The results of comparative analysis of the well-known international rankings of higher education institutions are presented in the paper. The comparative analysis has been carried out in the framework of the project «Developing and Approbating a Template Methodology for National Ranking of Higher Education Institutions» which is being implemented by National Training Foundation collaboratively with International Organisations Research Institute of the National Research University Higher School of Economics on request of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science. The methodology of the research project is based on the comparative analysis of methodologies and key indicators used in various ranking systems. The purpose of this analysis as a key tool for achieving project goals is to identify elements of a template methodology for ranking Russian higher education institutions. Application of 15 common parameters for comparative analysis ensured a common framework for the analysis and enabled to make a horizontal comparison of global, national, special rankings and classifications and helped to identify best practices. The common analytical framework also ensured basis for comparative analysis of ranking methodologies and their assessment against IREG criteria.