How Much Does Childcare Cost in NZ? The Complete 2026 Guide

Let's skip the preamble. You're here because you've just discovered that childcare might cost as much as your rent — and you need real numbers, not vague reassurances.

Here's the honest picture: New Zealand has some of the least affordable childcare in the developed world. An OECD analysis found that NZ families spend around 35% of a couple's net income on childcare — putting us near the bottom of the affordability rankings alongside the UK and Ireland.

But those headline numbers don't tell you what you'll actually pay. Your bill depends on three things: the type of care you choose, how old your child is, and where you live. A two-year-old in a Ponsonby daycare and a four-year-old at a Dunedin kindergarten are living in completely different cost realities.

This guide gives you all the numbers — actual 2026 rates across 4,394+ providers on The Parent Circle, every government subsidy you can stack, and the hidden fees that inflate your bill. Whether you're planning ahead or already feeling the pinch, you'll leave knowing exactly where you stand.

If you're still deciding what kind of care to choose, start with our guide to choosing childcare in NZ — it covers everything from ERO reports to visit checklists.

The single biggest factor in your weekly bill is which type of care you use. Here's what each option costs for full-time care (roughly 30-40 hours per week) before subsidies.

Centre-based daycare is what most parents think of — a licensed centre with qualified kaiako (teachers), structured programmes, and set hours. It's the most popular option and covers everything from small community centres with 30 children to large corporate chains with 150+. Across The Parent Circle's database, centre-based fees average $7.50-$12 per hour depending on your region and the centre's staffing qualifications.

Kindergarten is the most affordable licensed option. Many kindergartens charge nothing at all for children using their 20 Hours ECE entitlement, though some ask for a voluntary donation of $3-$6 per hour for additional hours. The catch: most kindergartens run sessional hours (mornings or afternoons, not full days), so you may need to combine them with another care type if you work full-time.

Home-based care means your child goes to a licensed educator's home (or the educator comes to yours) in small groups of up to four children. Rates sit between kindergarten and centre-based, typically $8-$15 per hour. It suits families who want a smaller, more domestic setting.

Nanny care is the premium option — and the costs are steeper than they first appear. The minimum wage in 2026 is $23.50/hour, but once you add PAYE, ACC levies (~1.5%), 8% holiday pay, 3% KiwiSaver employer contribution, and sick leave, the true cost jumps 25-35% above the base wage. A nanny on $25/hour actually costs you around $32-$34/hour. We break this down fully in our nanny vs daycare vs home-based cost comparison.

Your child's age is the second-biggest cost factor, and the reason is straightforward: legal staffing ratios. Under the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008, centres must maintain different teacher-to-child ratios depending on age.

The maths is simple. A room of 20 toddlers (aged 2+) needs two teachers. A room of 20 infants (under 2) needs four. That doubles the wage bill for the under-2 room, and centres pass that cost on to parents. If you're paying $350/week for a toddler at a given centre, expect to pay $420-$450/week for an infant in the same building.

Government funding reflects this too. The Ministry of Education pays centres $20.27 per funded child hour for under-2s at a fully certified service, versus $11.58 for children aged 2 and over. The gap exists because the ministry recognises the higher staffing cost — but it doesn't fully close the gap for parents.

The good news: costs drop in two stages. The first drop comes at age 2, when your child moves to the higher-ratio room. The second — and bigger — drop comes at age 3, when 20 Hours ECE kicks in and wipes out up to 20 hours of weekly fees. For a detailed look at infant care pricing and strategies to manage it, see our under-2 childcare costs guide.

Where you live matters almost as much as what type of care you choose. A parent in Queenstown pays roughly double what a parent in Southland pays for the same quality of centre-based care. Here's how costs stack up across the country, based on data from 4,394+ providers on The Parent Circle.

