How Much Does Nursery Cost in 2026? A Region-by-Region Breakdown

The cost of nursery in 2026 depends on three things more than anything else: where you live, how old your child is, and whether you qualify for funded hours. The September 2025 expansion of the 30-hour entitlement in England has driven the headline cost of an under-2 place down sharply for eligible working families. For everyone else, including most families in Wales, fees have continued to climb.

This guide pulls together the latest data from the Coram Family and Childcare Survey 2026, published earlier this year, and breaks it down by region, age group, and funding status. If you would rather skip straight to a personalised estimate, our free childcare cost calculator does the maths for you.

Want to compare actual fees in your area? Search registered nurseries on ChildcareHub and filter by location, age range and Ofsted rating.

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The Headline Numbers for 2026

The 2026 Childcare Survey is the first to be published since the final stage of the funded entitlement expansion rolled out in September 2025. For the first time, eligible working parents of children from nine months old can claim 30 hours of funded childcare a week during term time, the same entitlement that previously applied only to three and four-year-olds.

The result is a striking divergence between England and the rest of the UK.

Place type and age	England (2026)	Wales (2026)	Scotland (2026)
Part-time (25 hrs), under 2	Theoretically free for eligible families	£166.33/week	£133.08/week
Full-time (50 hrs), under 2	£149/week (eligible)	£325/week	£259/week
Part-time (25 hrs), age 2	£69.94/week	£166.01/week	Not separately reported
Full-time (50 hrs), age 3-4	Up 9% on 2025	Up 6% on 2025	Up 6% on 2025

The average full-time price for an under-2 in England has fallen by 39% in a single year for eligible families, the largest reduction Coram has recorded in the survey's 25-year history. Families who do not qualify, because they are not in work, do not earn enough or fall outside the eligibility rules, pay an average of £189 per week for a part-time under-2 place. Costs have risen for that group as well.

Wales is now the most expensive part of the UK for under-2s in a full-time setting. A 50-hour place in Wales costs £325 a week, up 11% on 2025. There is no Welsh equivalent of the English 30-hour expansion, and providers have continued to raise fees in line with rising staff costs and minimum wage uplifts.

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Why Costs Vary So Much by Region

Even within England, the regional spread is wide. A full-time under-2 place ranges from around £205 a week in Yorkshire to roughly £332 a week in London. Three things drive that gap.

Staffing costs. Staff salaries are the single biggest cost in any nursery, and pay has to keep pace with the local labour market. London and the South East pay more, so fees follow.

Property and rent. A nursery in inner London is paying very different rent to one in a converted village hall in mid Wales. Those costs feed straight into the hourly rate.

Funded hours top-ups. In England, the funded rate paid to providers does not always cover their actual delivery cost. Many settings use private fees to subsidise funded hours, which pushes private rates up. The gap is most acute in higher-cost areas.

Full-time monthly fees for under-2s in 2026, before any funded hours are applied, typically look like this:

• Inner and central London: £2,000-£2,500 per month at premium providers
• Outer London and South East: £1,400-£1,900 per month
• Manchester and Birmingham: £900-£1,200 per month
• Yorkshire and the North East: £850-£1,050 per month
• Cardiff and Newport: £1,000-£1,400 per month
• Swansea: £900-£1,250 per month
• Rural Wales (e.g. Ceredigion): Around £687 per month, one of the cheapest areas in the UK

Actual fees depend on the individual setting, the age of the child, and whether meals and nappies are included.

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How Funded Hours Change the Picture

In England, the September 2025 expansion means that any working parent who meets the eligibility criteria, and whose child is between nine months and school age, can claim 30 hours of funded childcare per week for 38 weeks of the year. Stretched over 51 weeks, that works out to roughly 22 hours per week year-round.

The eligibility test in England requires both parents (or a single parent in a one-parent household) to earn at least the equivalent of 16 hours per week at the National Living Wage, and less than £100,000 each. Self-employed and zero-hours workers can qualify provided they meet the earnings threshold over the assessment period.

Where a setting accepts the funded hours fully and does not levy hidden charges, the result is a meaningful reduction in monthly fees. The Department for Education estimates eligible families can save up to £7,500 per child per year. In practice, the reduction depends on the provider's policy on top-up fees, meal charges and consumables, which providers are allowed to charge separately as long as they are not made a condition of the funded place.

For more on how the entitlement works in practice, see our guide to 30 hours free childcare in England.

In Wales, the funded offer is different. Eligible working parents of three and four-year-olds can claim 30 hours of funded early education and childcare during term time, combining education and childcare elements. The offer for younger children remains more limited and is delivered through Flying Start in qualifying postcodes. Our funded hours in Wales 2026 guide covers the detail.

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Cost by Age Group

Younger children are more expensive to look after because of statutory ratios. In England, the staff-to-child ratio for under-2s is 1:3, which means each member of staff can supervise three babies. By the time a child reaches three, the ratio rises to 1:8 in most settings. Higher staff cost per child means higher fees per child.

