Pick your county, your child's age and the hours you need. We'll apply funded hours, Tax-Free Childcare and sibling discounts so you see the real weekly, monthly and yearly cost - not just the headline rate.
Defaults to 10 hours, but you can adjust it to match the nursery day you need.
Available for eligible working parents of children aged 9 months+ in England. See the guide below for eligibility.
Tax-Free Childcare and provider-specific discounts can reduce what you pay further, but they are not included in this fee estimate.
If you're eligible for 30 funded hours and Tax-Free Childcare, you can stack them - funded hours come off first. This estimate focuses on nursery fees before any separate Tax-Free Childcare account top-up.
No jargon, no acronyms. Just what you get, who qualifies and how it changes what you pay.
What it is: The government pays your nursery a set hourly rate so those hours are free to you.
Who gets it: Working parents earning at least £9,518 each and less than £100k, with a child aged 9 months to school age.
How the maths works: 15h x 38 weeks = 570 hours/year. 30 hours doubles this. Stretched options spread those hours across more weeks.
What it is: For every £8 you pay into a government childcare account, HMRC adds £2, up to £2,000 per child per year.
Who gets it: Working parents earning at least £9,518 each and less than £100k, child under 12.
Watch for: You can't use Tax-Free Childcare and Universal Credit childcare together.
What it is: If you claim Universal Credit and work any hours, you can claim back up to 85% of your childcare costs.
Caps: Up to £1,031/month for one child, £1,768/month for two or more.
Workplace nurseries: If your employer offers an on-site nursery, fees can be tax-free in full.
Childcare vouchers: Closed to new joiners since 2018, but still useful if you are already enrolled.
Scotland, Wales, NI: Each nation runs its own funded hours scheme.
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.
Not always. Funded hours, meals, registration fees, deposits, nappies and stretched-year patterns can all change the final amount.
Funded hours usually start from the term after your child becomes eligible. Exact dates depend on age, work status and the scheme you use.
If either parent earns over £100k, you usually lose eligibility for funded working-parent hours and Tax-Free Childcare.
Higher rent, staffing and operating costs often push London fees above many other counties.
Some do and some do not. Always check the nursery's fee policy before you register.
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