Three factors drive these differences. First, property costs — a centre in central Auckland pays four to five times the rent of one in Invercargill, and that gets baked into fees. Second, demand — cities with high proportions of working parents (Auckland, Wellington, Queenstown) have waitlists, which means centres can charge more. Third, workforce — qualified ECE teachers are harder to recruit in expensive cities, pushing wages up.

Queenstown-Lakes is a special case. Tourism-driven property costs mean childcare fees rival or exceed Auckland's, despite it being a small town. Parents there regularly report paying $130-$150 per day for under-2 care.

At the other end, regions like Southland, Gisborne, and the West Coast have lower fees — but fewer options. Some rural areas qualify as "childcare deserts" where there simply aren't enough licensed providers to meet demand. If you're moving to a new area, check provider availability on The Parent Circle before you commit.

For a deep dive into every region's options, waitlists, and best-value suburbs, see our childcare costs by region guide.

New Zealand has three main childcare subsidies, and the best part is you can stack all of them. Used together, they can reduce your out-of-pocket costs by 50-80% depending on your income and your child's age.

Every child aged 3 to 5 in New Zealand is entitled to 20 hours of free early childhood education per week at a participating licensed service. There's no income test — it's universal. The entitlement runs from your child's third birthday until they start school.

Here's how it works in practice: you tell the centre which hours you want covered (up to 6 hours per day, 20 hours per week), and the Ministry of Education pays the centre $11.87 per hour for those hours. The centre cannot charge you fees for those specific hours.

What they can charge for: any hours beyond the 20, and "optional" extras like meals, excursions, or resources. Some centres roll these into a blanket daily fee, which means you still get a bill even with 20 Hours ECE. A centre charging $80/day might break it down as $50 for the funded hours (no charge) plus $30 for food, resources, and the remaining hours. Your "free" day actually costs $30.

You can split your 20 hours across two providers — useful if you use a kindergarten in the morning and a daycare in the afternoon. For the full breakdown of how to maximise this entitlement, read our 20 Hours ECE guide.

FamilyBoost is a quarterly tax rebate that refunds 40% of your ECE costs, up to $1,560 per quarter ($6,240 per year). It launched in July 2023 and is administered by Inland Revenue through the myIR portal.

The income threshold is generous: households earning up to $229,100 per year are eligible. Abatement starts at $140,000 (quarterly equivalent $35,000) at a 7% rate, so even families well above the median income qualify for a partial rebate.

The claiming process is simple but manual. After each quarter ends (e.g., July-September), you log into myIR, upload your childcare invoices, and submit. The refund hits your bank account within a few weeks. Around 60,000 families had claimed by mid-2025, which was below the government's projections — meaning there's money being left on the table.

The WINZ (Work and Income) Childcare Subsidy is an income-tested payment for families who need childcare while working, studying, or training. Unlike 20 Hours ECE, it's means-tested — your household income determines how much you get.

There are three types of assistance: the standard Childcare Subsidy (for children under 5), the OSCAR Subsidy (for school-age children in out-of-school programmes), and Guaranteed Childcare Assistance (for parents on specific benefits). Rates go up to $6.03 per hour, and you can claim up to 50 hours per week — including 30 hours beyond your 20 Hours ECE entitlement.

Applying takes a bit of paperwork: you'll need proof of income, your work or study hours, and your provider's details. Payments go directly to the provider in most cases. For the full eligibility criteria and application walkthrough, see our WINZ Childcare Subsidy guide.

This is where it gets good. All three subsidies can be used together, and the savings compound. Here's a worked example for a 3-year-old in centre-based daycare at $80/day (8 hours), 5 days a week:

That's $54 per week instead of $400 — an 87% reduction. Not every family will qualify for all three at the maximum rates, but even partial eligibility makes a massive difference. The key is to actually apply for all of them, which an alarming number of eligible families don't do.

The advertised weekly rate at most centres is a starting point, not the final number. Several additional charges can add 10-20% to your bill, and some of them catch parents off guard.

