GUIDE
How much does it cost to open a nursery?
It depends entirely on the type of setting. A childminder can start with very little; a full group nursery is a major investment. Here is the honest range, and the one number that decides whether it works.
Last reviewed: 05 June 2026
Why nursery costs vary so much
There is no single figure for opening a nursery, because “a nursery” covers everything from one person childminding at home to a fifty-place group setting. The cost depends on the route you take. At the lowest end, registering as a childminder is genuinely accessible: a modest Ofsted fee, your training and DBS checks, and, if you are adapting your home, a conversion that typically runs from two to seven thousand pounds. At the highest end, a full group nursery in commercial premises is one of the larger regulated businesses to start. The route decides the cost.
What a group nursery costs
A standalone group nursery carries the costs of any property-based business plus the demands of the EYFS. You are looking at commercial premises and fit-out, equipment and resources, a full staff team from day one (the EYFS ratios mean you cannot open with a skeleton crew), and working capital to cover the months before your places fill. Ofsted’s registration fee is higher for group providers than for childminders, a few hundred pounds rather than the childminder rate. The single biggest variable is your premises: location, size, and whether the building needs a change-of-use planning permission.
Group providers pay a few hundred pounds.
If adapting a home for childcare.
The number that decides viability.
The number that decides whether a nursery works
Whatever the scale, one figure decides long-term viability more than any other: staff wages as a share of income. In a typical nursery, wages run between 55 and 70 per cent of income, and keeping them in proportion is the single most important financial discipline in the business. Your ratios, your capacity, and your fees all have to work together so that the numbers add up. A setting that gets its ratios or its pricing wrong does not last, however good the care.
The demand side
The cost picture is only half the story. Childcare is in strong and growing demand, helped by the expansion of government-funded childcare hours, and a well-run setting in the right area can fill its places and access funded-hours funding. A realistic plan looks at both: what it costs to open and run, and how quickly you can fill your places at fees that make the numbers work.
A clear cost picture for your plan
Whether you are opening a childminding setting or a full group nursery, we build the whole business and handle your Ofsted registration, and on your free consultation we give you an honest cost picture for your specific plan.
Related guides
How long does Ofsted registration take?
The full timeline from application to your registration certificate.
Read the guide →EYFS explained
The statutory framework every Ofsted-registered childcare provider must meet.
Read the guide →Childminder registration: how to register with Ofsted
The accessible route into childcare, step by step.
Read the guide →