School vs school · figures from each school’s own report
Harvard Business School or Stanford GSB
For a $90,000 earner, Harvard repays its cost in 4.0 years and Stanford GSB in 4.0 years; their ten-year values differ by $3,599.
Highest ten-year value for you
Harvard
NPV $300,068 · payback 4.0 years
| Harvard | Stanford GSB | |
|---|---|---|
| Program length | 21 months | 21 months |
| Tuition and fees | $183,316 | $197,676 |
| Living budget | $77,320 | $84,204 |
| Total cost for you | $418,136 | $419,380 |
| Hired within three months | 84% | 81% |
| Salary reported | $185,000 | $185,000 |
| Kind of figure | median base salary | median base salary |
| Payback after graduation | 4.0 years | 4.0 years |
| 10-year NPV | $300,068 | $296,469 |
* school-wide salary: no figure published for this goal. US dollars at the ECB rate of the last update. Method.
Built by Radif Partners · figures checked · Method · Editorial policy
On money alone, Harvard Business School and Stanford Graduate School of Business are close to a tie. Harvard charges $169,520 of tuition and $13,796 of fees for two years and budgets $77,320 for living; Stanford GSB charges $178,374, $19,302 and budgets $84,204. For a person earning $90,000 today, the totals with the salary given up are $418,136 and $419,380. The class of 2025 reported the same median base salary, $185,000. Harvard repays in 4.0 years after graduation and Stanford GSB in 4.0 years, and the ten-year values, $300,068 and $296,469, are within a few percent of each other. What separates them is the shape of the class: Stanford GSB sends 35% of its graduates into technology against 22% at Harvard, and Harvard sends 21% into consulting against 11%.
A tie on money, a split on direction
Few pairs of schools produce such close figures. Harvard costs $260,636 before the salary you give up, Stanford GSB $281,880. Both programs last 21 months, so a $90,000 earner gives up the same $157,500 at either. Stanford GSB reports a median summer internship pay of $8,000 a month, which the model takes back from its total; Harvard publishes none, so its total gets no such credit. The result is two totals $1,244 apart and two ten-year values $3,599 apart.
With money out of the way, the question is where you want to go, and the two reports describe different classes. Use the mini below with your own salary: the gap between the two schools stays small at any level, because the programs have the same length and similar salaries.
Harvard or Stanford GSB: the faster payback for you
Higher 10-year value
Harvard
| Harvard payback | 4.0 years |
| Stanford GSB payback | 4.0 years |
| Harvard 10-year NPV | $300,068 |
| Stanford GSB 10-year NPV | $296,469 |
Technology at Stanford, consulting at Harvard
Stanford GSB sends 35% of its class into technology, the largest share among schools with a class of 300 or more, at a median of $185,000. It stands number 1 of 40 in our tech ranking, Harvard number 3 of 40. Finance takes about a third of each class: 34% at Harvard, 33% at Stanford GSB, where the finance median is $200,000.
The clearest gap is consulting: 21% of Harvard's class against 11% of Stanford GSB's. Investment banking takes 6% of Harvard's class against 3% at Stanford GSB; in our banking ranking Harvard comes ahead, number 12 of 12 against unranked. A class of 943 at Harvard against 434 at Stanford GSB means that the same share sends more than twice as many people into each firm.
Geography does not separate them: 92% of Harvard's class and 95% of Stanford GSB's took a job in the United States. Applicants planning to return to Europe or Asia right after the degree should look at the European and Asian rankings before either.
What each report leaves out
Stanford GSB follows the MBA CSEA reporting standard and gives a median for 5 industries and for most finance segments, plus the first and third quartiles of the class: $165,000 to $200,000. Harvard gives quartiles too, $160,000 to $192,000, and salaries for 6 industries. Harvard's report gives no internship pay. Neither school lists employers with the number of hires in the documents we read.
Who should pick which
Pick Stanford GSB for technology, venture capital or a smaller class in California, where its shares in those paths lead our rankings. Pick Harvard for consulting or general management, and for the reach of a much larger class and alumni base, which also sends more people into banking in headcount. Admission, not cost, is the constraint at both: once in, the choice turns on the industry, and the money will not decide it for you. A need-based award changes the totals more than anything in the fee lists, as the mini below shows.
Stanford GSB: what a scholarship changes
Payback with the scholarship
3.8 years
| Without it | 4.0 years |
| Total cost with it | $389,380 |
Reference person earning $90,000 before the MBA.