The short answer
A once-off registration fee, then monthly or annual tuition that varies by grade and curriculum. Grade 10 to 12 learners pay SACAI examination fees separately, and those are the ones that catch families out. Current figures are published on the main Saving Grace fees page.
This article explains the shape of the cost — what you pay, when, and what is billed separately. It deliberately does not repeat the figures. Fees change, and a number quoted here that is a year out of date is worse than no number at all, because a family will budget on it.
See the current Saving Grace fees — that page is the authoritative one and is kept up to date.
The three things you pay
- A once-off registration fee. Paid when you enrol, non-refundable, and not part of the monthly tuition. Budget for it separately from the first month.
- Tuition, monthly or annually. This is the main cost and it varies by grade and by curriculum — the older the grade, the higher the fee, and Cambridge costs more than CAPS at equivalent stages.
- Examination fees for Grade 10 to 12, which are separate from tuition. See below, because this is the one families miss.
What tuition includes
Video lessons, worksheets and activities, quizzes, digital assessments, progress tracking and termly report cards. You are not buying materials on top of the fee for the standard programme.
The SACAI fees, which catch families out
From Grade 10 your child is registered with SACAI for the National Senior Certificate, and those fees are not part of your tuition. There is a registration fee in Grade 10 and Grade 11, and a substantially larger charge in Grade 12 covering subject entries, plus examination venue fees on top.
Two things matter more than the amount:
- The Grade 12 figure is a step change, not an increment. Families who budget from their Grade 11 monthly fee are caught short.
- There is a hard deadline. SACAI fees for Grade 12 learners must be paid in full by the end of May. Miss it and the examination entry is at risk — this is not a deadline that gets extended.
Ask the office for the current Grade 10, 11 and 12 figures in your child’s first FET year, not in the exam year.
If you only need assessments
If you teach at home yourself and need only formal assessment and marking — no curriculum, no video lessons — there is a per-term assessment-only option, priced by grade. It is meaningfully cheaper than full tuition and is worth asking about if you have your own programme and need the accredited record.
Monthly or annually
Both are offered. Annual payment is the lower total; monthly is easier on cash flow. Before choosing, ask what happens if you withdraw partway through the year, because that is where the two options differ most and it is rarely the first question people think to ask.
What to ask before you enrol
- The registration fee and the first month, as one number.
- The tuition for your child’s specific grade and curriculum — not the range.
- What is billed separately, this year and in the FET Phase.
- Whether a sibling discount applies.
- What happens to fees if you withdraw mid-year.
For the sector-wide picture — what home education costs in South Africa generally, including devices, connectivity and the costs no provider charges you for — see what homeschooling actually costs in South Africa.
This article was written from the fees page on the Saving Grace website in August 2026. Figures and dates change — check the fees page before you rely on them, or ask in the forums and a member of the team will confirm.