Daycare cost calculator
What a family will pay per week, month and year for the care they need.
Tuition & costs
5 tools · 5 guides · 5 comparisons
What care costs a family, what it costs you to deliver, and what the rate has to be for the room to work.
Tools
Tuition rate calculator
Work back from labor, rent and enrollment to the rate a room has to charge.
Startup cost calculator
Build-out, licensing, equipment and the months of payroll before you break even.
Daycare budget template
A monthly operating budget with the expense lines a childcare program actually has.
Late pickup fee calculator
See what a late pickup costs you in staff time and overtime, and whether your fee covers it.
Guides and comparisons
- How much does daycare cost
What the federal price data says, why infant care costs most, and how to find your annual cost.
- Daycare cost per week
Why care is priced by the week, the fees on top of the rate, and how to compare two quotes.
- Why is daycare so expensive
Ratios, wages and occupancy — the three lines that set the price.
- Daycare profit margin
Where the money goes in a childcare P&L and what a healthy margin looks like.
- CACFP reimbursement rates
The food-program rates, the tiers, and what a center actually collects per child.
- In-home daycare vs preschool
Ratios, hours, staffing and cost — where each setting actually differs.
- Daycare vs nanny cost
Two children, one budget: where a nanny overtakes center tuition.
- CACFP vs private-pay food
Joining the food program against paying for meals yourself.
- Dependent care FSA vs child care tax credit
The 2026 FSA and credit side by side, how one cuts the other, and which saves a family more.
- Head Start vs daycare
Free Head Start against paid daycare: 2026 income limits, ages, hours, class sizes and partnerships.