarding at £20,700 and day at £15,318 per term, with a £480 registration fee and a £1,440 annual visa charge. It admits boys at 13+ and both boys and girls at 16+, and our Winchester College fees review has the details. If you are looking at other English boarding and day schools, see our pages on Westminster School fees, Wellington College fees, Rugby School fees and Charterhouse fees.

Online British schools are another route if boarding is not the right step for your child, though they offer a very different experience. Our online British curriculum school fees overview and King’s InterHigh review are good starting points, and our guide to how an online international school day works explains the daily routine.

NIJIN GLOBAL ACADEMY (NGA) is a different kind of option. It is an online international school for ages 6–18 focused on Asia and Oceania, opening in September 2027 (planned), with free trial classes monthly from September 2026 and pre-opening trial classes in April–May 2027. Its first cohort is 100 students, and it is operated by NIJIN Inc. in Japan, whose alternative school NIJIN Academy has more than 1,000 students. NGA does not rank children by test scores. Lessons are small-group live dialogue (classes of about 8), subjects are learned in English with a bilingual English–Japanese mentor, English levels follow the CEFR, and students join social co-creation projects with companies and governments plus international exchange. An optional Cambridge IGCSE / A-Level pathway is listed on the curriculum and timetable page. There is no academic entrance exam, no English requirement. It can run alongside a local school or as the main school, and it travels with the family if they relocate. Tuition is not yet published; NGA says it will be far more affordable than a typical international school, with no enrolment, facility or uniform fees, materials included and sibling discounts.

Be clear about the trade-offs. NGA is not yet open, is not yet accredited and has no graduates or track record. It offers no boarding, no House life, no campus and nothing like the centuries of history at Eton or Harrow. Its timetable is built for Asia–Oceania daytime, so for families in the UK, Europe or the Americas live classes may fall outside their day; check the timetable against your local time. If your son is academically strong, ready to board and you can plan from Year 5 or 6, Eton and Harrow offer something NGA does not. NGA may be worth a look if you want your child to stay at home, are based in Asia or Oceania, have a child under 13, or would prefer a route without academic selection.

For a wider view, see our online international schools compared guide.

See how NGA admissions work →

FAQ

Which is more expensive, Eton or Harrow?

For 2026/27 Harrow’s headline fee is slightly higher: £21,990 per term against Eton’s £21,891 per Half, both including VAT, a gap of £99 a term. Over 15 terms that is £1,485. Extras and what each fee includes differ, so ask each school for a sample bill (official sites, checked 6 November 2026).

How much do Eton and Harrow cost per year?

Eton’s bursary FAQ gives £65,674 for 2026/27, inclusive of VAT. Harrow’s three terms make £65,970 inclusive of VAT, by our arithmetic. Registration is £480 at Eton and £450 at Harrow. Fees for 2027/28 were not published when we checked.

Is it harder to get into Eton or Harrow?

We cannot say, because the published information does not allow a fair comparison. Harrow says it receives around 600 applications for 160 Year 9 places. Eton does not publish its number of places or applications. Both are selective and use the ISEB Common Pre-Test, an on-site assessment and exams in Year 8.

Can my son apply to both Eton and Harrow?

Harrow’s FAQ says a boy may apply to more than one school, but he may take Common Entrance for only one. Harrow can also access ISEB results from a test sat for another school. Register for Eton by 31 August at the end of Year 5 and Harrow by 30 September of Year 6, then ask both schools how they handle a boy holding two offers.

Do boys have their own rooms at Eton and Harrow?

At Eton, every boy has his own room from the start. At Harrow, a boy shares with a boy of the same age for his first three to six terms and then has his own room. Harrow says it has no dormitories. Both are full boarding schools.

Do Eton and Harrow accept girls or day pupils?

No, both are full boarding schools for boys. Harrow notes that masters’ daughters can attend for the Sixth Form, although only a handful have done so. Winchester College takes girls at 16+ and has day places in the Sixth Form. NIJIN GLOBAL ACADEMY is an online option for ages 6–18, with no academic entrance exam, no English requirement; it opens in September 2027 and is not yet accredited.

Choosing calmly, with your son in the room

When two schools are this close on fees and this similar on paper, a table can only take you so far. The most useful next steps are to check which deadlines still apply to your son’s year, visit both if you can, and talk with him honestly about what living away from home at 13 would mean. Eton and Harrow are both remarkable schools, and neither is the right answer for every boy. The right school is the one where your child will be known, stretched and happy, and there is more than one path to that.

Tuition and admissions details were checked on the official websites on 6 November 2026. Schools revise fees every year — always confirm on the official site before applying.

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