Childcare Calculator UK 2026
This childcare calculator works out your real childcare cost by age, hours and region — after the 15 and 30 hours free childcare funding and Tax-Free Childcare. It’s a childcare cost calculator and a funded-hours checker in one, updated for the September 2025 expansion that now reaches children from nine months old. Use the childcare calculator below, then read how the funding stacks up underneath.
15 & 30 hours free childcare
All 3–4 year olds in England get 15 universal hours. Working parents get 30 hours, now extended to children from 9 months since September 2025. Funded for 38 weeks; ask your provider about stretching it across the year.
Tax-Free Childcare
For every £8 you pay in, the government adds £2 — up to £2,000 per child a year (£4,000 if disabled). Works alongside funded hours, but not with Universal Credit childcare.
Universal Credit childcare
If you're on Universal Credit, you can claim back up to 85% of childcare costs. For many families this beats Tax-Free Childcare — check both before you choose.
Average childcare costs, 2026
Before funding, these are typical nursery costs — the childcare cost calculator above then removes your funded hours and Tax-Free Childcare top-up.
| Type | Rest of England | London |
|---|---|---|
| Part-time (25 hrs/wk) | £170 | £230 |
| Full-time (50 hrs/wk) | £340 | £460 |
| Per hour | £6.80 | £9.20 |
Funding across the four nations
England
15 universal hours for 3–4s, 30 for working parents from 9 months (Sept 2025). Plus Tax-Free Childcare and UC childcare.
Scotland
1,140 funded hours a year of early learning and childcare for all 3–4s and eligible 2s — about 30 hours a week in term time.
Wales
The Childcare Offer gives 30 hours (education + childcare) for eligible working parents of 3–4s, plus Flying Start in some areas.
Northern Ireland
Funded pre-school in the year before school, plus the new NI Childcare Subsidy Scheme reducing bills for working parents.
UK childcare costs 2026: free hours, Tax-Free Childcare and what you actually pay
Childcare is one of the largest bills a young family faces, often rivalling the mortgage or rent. In 2026 a full-time nursery place for a child under two typically costs around £60–£75 a day — roughly £14,000–£16,000 a year, and considerably more in London. This childcare calculator exists to turn those raw day rates into a clear monthly and annual figure so you can plan around them.
The good news is that the UK government now offers more support than at any point in the past. Between free childcare hours, Tax-Free Childcare and the Universal Credit childcare element, many working parents pay far less than the headline sticker price — but only if they claim the right combination for their situation.
The definitive rules live on GOV.UK — help with childcare costs and the dedicated Childcare Choices service, which walks you through what you can claim. This guide brings the 2026 schemes together, shows typical costs by childcare type, and explains how the different forms of help stack.
Use the childcare calculator above to enter your provider’s rate and your funded hours, then bring the result together with your other outgoings using the household bills calculator to see your true monthly budget in one place.
UK childcare support schemes in 2026
There is no single “free childcare” scheme — there are several, each with its own eligibility rules and its own benefit. The table below sets out the main forms of support, who qualifies, and what you actually get. Most working families use more than one at the same time.
Before you enrol, check exactly what you can claim on Childcare Choices. If your take-home pay affects eligibility, the salary calculator helps you check where you sit against the earnings thresholds.
| Scheme | Who’s eligible | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| 15 hours free childcare (working parents) | Eligible working parents of children from 9 months old. | 15 funded hours a week over 38 weeks of the year. |
| 30 hours free childcare (expansion) | Eligible working parents of under-5s, rolling out from September 2025. | Up to 30 funded hours a week over 38 weeks. |
| Universal 15 hours (3–4 year-olds) | All 3 and 4 year-olds, regardless of whether parents work. | 15 funded hours a week over 38 weeks. |
| Tax-Free Childcare | Working parents earning under £100,000 each, not on Universal Credit. | Government adds £2 for every £8 you pay, up to £2,000/child/year (£4,000 if disabled). |
| Universal Credit childcare element | Working parents claiming Universal Credit, on a lower income. | Up to 85% of your childcare costs reimbursed, within monthly caps. |
Typical childcare costs by type and age
What you pay depends heavily on the type of care and your child’s age. Nursery places for the under-twos are the most expensive because of the higher staff-to-child ratios required; costs ease a little for two-to-four year-olds, and a childminder is often cheaper than a nursery for full-time care. The figures below are typical 2026 rates — London and the South East sit at the top of the range.
