Childcare Cost Calculator

How does this tool calculate the gross cost?

This tool looks up a monthly price for your country, care type and age group from a built-in table that assumes 40 hours a week, then multiplies it by your hours divided by 40. So 20 hours is half the table price and 10 hours is a quarter. The same scaling applies to every care type, including part-time nursery, whose table price is already lower. There is no regional adjustment, and no extra charge for siblings, meals or holidays.

How are subsidies handled?

Each country has a fixed rule in the code. The US shows 20% of up to $3,000 of annual cost as a credit, spread monthly. The UK shows a flat £400 a month for ages 3 to 5 and £200 for infants. Canada shows a flat CA$400 a month. Australia shows 70% of the gross cost. India shows none. The subsidy is capped at the gross cost, so net cost never falls below zero, and none of it depends on your income or hours.

Are these figures current rules and prices?

They are placeholders. The monthly prices are single rounded figures and the subsidy rules are simplified descriptions that the tool labels with years such as 2024 and 2025. Childcare costs, free-hours entitlements and credits are revised regularly, this tool’s tables are not updated automatically, and the relevant agency or provider governs what you receive. Treat the output as a budgeting range and check eligibility directly.

What do the age groups mean?

The options are infant (0–2), toddler (3–4) and preschool (4–5). They overlap at age 4, so pick the group your provider prices under. The UK subsidy treats toddler and preschool the same, and the US and Australian calculations use the age group only to choose a price from the table.

What happens at zero hours or blank hours?

Clearing the hours box counts as 0, and zero hours shows a gross and net cost of zero, because the cost scales from the hours you enter. Hours above 168, the number in a week, are limited to 168. Negative entries are treated as zero.

Why does the net cost sometimes drop to zero?

When the flat subsidy exceeds the scaled gross cost. A Canadian preschool part-time nursery at 20 hours a week has a gross cost of CA$250, below the CA$400 subsidy, so the tool caps the subsidy at CA$250 and shows a net of CA$0. The same happens in the UK at low hours, because the entitlement amount does not shrink with hours.

What does the tool leave out?

It does not model income-tested amounts, provider hourly caps, term-time-only entitlements, tax-free childcare accounts, employer vouchers, multiple children or school-age care. The US credit is a tax credit claimed later, not a price reduction at the time you pay. Use the tool to compare care types and countries, then ask the provider and the benefits agency for exact figures.