Childcare Cost Calculator

Estimate childcare spending from booked hours, funded hours, fees and weeks used. See a yearly total and a monthly budgeting average, with an optional credit for support you have already confirmed.

How to use Childcare Cost Calculator

1. Choose the currency used for results. 2. Use children with the same arrangement, enter funded hours as actually applied by the provider, and add only support not already counted in those hours. 3. Change a value to update the results, or select Calculate. Review the chart and notes with the total. 4. Use Copy results, Share results or Download result graphic to keep the answer. Shared links include your figures. 5. Reset restores the editable example inputs.

Why use this tool?

An hourly fee alone rarely explains a childcare budget. The weeks used, hours covered by funding and extra services can make a large difference to the amount due. This tool lets you put those parts together for an arrangement you already understand. Funding should be entered in the way it is actually used. A term-time entitlement and hours stretched across more weeks are not interchangeable weekly figures. If two children have different arrangements, calculate each separately rather than averaging their hours and fees into one misleading estimate.

How the calculation works

Booked-week cost per child = (booked hours − funded hours) × hourly rate + weekly extra fees. Annual cost before support = this amount × children × weeks used. Confirmed annual support is deducted once, up to the total cost, so the outlay cannot be negative. The monthly average is annual outlay ÷ 12. The calculator does not assess eligibility or calculate Tax-Free Childcare, Universal Credit or other entitlements from income. Provider billing rules, deposits and one-off charges need to be considered separately or included in your figures without double-counting.

Example

For one child using 30 booked hours, 15 funded hours, a £7 hourly rate, £20 weekly extras and 48 weeks, the estimate is (15 × £7 + £20) × 48 = £6,000 a year. That is £500 per average month before any separately entered support. These hours and prices are an example, not an entitlement decision.

Practical tip

Ask the provider how funded hours and any optional extras appear on the invoice. Use the net arrangement that will actually apply, and keep confirmation of any support you enter.