| Childcare type | Weekly | Monthly | Annual | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nursery, under-2 (full-time) | £300 | £1,300 | £15,600 | ~£60–£75/day; higher in London. |
| Nursery, 2–4 (full-time) | £280 | £1,213 | £14,560 | Slightly lower staff ratios reduce the rate. |
| Childminder (full-time) | £250 | £1,083 | £13,000 | Often cheaper than a nursery place. |
| After-school club | £65 | £282 | £3,380 | Term-time wraparound care, ~3 hours/day. |
Source: typical UK provider rates, 2026; see GOV.UK childcare guidance
How free hours, Tax-Free Childcare and Universal Credit stack
The reason childcare support feels confusing is that the schemes are designed to layer on top of each other — but not every combination is allowed. Getting the order right is what turns a £16,000 bill into something manageable.
Start with your funded free hours
Your free childcare hours come first because they cost you nothing. Eligible working parents can claim 15 hours from 9 months, rising to 30 hours for under-5s under the September 2025 expansion, while every 3 and 4 year-old gets a universal 15 hours. These are funded for 38 weeks a year (term time), though many providers will stretch them across all 52 weeks at fewer hours per week. Read the detail on GOV.UK — 30 hours free childcare.
Add Tax-Free Childcare for the hours you pay for
Once your free hours are used, any extra hours you pay for can go through a Tax-Free Childcare account. For every £8 you pay in, the government adds £2 — a 20% top-up — up to £2,000 per child per year, or £4,000 if your child is disabled. Free hours and Tax-Free Childcare stack happily, so this is the default combination for most working families.
Or claim through Universal Credit instead
If you are on a lower income and claim Universal Credit, the childcare element can reimburse up to 85% of your registered childcare costs, within monthly caps. The key rule: you cannot use the Universal Credit childcare element and Tax-Free Childcare at the same time. For many lower-income households the 85% Universal Credit route is worth more than the 20% Tax-Free Childcare top-up, so it pays to compare the two before you decide.
Because eligibility for several schemes turns on how much each parent earns, it is worth modelling your income first — the bonus calculator is useful if a one-off payment might tip you over an earnings threshold in a given year.
How to work out your net childcare cost
The sticker price a nursery quotes is rarely what you end up paying. To find your real, net childcare cost, work through it in a set order rather than trying to hold every scheme in your head at once.
Step 1: Start with the gross cost
Take your provider’s day or weekly rate and multiply it out to a full year. A £300-a-week nursery place is £15,600gross over a full 52 weeks — the number before any support is applied. Enter that figure in the childcare calculator above to keep the arithmetic honest.
Step 2: Subtract your funded free hours
Deduct the value of your 15 or 30 free hours across the 38 funded weeks (or the stretched equivalent). For many two-to-four year-olds in full-time care, the 30 free hours cover a large slice of the week, cutting the gross figure substantially before you pay a penny of your own money.
Step 3: Apply Tax-Free Childcare or Universal Credit to the rest
On whatever hours remain, apply either the 20% Tax-Free Childcare top-up or the up-to-85% Universal Credit reimbursement — whichever you qualify for and whichever leaves you better off. The result is your net annual cost, which is the number that actually matters for budgeting.
Childcare rarely sits in isolation. Once you have your net figure, weigh it against your other fixed costs — the council tax calculator and, if you share a home, the split household bills calculator help you see childcare in the context of the whole household budget.