Before you sign an enrolment agreement, ask for the total cost breakdown — not just the headline rate. Our hidden costs of childcare guide includes a checklist of questions to ask your provider.

Parents often assume a nanny is a luxury they can't afford. Sometimes that's true — but with two or more children, the numbers can actually tip in the nanny's favour. Here's how the three main options compare for one child and for two children.

*True hourly cost for nannies includes PAYE, ACC levies (~1.5%), holiday pay (8%), KiwiSaver employer contribution (3%), and sick leave provisions. These are legal obligations — if you employ a nanny, you're an employer.

The breakeven point for a nanny is typically at two children. Two kids in centre-based daycare at $350/week each costs $700/week. A nanny at $28/hour for 40 hours costs around $1,500/week with obligations — still more expensive, but the gap closes. If you add a third child, the nanny pulls ahead. Nanny sharing with another family is another option that halves the cost.

For a full side-by-side comparison including non-financial factors (socialisation, flexibility, one-on-one attention), see our nanny vs daycare vs home-based guide.

For a complete financial planning approach, including templates and worked examples, see our childcare budgeting guide.

Beyond the big three subsidies, a few other sources of financial help exist — though they're less well-known.

Abstract numbers only get you so far. Here's what childcare actually costs for three different NZ families after subsidies.

Sarah earns $65,000 and puts her 14-month-old in a Manurewa daycare at $85/day. She works four days, so her gross weekly fee is $340. No 20 Hours ECE (child is under 3). She claims the WINZ Childcare Subsidy ($6.03/hr × 32 hrs = $193/week) and FamilyBoost (40% of remaining $147 = $59/week equivalent). Her actual cost: about $88 per week.

Tom and Priya earn $160,000 combined. Their 3-year-old goes to a Petone centre at $90/day, five days a week ($450/week gross). 20 Hours ECE covers $237/week. They earn too much for WINZ but qualify for FamilyBoost at 40% of remaining $213 = $85/week equivalent. Their actual cost: about $128 per week.

Megan and Reuben earn $110,000 combined. Their 4-year-old goes to kindergarten three mornings (free under 20 Hours ECE), and their 18-month-old goes to home-based care three days at $65/day ($195/week). With WINZ ($6.03/hr × 24hrs = $145/week) and FamilyBoost on the remainder, their combined actual cost for two children: about $20 per week.

Your numbers will be different. Use our cost estimator to model your specific situation — it factors in all three subsidies automatically.

Childcare fees have risen sharply over the past three years. Between 2023 and 2026, many families reported their monthly bills doubling — driven by a combination of wage pressure on ECE teachers, rising commercial rents, and general inflation flowing through to centre operating costs.

Government funding hasn't kept pace. The Ministry of Education funding rate increased from $11.81 to $11.87 per hour for 20 Hours ECE between 2025 and 2026 — a 0.5% rise while the CPI rose roughly 3%. That gap gets passed to parents through higher "optional" charges and above-subsidy fees.

The FamilyBoost expansion (raising the income threshold to $229,100 and the rebate to 40%) partially offsets this, but it only helps families who claim it — and around half of eligible families still haven't signed up. The ECE teacher shortage continues to push wages up, which is a good thing for teachers but means centres keep raising fees to cover payroll.

The short version: childcare is getting more expensive, but the subsidy system is also getting more generous. Families who actively use all available support are better insulated from fee hikes than those who don't.

Childcare in New Zealand is expensive. There's no way around that. But the cost you see on a centre's website is rarely the cost you'll actually pay once subsidies are applied.

The families who pay the least are the ones who do the homework: they apply for every subsidy they're eligible for, they compare centres on total cost rather than headline rate, and they structure their care around the 20 Hours ECE entitlement. None of that requires earning more money — just knowing the system.

Start by searching for providers in your area, then run your numbers through our cost estimator. The difference between what you fear you'll pay and what you'll actually pay might surprise you.