The UK’s largest platform for childcarers and parents has revealed which regions are, on average, the most expensive for childcare services – with London unsurprisingly topping the list.

The data shows how childcare costs vary drastically depending on the service and where in the UK a customer is. The data revealed that Yorkshire and The Humber is the cheapest for childminding, the North East is the cheapest for nannies and babysitters and the East Midlands is the cheapest for nurseries.

Over the last year Childcare.co.uk has analysed the prices its childminders, babysitters, nannies and day nurseries charge per hour across the UK to find the average cost of childcare in each area.

Members of the public can find out what the average childcare cost is in their area here: https://www.childcare.co.uk/costs – quite useful for expectant parents trying to budget!

The most expensive UK regions based on average hourly rate for childcare is as follows:

1. London – £8.60
2. South East – £7.75
3. Scotland – £6.88
4. North West – £6.84
5. South West – £6.71
6. West Midlands – £6.60
7. Yorkshire and The Humber – £6.54
8. Wales – £6.53
9. North East – £6.38
10. East Midlands – £6.33

Childcare.co.uk has also broken down the data by type of service, to reveal the most expensive regions for childminders, nurseries, babysitters and nannies.

Childcare.co.uk is a platform that allows parents to search for and connect with babysitters, childminders, nannies, nurseries, private tutors and schools and allows childcare providers to advertise their services. The site has more than 1.5 million users nationwide and is the largest online community for parents in the UK, having launched in 2009.

Are you surprised by any of this? How do you manage childcare?