DATA-BACKED GUIDE · UPDATED JULY 2026
How much does full-time nursery cost in the UK?
A full-time nursery place is usually the biggest childcare bill a family faces, and for many households it sits close to the mortgage or rent. What you actually pay depends on your child's age, where you live, and how many of the funded hours you can use against the fee. This guide draws on what parents report paying and sets out the practical ways to bring the monthly figure down.
The quick version
- Full-time usually means five days a week, and it is priced per month rather than per hour, so two nurseries quoting similar day rates can still land very differently once you multiply out.
- Under-threes cost the most. A baby room place sits at the top of the price list because staff have to be with fewer children per adult, and the price drops as your child moves up through the rooms.
- The 15 and 30 funded hours only stretch across term time, so a full-time place across the year still leaves a large top-up to pay, funded hours or not.
- Extras like meals, nappies and formula are often billed on top of the headline fee, so the number on the website is rarely the number on the invoice.
- London and the South East run well above the rest of the country for the same hours, and the gap tends to be widest for the youngest age groups.
- Who runs the nursery, whether it is a private chain, an independent single site, a charity or a council-run setting, shapes the fee almost as much as the postcode does.
What people actually paid
Where these 14 prices come from — 5 named sources
Each is a published price list, an official survey, or a receipt/quote a reader shared. The full per-price list with year and area is on the nursery (full-time) page.
The gap: advertised vs actually paid (medians)
People reported paying about the same as the advertised list price for nursery (full-time).
List prices are advertised prices; paid figures are what people reported, often for different cases and from a small sample so far. Treat the gap as a signal, not a quote.
Why the price varies so much
Nursery fees move on a handful of things, and they tend to stack rather than cancel out. Age is the biggest driver: younger children need higher staff ratios, so a baby room costs more to run than a room for a three or four year old, and the price falls as your child moves up. Location matters just as much, with London and the South East charging far above quieter parts of the country for the same hours. Who owns and runs the nursery counts too. A private chain, an independent single-site nursery, a workplace nursery, a charity or a council-run setting can each price the same hours differently, since they carry different overheads, rents and staffing costs and answer to different owners. On top of all that, how a nursery treats funded hours, whether it charges separately for meals and nappies, and how it prices any hours beyond the funded ones can move the final bill up or down by a wide margin, even between two nurseries on the same street.
How to pay less
- Claim every funded hour you qualify for, including the newer support that now reaches under-threes for eligible working parents, and check you are not missing an entitlement because nobody told you it applied.
- Open a Tax-Free Childcare account so the government tops up what you pay towards approved nursery fees, on top of any funded hours.
- Check whether the Universal Credit childcare element applies, since it can refund a large share of costs for lower-income working families and is easy to overlook if you assume funded hours are the only help going.
- Ask how the nursery spreads your funded hours. Stretching them across the whole year instead of using them only in term time lowers the monthly top-up you actually pay.
- Compare a childminder for the youngest years, since a childminder often works out cheaper than a nursery baby room and the price gap tends to be biggest before your child turns two.
- Ask directly about sibling discounts, and whether you can supply meals, nappies or formula from home rather than paying the nursery's rate for them.
Common questions
Do the funded hours cover a full-time place?
No. The 15 and 30 hour schemes are built around part-time use and term time, so a full-time place across the whole year still leaves a top-up to pay. Many nurseries stretch the funded hours over more weeks of the year to soften the monthly figure, so it is worth asking how your nursery handles the spread rather than assuming it matches the school calendar.
Is a childminder cheaper than full-time nursery?
Often yes for the youngest children, because childminders usually charge per hour and can undercut a nursery baby room. As children get older the gap narrows, and some families prefer the group setting and structured day a nursery gives, even at a higher price.
When can my child start using funded hours?
It depends on the scheme and your working status. Funded support has been widening to reach under-threes for eligible working parents, so it is worth checking the current start points for your child's age directly with your nursery rather than assuming it only begins at three.
What extras should I budget for on top of the fee?
Meals, snacks, nappies, formula and sometimes trips or sun cream can all sit outside the headline price. Ask for a full written list before you compare two nurseries, because a cheaper looking headline fee can carry more extras and end up costing more once you add them back in.
Does it matter whether the nursery is a private chain or independently run?
Yes, it can. A large private chain, a single independent nursery, a workplace nursery and a charity or council-run setting all carry different costs and answer to different owners, and that shows up in the fee. It is worth asking who actually owns the nursery when you are comparing quotes, not just looking at the headline monthly price.
Why do two nurseries near each other charge such different fees?
The postcode is the same but the underlying costs often are not. Staff ratios by room, rent, who owns the site, and how meals and extras are billed can all differ between two nurseries a few streets apart. That is why it pays to ask for a full breakdown rather than comparing headline day rates alone.