Childcare questions, answered

In England, a part-time (25 hour) nursery place for a child under 2 costs an average of £188.75 a week if you aren't eligible for funded hours. For eligible working parents, the 30 funded hours bring a full-time (50 hour) place for an under-2 down to about £148.82 a week in term time. Prices are highest in Inner London, and Scotland and Wales have their own prices because England's 30 hours for under-3s doesn't apply there. Figures are from the Coram Childcare Survey 2026.

For every £8 you pay into an online childcare account, the government adds £2, up to £2,000 a year per child (£4,000 if disabled). Every parent must be working or on paid leave, each expecting to earn at least £2,643.68 over the next three months, and neither can expect adjusted net income over £100,000. You can't get it at the same time as Universal Credit or childcare vouchers.

Pay in 80% of your childcare bill and the government tops it up with the other 20%. For a £1,000 bill you pay in £800. The top-up is capped at £500 per child every three months, so above a bill of £2,500 a quarter per child, you pay the extra in full.

In England, apply through the GOV.UK Childcare Service. If you're eligible you get a code to give to your provider. Working parents can get 30 hours a week for 38 weeks a year from when their child is 9 months old until they start school. The hours start the term after your child is eligible and you have a valid code, and you reconfirm every three months.

In England, 15 hours is universal for every 3 and 4 year old, whatever their parents do. The 30 hours is for working parents who meet the earnings test, from 9 months old. Some 2-year-olds get 15 hours if the family gets certain benefits or the child gets extra support.

Yes. The free hours cover the funded hours, and Tax-Free Childcare pays 20% of the rest: hours above your entitlement, holiday weeks, meals and other charges.

Usually, yes. Coram found a full-time nursery place for an under-2 in England costs about 22% more than the same hours with a childminder. Scotland is the exception: childminders there cost slightly more than nurseries.

Staffing. In England a nursery needs one adult for every three children under 2, compared with one for every five 2-year-olds and one for every eight children aged 3 and over. More staff per child costs more per hour.

Up to 85% of registered childcare costs, capped at £1,071.09 a month for one child or £1,836.16 for two or more, from April 2026. You must be working, and so must your partner if you have one. You can't use it with Tax-Free Childcare.

No. Tax credits, including the childcare element of Working Tax Credit, ended on 5 April 2025. Universal Credit is now the benefit that helps with childcare costs, alongside Tax-Free Childcare for families not on Universal Credit.

Only if you joined your employer's scheme before 4 October 2018 and are still with that employer. A basic-rate taxpayer saves about £816 a year in tax and National Insurance at the monthly limit.

Tax-Free Childcare and Universal Credit work the same way. On top, the Northern Ireland Childcare Subsidy Scheme takes 15% off the bill for working parents who use Tax-Free Childcare, for children not yet at primary school, if the provider takes part. Children in their pre-school year get 12.5 hours a week of funded pre-school education, or 22.5 in some settings.

The hours fund childcare and early education only, for 38 term-time weeks. Providers can charge for meals, snacks, nappies, suncream, trips and extras such as music or forest school, as long as these are voluntary. Weeks beyond 38 are charged in full unless your provider stretches your hours.

No. This is an independent calculator that estimates your whole childcare bill using average prices and the official rules. The GOV.UK childcare calculator is the official check of which schemes you can get; use it before you apply.

It uses average prices from the Coram Childcare Survey 2026 and Holiday Childcare Survey 2026, and the official 2026/27 rules for each scheme. It's a good budget estimate, but prices vary a lot between providers, so add your provider's own price for a firmer figure.