What will nursery actually cost your family?
Pick your area, your child's age and the hours you need. We'll work out the funded hours you could get and estimate your weekly, monthly and yearly cost, before and after Tax-Free Childcare.
The nursery's price
Daily price used: £92 (for a 10-hour day)
All-ages average from 57 nurseries with prices on Toddle in London
Your childcare week
Many nurseries close for a week or two at Christmas and bank holidays.
Your child and funded hours
What counts?
16 hours a week at the minimum wage for your age: £2,643.68 if you're 21 or over, £2,256.80 if you're 18 to 20, and £1,664.00 if you're under 18 or an apprentice. If you've been self-employed for under 12 months, or you're on parental, sick or annual leave, you can still qualify, and some benefits (such as Carer's Allowance) count for a partner who doesn't work. Check on GOV.UK
No funded hours yet.
If you both work, you could get 30 hours a week (1,140 a year).
From 1 January 2029: 15 hours a week (570 a year).
Funded hours start the term after your child reaches the age (9 months for working-parent hours, 2 for the extra-support offer, 3 for the universal 15 hours): on 1 January, 1 April or 1 September. You'll need to reconfirm your details every 3 months.
How will you pay?
- Full weekly fee (before funding)
- £276.00
- Per year, after funding
- £14,352
This is an estimate, not a quote. Nurseries set their own prices, opening weeks and funded-hours patterns, and not all offer funded or stretched places. Check with the nursery. England only.
How we work this out
570 hours a year is 15 hours × 38 weeks; 1,140 is 30 × 38. Term-time funding covers 38 weeks; in every other week your child attends you pay the full fee. Stretched funding spreads the same hours over more weeks (up to 52), so the yearly total is about the same. Funded hours are capped at the hours you use, 30 a week and 10-hour sessions. The monthly figure is the yearly cost ÷ 12.
Funded hours are for education and care and must be free. Nurseries can't charge top-up fees for funded hours, or make you pay for extra hours, registration fees or deposits as a condition of your place. They can offer meals, snacks, nappies and trips as optional extras, and you can choose to bring your own or opt out.
Hours may be pro-rated if your child starts part-way through the year, and funding stops when your child starts reception. Tax-Free Childcare is 20% of what you pay after funding, up to £2,000 a year (£4,000 if your child is disabled). Prices are Toddle averages or the price you enter; meals are a Toddle estimate.
Figures from GOV.UK, checked 20 October 2026. Rates change each April. England only: Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have different schemes. Sources: working parents, 3 and 4 year olds, 2 year olds, Tax-Free Childcare, Universal Credit, DfE guidance.
Each block is a week, from September to August.
- 52 full-fee weeks
- £276.00 a week
- Since 1 September 202630 hours for working parents
If you both work and meet the earnings test.
- From 1 January 2029Universal 15 hours
Every 3 and 4 year old, no work or income test.
- From 1 September 2030Starts reception
Funded nursery hours end.
How each childcare scheme in England works
No jargon, no acronyms. Just what you get, who qualifies and how it changes what you pay.
15 hours for all 3 and 4-year-olds
Every 3 and 4-year-old in England can get 570 free hours a year, usually 15 hours a week for 38 weeks. There's no work or income test. It starts the term after their 3rd birthday.
Source: GOV.UK · checked 20 October 2026
30 hours for working parents (9 months to school age)
If you (and your partner) work and each expect to earn at least £2,643.68 over the next 3 months (16 hours a week at the National Living Wage; lower amounts if you're under 21 or an apprentice), and neither of you expects adjusted net income over £100,000, you can get 30 hours a week for 38 weeks (1,140 hours a year) from the term after your child turns 9 months.
Source: GOV.UK · checked 20 October 2026
15 hours for some 2-year-olds
If you get certain benefits or support (for example Universal Credit with household take-home income of £15,400 or less, or your child has an EHC plan or gets DLA), your 2-year-old can get 15 hours a week. If you also qualify as working parents, you get 15 more.
Source: GOV.UK · checked 20 October 2026
How the maths works
570 hours a year is 15 hours × 38 weeks; 1,140 is 30 × 38. If your nursery offers stretched hours, you take fewer hours a week over more weeks (up to 52). For example, 1,140 hours over 52 weeks is about 22 hours a week. In weeks your child attends without funding, you pay the full fee.
Source: GOV.UK · checked 20 October 2026
Tax-Free Childcare
For every £8 you pay into your childcare account, the government adds £2, up to £500 every 3 months (£2,000 a year) per child, or £1,000 (£4,000) if your child is disabled. You can use it for fees not covered by funded hours, and for meals, nappies and trips your nursery charges for. You can't get it at the same time as Universal Credit childcare or childcare vouchers.
Who gets it: working parents who meet the same earnings test, for children up to the September after their 11th birthday (16th if disabled).
Source: GOV.UK · checked 20 October 2026
Universal Credit childcare
If you get Universal Credit, you can claim back up to 85% of the childcare you pay for, up to £1,071.09 a month for one child or £1,836.16 for two or more. The amount depends on your Universal Credit award. Check with a benefits calculator.
Source: GOV.UK · checked 20 October 2026
Employer & other schemes
Workplace nurseries: If your employer offers an on-site nursery, fees can be tax-free in full.
Childcare vouchers: Closed to new joiners since 4 October 2018, but still useful if you are already enrolled.
Scotland, Wales, NI: Each nation runs its own funded hours scheme. This calculator is for England.
Source: GOV.UK · checked 20 October 2026
Average nursery cost across the UK
Full-time estimates use 5 days and a standard 10-hour nursery day before funding is applied. County averages are calculated from nursery prices where providers have supplied fees.
Nursery cost FAQs
Is the price I see on a nursery's website what I'll pay?
Not always. Funded hours, meals, registration fees, deposits, nappies and stretched-year patterns can all change the final amount.
When do funded hours start?
From the term after your child reaches the relevant age (9 months for working-parent hours, 2 for Early Learning for 2-year-olds, 3 for the universal 15 hours). Terms start on 1 January, 1 April and 1 September. For working-parent hours, apply for a code from when your child is 23 weeks old; it must be valid by 31 December, 31 March or 31 August before the term starts.
What if I earn over £100,000?
If either of you expects adjusted net income over £100,000 this tax year, you can't get the working-parent hours or Tax-Free Childcare. Your 3–4 year old still gets the universal 15 hours.
Why is London so much more expensive?
Higher rent, staffing and operating costs often push London fees above many other counties.
Do nurseries charge for closed days like bank holidays?
Some do and some do not. Always check the nursery's fee policy before you register.
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