London has the highest childcare prices in England. This page brings together the two main published sources: Coram Family and Childcare’s Childcare Survey 2026 (published 18 March 2026) and the Department for Education’s Childcare and early years providers survey (published 11 December 2025, fieldwork May to July 2025). The figures are averages. A nursery’s own price list is what you will actually pay, so use these to see whether a quote is high or low for the area.
Weekly costs from Coram’s 2026 survey
Coram asks every local authority’s Family Information Service for the average prices in its area, then weights the answers. The table shows average nursery prices per week for term time, for families paying for the hours shown. It does not include holiday cover, and it excludes extras such as meals and nappies, which providers can charge on top.
| Child and hours | Inner London | Outer London | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 2, 25 hours, no funded hours | £238.01 | £216.94 | £188.75 |
| Age 2, 25 hours, no funded hours | £222.18 | £213.99 | £174.85 |
| Age 2, 25 hours, with 15 funded hours (extra-support route) | £88.87 | £85.60 | £69.94 |
| Under 2, 50 hours, after 30 funded hours | £185.10 | £171.39 | £148.82 |
| Age 2, 50 hours, after 30 funded hours | £180.69 | £172.62 | £140.72 |
| Age 3 to 4, 25 hours, after 15 universal funded hours | £86.54 | £82.67 | £67.20 |
| Age 3 to 4, 50 hours, after 30 funded hours | £179.13 | £158.31 | £132.72 |
For comparison, Coram reports that nursery prices for under-2s are highest in inner London and 52% higher than in the cheapest English region, Yorkshire and the Humber (£156.15 for 25 hours). Childminders are cheaper than nurseries in every region for 50 hours. In inner London, a childminder costs £179.83 for a child under 2 for 50 hours after funded hours, compared with £185.10 at a nursery.
What these figures mean for a month
If you pay the same weekly price for the whole year, multiply by 52 and divide by 12 to estimate a month. For example, the inner London price of £238.01 a week for 25 hours with no funded hours works out at about £1,031 a month, and the outer London price of £216.94 at about £940. This is arithmetic on an average, not a quote. Funded hours apply for 38 weeks a year by default, so the lower prices in the table apply in funded weeks only.
Hourly fees from the DfE’s 2025 survey
The DfE survey asks providers to report their average hourly parent-paid fee before funded hours. London’s mean fees were:
| Age | London mean | London median | England mean |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 2 | £8.95 | £8.50 | £7.18 |
| 2 years | £8.92 | £8.25 | £7.09 |
| 3 and 4 years | £8.60 | £8.00 | £6.78 |
London was the most expensive region in 2025. The DfE says the London mean for 2-year-olds was over 45% higher than in Yorkshire and the Humber (£6.14).
In England as a whole, private group-based providers charged £8.38, £8.13 and £7.86 an hour for under-2s, 2-year-olds and 3 and 4-year-olds. Voluntary group-based providers charged £7.74, £7.08 and £6.75, and childminders £6.36, £6.30 and £6.21. The DfE does not publish those provider-type averages for London alone.
How much councils pay providers
The DfE also reports what providers receive per funded hour. In London in 2025 the mean funding rate was £11.81 an hour for under-2s, £9.07 for 2-year-olds and £6.53 for 3 and 4-year-olds. The DfE found that the average London fee for 3 and 4-year-olds was £2.07 an hour above the funding rate, while for 2-year-olds it was 15p an hour below it.
By borough
The DfE publishes mean hourly fees for 2-year-olds and for 3 and 4-year-olds in each London borough except the City of London. Samples are small in some boroughs, so treat the figures as indicative where flagged in our data.
- Highest for 2-year-olds: Kensington and Chelsea (£12.88), Westminster (£12.06) and Hammersmith and Fulham (£10.89) are the highest, though each rests on fewer than 30 responses. Wandsworth (£11.10) is the highest borough based on 30 or more responses.
- Lowest for 2-year-olds: Bexley (£7.32), Havering (£7.35) and Sutton (£7.41).
- For 3 and 4-year-olds: Westminster (£12.30) and Kensington and Chelsea (£12.23) are highest; Bexley (£7.12), Sutton (£7.45) and Havering (£7.55) are lowest.
Each borough’s fees page shows its own figure and confidence interval from the same survey.
What is not in the averages
- Registration fees (which must be refundable for funded places), deposits and annual price rises.
- Meals, nappies and consumables if charged separately. These must be optional on funded hours.
- School holidays: Coram’s figures exclude them, and entitlements cover 38 weeks by default.
- Sibling and other discounts.
Questions
How much is nursery a month in London?
For a child under 2 using 25 hours a week with no funded hours, Coram’s 2026 survey found an average of £238.01 a week in inner London and £216.94 in outer London, roughly £1,031 and £940 a month. For families using 30 funded hours and paying for 20 more (50 hours in total), the average is £185.10 a week for under-2s in inner London.
Why is nursery more expensive in London?
The sources show that prices are higher but do not set out a single cause. The DfE reports the highest mean fees and funding rates in London, ahead of the South East and East of England. Ask each nursery to explain its price list.
Are childminders cheaper than nurseries in London?
Coram’s figures say so for 50 hours after funded hours: £179.83 against £185.10 for under-2s in inner London, and £154.50 against £171.39 in outer London. For 25 hours with no funded hours, inner London childminders average £226.39 for under-2s, against £238.01 at a nursery. See nursery, pre-school or childminder.
Does free childcare cover the whole bill?
Not usually. Funded hours cover up to 30 hours a week for 38 weeks. You pay for extra hours, holiday weeks and optional extras. See 30 hours free childcare and Tax-Free Childcare, or try the childcare cost calculator.