Here is what the typical 50-hour weekly fee looks like across England for 2026, blending Coram data and on-the-ground rates from major nursery operators:

• Under 1: £230-£340 per week (ineligible for funded hours under 9 months)
• 1-2 years: £210-£320 per week, but eligible families can offset up to 30 hours
• 2-3 years: £180-£280 per week, eligible families benefit from the 30-hour entitlement
• 3-4 years: £160-£260 per week before funded hours; net cost can drop substantially after the universal 15 hours plus the 30-hour working family entitlement is applied

Wales follows a similar pattern by age, but without the 30-hour entitlement for under-3s, the net cost difference between an under-2 and a three-year-old is smaller for most families.

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Part-Time vs Full-Time

Most parents do not need 50 hours of childcare a week, even if both work full time. Standard working hours plus a commute typically translate to between 40 and 45 hours of nursery care, which sits between Coram's part-time and full-time benchmarks.

A few practical things to know. Most nurseries sell sessions in blocks (morning, afternoon, full day), and a four-day week of full days is sometimes cheaper than five half-days because each session has a fixed minimum charge. Part-time places are not always cheaper per hour: a two-day-a-week place can cost the same or more per hour than a five-day place, because providers prefer the predictability of full-time bookings. And if you only use one or two days, you may not be able to use the full 30-hour entitlement: most settings cap how many funded hours can be used per session, so ask before you commit.

If you want a rough estimate for your specific situation, the ChildcareHub calculator lets you enter your hours, your child's age and your postcode area to see an estimated monthly fee.

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Hidden Costs to Look Out For

The headline weekly fee rarely tells the full story. Common extras include:

• Registration fees: Often £50-£150, sometimes refundable against your first month
• Deposits: Typically equivalent to one month's fees, refundable when you leave subject to notice
• Meals and snacks: Included at most settings but charged separately at some, particularly when a funded place is in use
• Nappies, wipes and formula: Almost always parent-supplied for older babies and toddlers
• Trips and special activities: Usually charged on top, often £5-£20 per outing
• Bank holiday closures: Most nurseries charge a full retainer through bank holidays even when closed
• Late pickup fees: Often £1-£5 per minute after the agreed pickup time

Always ask for a written breakdown of what is included in the headline fee before you sign anything. The more granular the answer, the more transparent the provider is likely to be in general.

For a fuller list of questions to ask on a visit, our nursery checklist walks through what to look for and what to query.

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How to Reduce What You Pay

Even without the funded entitlements, there are ways to bring the bill down.

Claim everything you are entitled to. If you have not already applied for funded hours, do so via Childcare Choices. The take-up gap remains significant: the Department for Education has previously estimated that around one in five eligible English families does not claim what they are owed.

Use Tax-Free Childcare for any private hours. For every £8 you pay into a Tax-Free Childcare account, the government adds £2, up to £2,000 per child per year (£4,000 if your child is disabled). It works alongside funded hours and can be used with most registered providers.

Compare a childminder. Registered childminders in England and Wales are typically 15-20% cheaper per hour than nurseries, can deliver funded hours, and are often more flexible on session times. Our nursery vs childminder comparison walks through the trade-offs.

Ask about sibling discounts. Many settings offer 5-15% off a second child's fees. These are not always advertised.

Check Universal Credit support. If you receive Universal Credit, you can reclaim up to 85% of eligible childcare costs, capped at £1,071.09 per assessment period for one child or £1,836.16 for two or more.

Negotiate hours, not headline rates. Most providers will not discount their hourly rate, but they may flex on session structure or accept a four-day week instead of five with no minimum surcharge if you ask.

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What to Expect in the Year Ahead

Coram's 2026 survey found that around three-quarters of English local authorities now report enough childcare for at least 75% of eligible under-2s. That leaves a meaningful minority with sufficiency gaps, and the picture is materially worse for children with special educational needs and disabilities, where only 44% of authorities meet that threshold.

Capacity, not headline price, is now the binding constraint for many families in England. Popular city settings can have waiting lists of 12-18 months for baby rooms, and the expansion has increased pressure on the most-wanted providers. Register your interest as early as you reasonably can.

In Wales, costs are likely to keep rising in line with staff cost pressures, and there is no near-term equivalent of the English under-3 entitlement on the horizon.

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Next Steps

To see what you would actually pay based on your child's age, your hours and your area, use the ChildcareHub childcare cost calculator.

To compare individual providers, search registered nurseries and childminders on ChildcareHub. You can filter by Ofsted (or CIW) rating, age range, location and session times.

If you are weighing up your options, these guides may help:

• Childcare costs in England 2026: what you'll actually pay
• Childcare costs in Wales 2026
• 30 hours free childcare in England: am I eligible and how do I apply?
• Funded hours in Wales 2026
• Nursery vs childminder: which is right for your family?
• Choosing a nursery: the complete checklist for parents

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Sources: Coram Family and Childcare, Childcare Survey 2026; House of Commons Library, Expanding government-funded childcare in England, 2025; GOV.UK, September 2025 early education and childcare entitlements expansion; DfE Education Hub, How to apply for 30 hours government funded childcare, September 2025.