Current as of October 2026. Every program fee and startup figure below comes from CEP's live program pages on October 20, 2026. Fees and living costs change, so confirm the numbers for your country with your CEP advisor before you buy a ticket or give notice.
You found the program fee. Maybe it was $1,790 for Thailand or $2,210 for Japan. You wrote it on a sticky note and stuck it to your monitor's edge. That is the number you have been saving toward.
It is also the smaller of the two numbers you need.
The second is the cash you need to live on from the day you land until your first paycheck clears: rent, a deposit, groceries, a phone plan, and transportation to school. Your first paycheck may arrive weeks after your first day, but you have to set up your new life as soon as you arrive.
Here are both numbers for every CEP teaching program, side by side, so you can see the full financial gap you need to cross.
The table uses the Guaranteed Job Plus TEFL fee for each program because most applicants don't already have a TEFL certificate. TEFL Plus is CEP’s accredited, 120-hour online course, bundled with every program. You can try the first three modules free.
The “cash to first paycheck” column shows CEP’s estimate of how much a teacher needs after arrival to cover expenses until payday. These totals do not include airfare.
| Program | Program fee with TEFL Plus | Cash to first paycheck | Upfront total before airfare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thailand Summer (7–12 weeks) | $1,590 | $1,100 | $2,690 |
| Thailand (semester or year) | $1,790 | $1,100 | $2,890 |
| South Korea | $2,090 | $1,250 | $3,340 |
| Cambodia | $2,280 | $1,300 | $3,580 |
| Vietnam | $2,170 | $1,500 | $3,670 |
| Costa Rica | $2,090 | $2,000 | $4,090 |
| Japan | $2,210 | $3,500–$4,000 | $5,710–$6,210 |
If you already hold a 120-hour TEFL certificate, subtract $ 100- $ 210 from the program fee, depending on the country.
Now compare the two middle columns.
Program fees range from $1,590 to $2,280. The cash needed to reach the first paycheck ranges from $1,100 to $4,000. That second figure is where your budget is really decided.
Housing accounts for most of the difference.
In Thailand, rent runs from $150 to $300 a month. In Japan, it runs from $350 to $550, and landlords commonly ask for one or two months’ rent upfront plus a deposit. Costa Rican rent ranges from $350 to $800, often with a similar deposit.
Add up to three months of housing costs before you have earned a yen or a colón, and you begin to see the difference between the top and bottom of the table.
South Korea is the exception. Schools provide rent-free, semi-furnished housing, so you may pay about $75 a month in utilities instead of covering rent and a large initial deposit. Some schools withhold $250 a month for the first three months as a housing deposit, then return it when your contract ends.
Korean schools also reimburse airfare—round trip at public schools and one way at private academies. As a result, South Korea’s real upfront cost can be lower than its table ranking suggests.
Daily expenses also add up quickly. CEP budgets about $10 a day for living costs in Cambodia, $20 a day on a basic budget in South Korea, and $25 a day in Vietnam, including rent. Meals in Thailand cost about $3. At $25 a day, three weeks of daily expenses come to $525 before your first payday.
Insurance deserves its own line in your budget. Several countries move teachers onto school or national health insurance once they approve their work permits. Until then, you need a travel medical policy.
In Cambodia, you need coverage for the entire 12-month contract. Costa Rica requires it for at least your first 90 days. Japan’s program page estimates temporary coverage at $100 to $150.
None of CEP’s program fees include international airfare, and schools outside South Korea do not reimburse it. Price your own route before committing. A flight from Denver to Bangkok and one from Miami to San José will produce very different budgets.
Background checks, apostilles, degree copies, and courier fees vary by state and country. Japan’s program page estimates document expenses of about $100 to $200. Your advisor will explain which documents your country requires and when you need them.
The startup figures in the table represent what you need to reach payday—not what you might need during a bad week. A lost phone or an unexpected deposit can cost several hundred dollars in a day.
If you can arrive with more than the table recommends, do.
Your upfront cost is a one-time number. Your salary—and how much you can save—is monthly.
CEP estimates that teachers can save:
South Korea has the highest estimated savings, helped by rent-free housing. Korean schools also pay severance of roughly one month’s salary for each completed year.
The cheapest country to enter isn't always the cheapest to live in—or the one where you can save the most.
Thailand has the lowest upfront cost of CEP’s long-term programs, and more of our recent teachers have gone there than anywhere else. Japan costs the most to start, but teachers earn ¥215,000 to ¥250,000 a month once they begin working.
Cambodia falls in the middle for startup costs and near the top for potential savings. It also does not require a degree. Our Cambodia teaching budget breaks down those expenses month by month.
Costa Rica waives the degree requirement for North American applicants, although teachers without a degree pay an additional $150 fee.
Start with the row for the country you want.
Add your airfare. Then add a cushion you can live with, even if it is only a few hundred dollars. That total is your real number.
Next, compare it with your current expenses. If you are paying $1,600 a month in rent at home, one month of rent you no longer have to pay would cover Thailand’s estimated startup cash. If your lease ends in three months, that may give you a practical departure date to aim for.
In 50 years of this work, I have watched more people stall on the second number than the first. They saved for the program fee, booked the call, and only then learned about the deposit.
The people who make it across put both numbers on the sticky note.
So, what does your sticky note say right now—and is it the whole number?
Talk to us about the budget for your country.
Plan for two numbers: the program fee and the cash you need to reach your first paycheck.
With TEFL Plus included, the total upfront cost before airfare is:
These are CEP’s October 2026 figures. Confirm current costs with an advisor before committing.
Among CEP’s long-term programs, Thailand has the lowest upfront cost. The semester or year program costs $1,790 with TEFL Plus, and CEP estimates that a teacher needs another $1,100 to reach the first paycheck. That brings the total to $2,890 before airfare.
South Korea can cost less in practice because schools provide rent-free housing and reimburse airfare.
No. CEP’s program fees do not include international airfare or long-term housing.
The fees cover guaranteed job placement, orientation with accommodation, and in-country support. The Guaranteed Job Plus TEFL option also includes CEP’s accredited, 120-hour TEFL Plus course.
South Korea is the exception for ongoing housing and flights: schools provide rent-free housing and reimburse some or all of a teacher’s airfare.
Japan’s program fee is close to the others at $2,210 with TEFL Plus. The difference is the amount teachers need after arrival.
CEP estimates that teachers need $3,500 to $4,000 to reach their first paycheck in Japan, compared with $1,100 in Thailand. Japanese rent runs from $350 to $550 a month, and landlords commonly require one or two months’ rent upfront plus a deposit.
Japan also offers a higher monthly salary, ranging from ¥215,000 to ¥250,000.
Every CEP teaching program in Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Costa Rica, Cambodia, and Vietnam requires an accredited, 120-hour TEFL certificate. Thailand Summer makes an exception for current teachers and recent education graduates.
If you do not already have a certificate, CEP bundles its 120-hour TEFL Plus course with the program for $100 to $210 more than the job-only fee, depending on the country. You can try the first three modules free.
The Cultural Exchange Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that has placed native English speakers in paid teaching positions abroad for decades. Programs are available in Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Costa Rica, Cambodia, and Vietnam.
Randy LeGrant, CEP's Executive Director, writes these blog posts. If you like his writing, he also writes The Crossing — a weekly letter drawn from fifty years of watching people change their lives and their location. One story, one step, one question. Three minutes, every Friday. Subscribe free here.