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How much do nurseries, nannies and childminders cost?

How much do nurseries, nannies and childminders cost?

If you're going back to work and looking into childcare - which option is best value? We compare the cost of nurseries, nannies and childminders in different UK regions

Tara Breathnach

Published: January 7, 2019 at 6:00 AM

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We know childcare can be expensive, but just how expensive? We’ve got details of average costs of nannies, childminders, nursery places and babysitters, so that you can calculate how much childcare might cost you.

Of course, these are just averages and the only way to be sure is to check with your local childcarers. Indeed, even the average costs vary according to which survey you look at. But it does give you a feel for the ranges.

We’ve looked at two sets of official figures – the 2018 Childcare report from the Family and Childcare Trust and the 2018 report from Childcare.co.uk website (which shows more expensive figures). Where there are two different numbers, we’ve listed both. We’ve also included Gov.UK estimates for costs for a live-in au pair.

Average hourly costs of different childcare in 2018 across the UK for a child under 2

Nursery £4.65 (Family & Childcare Trust) / £4.95 (Childcare.co.uk) per hour
Childminder £4.34 (Family & Childcare Trust) / £5.42 (Childcare.co.uk) per hour
Live out nanny £10.43 per hour – plus you’ll need to pay your nanny’s tax, NI and your own employer’s NI on top (which can add another 30-40%)
Babysitter £9.08 per hour
Au pair £70-85 per week - plus accommodation and food

Did you know: When your child is 3, you may be able to claim up to 30 hours free childcare?

Childcare costs for nurseries, nannies, babysitters and childminders - by UK region

NURSERY COSTS - by region

London - £6.47
Scotland - £5.15
North East - £5.15
South East - £5.03
Yorkshire - £4.88
North West - £4.87
Wales - £4.85
West Midlands - £4.74
South West - £4.58
East Midlands - £4.46

CHILDMINDER COSTS - by region

London - £6.82
South East - £6.50
North West - £4.84
Wales - £4.55
South West - £4.51
Scotland - £4.45
West Midlands - £4.31
North East - £4.15
East Midlands - £4.13
Yorkshire and The Humber - £4.12

NANNY COSTS - by region

London - £11.11
South East - £10.46
North West - £9.68
Scotland - £9.56
South West - £9.55
West Midlands - £9.48
Yorkshire and The Humber - £9.26
East Midlands - £9.19
Wales - £8.91
North East - £8.85

BABYSITTER COSTS - by region

London - £10.33
South East - £8.99
Scotland - £8.35
South West - £8.21
North West - £7.98
Yorkshire and The Humber - £7.89
West Midlands - £7.85
Wales - £7.79
East Midlands - £7.55
North East - £7.37

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Authors

Tara BreathnachContent Editor and Social Media Producer

Tara is mum to 1 daughter and worked as a Content Editor at MadeForMums from 2015 to 2021.