What is the average babysitting rate in the UK? 2024 edition

What is the average babysitting rate in the UK? 2024 edition

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By Babysits
10 min read

How much do you pay a babysitter in 2024 and how much can you ask for babysitting per hour? Find out the prices for babysitting in your area and how you can determine your own babysitting costs and rates.

You’re almost there, you’ve found a trustworthy babysitter who’s going to come babysit for the first time soon. You only need to decide the hourly rate for babysitting, but how much are you going to offer them? What is the average cost for babysitting in the United Kingdom? And how do you determine what the babysitting rate should be? Don’t panic, we’ve created this thorough, and simple guide to help you!

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What is the average babysitting rate in the United Kingdom

The average babysitting rate in the U.K. in 2024 is £9.85, based on our data of thousands of babysitters. This has increased by 54 pence since 2023 (£9.31), and £1.36 compared to the 2022 average (£8.49).

However, the babysitting rate varies based on where you are in the U.K.. So, we’ve taken a look at babysitters in different cities around the country! Babysitting prices in London were the highest, here parents could expect to pay a rate of £10.67 per hour. On the other hand, Leicester had one of the lowest average babysitting costs, with the average rate that babysitters earned per hour was £9.22. Overall, between the most and least expensive average babysitting rate there is a difference of £1.45.

Babysitting costs in the most populous cities in the United Kingdom

Babysitting rates in London

Childcare costs in London are slightly above the average childcare costs across the U.K. Specifically, the average babysitting rate in London is £10.67 per hour.

Babysitting rates in Manchester

Wondering how much a babysitter costs in Manchester? Babysitters in Manchester are paid on average £1.08 less than those in London. The average babysitting rate in Manchester is £9.59.

Babysitting costs other major cities in the UK

Click here for babysitting hourly wages in other cities
  • Glasgow: 10.01
  • Belfast: 9.56
  • Manchester: 9.59
  • Liverpool: 9.56
  • Birmingham: 9.90
  • Cardiff: 9.87
  • Bristol: 10.34
  • Brighton: 9.79
  • London: 10.67
  • Norwich: 10.04
  • Leicester: 9.22
  • Leeds: 9.38
  • Newcastle: 9.65
  • Edinburgh: 10.33


Babysitting costs in the England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland

Average Hourly Cost of Babysitting in England

The average hourly cost of babysitting in England is £9.85.

Average Hourly Cost of Babysitting in Wales

The average hourly cost of babysitting in Wales is £9.65.

Average Hourly Cost of Babysitting in Scotland

The average hourly cost of babysitting in Scotland is £9.98.

Average Hourly Cost of Babysitting in Northern Ireland

The average hourly cost of babysitting in Northern Ireland is £9.61.

Interested in how much the average babysitter is paid in your area? Have a look at our infographic for more detailed information!

babysitting rates in the united kingdom

View the infographic for average costs of babysitting from last year here:

Do keep in mind that this is simply the average babysitting rate. Other factors such as the number of children, additional tasks, and amount of experience also have an impact on how much a babysitter may cost. Want to learn more about how exactly these factors can impact the babysitting rate? Read more about determining how much to pay the babysitter below!


How much should I pay the babysitter?

On average, babysitters ask around £9.31 for babysitting. However, as we mentioned earlier this can differ depending on the babysitter and situation. Factors such as knowledge and experience of the babysitter, the number of children, and other tasks that the babysitter may have to do can influence whether the babysitting rate is higher or lower than the average babysitting rate.

Minimum wage

When determining how much to pay the babysitter it is important to first look at the minimum wage and how it applies to the situation. With this, you can see what a person of a certain age is legally entitled to earn. As of April 2023, the minimum wage in the U.K. is between £5.28 (under 18) and £10.42 (age 23 and over) in April 2023.

In April 2024, this will change to:
£6.40 (under 18)
£8.60 (18-20)
£11.44 (21+)

In the infographic below, there is a good overview of what the minimum wage is per age. Keep in mind that this is the minimum hourly wage. Factors such as knowledge, experience, and extra responsibilities or requirements can increase the average hourly rate.

Knowledge and experience

As a parent, you make your own decisions about whether you choose a babysitter with more experience, or one who loves children but lacks a bit of experience in babysitting. Knowledge and experience aren’t always related to age. For example, a 21 year old could have just as much experience babysitting as a 16 year old in some cases.

In the end, there are lots of different types of nannies and babysitters to choose from and it depends on what the parent is most comfortable with. As a parent, you can hire a babysitter with less experience and pay them less per hour. Or, you can decide to pay more per hour for a babysitter, because they have 2 years of experience and for example have a background check or first aid certificate.

What are the duties and responsibilities of a babysitter?

Next to ensuring that the children are enjoying themselves and are well looked after, a babysitter can also have extra tasks to perform. The babysitter and parents can coordinate what these extra tasks or responsibilities may be. Extra tasks can potentially increase the babysitting rate significantly.

Household chores

Sometimes, parents prefer that babysitters also take care of some household chores while babysitting. Some examples of this could be vacuuming, cooking, and/or tidying up the house. If the babysitter is open to this, they can certainly agree to carrying out these chores. However, in doing so, the babysitter may ask for a higher rate. These are, of course, extra tasks that they need to do next to the main task of babysitting.

Tutoring or Homework Help

Is the babysitter good at math or history perhaps? If the child they’re babysitting needs help, the babysitter can, next to their general babysitting tasks, also help with the child’s homework.

Pickup and Drop off

As a parent, you can also arrange that the babysitter picks your child up or brings them somewhere. For example, the babysitter can pick the children up from school and bring them to soccer practice. Not every babysitter is so flexible, and because of this the babysitter could ask for a bit extra hourly for this task.

Pet sitting

In 2021-2022, 62% of British households owned at least one type of pet (source). So, there is a decent chance that the babysitter has to deal with a pet! Along these lines, caring for a pet is an extra task that a babysitter may be responsible for. This may include walking the dog, cleaning the cat’s litter box, brushing the pets’ hair, or caring for and feeding the pet.

Babysitting hours

The babysitting rate can vary depending on the time of day. Many parents pay a babysitter who babysit during the day a bit more than those who work only in the evening. This is because children often are simply sleeping in the evening, and the babysitter only needs to be there in the event that the child wakes up. On the other hand, babysitters who stay past midnight to care for the kids, overnight babysitters, are often paid a bit extra above the normal hourly rate.

Multiple children

Does the babysitter need to care for multiple children? This can increase the rate that a babysitter is paid. This clearly comes associated with the extra responsibility and work of having to look after multiple children.

Ages of the children

Are the children still young and do they still need a lot of supervision? Then the babysitting rate is normally higher than when the children are a bit older and need less supervision. This is because there is a significant difference in the amount of work and responsibilities. Children that are older can already do some things by themselves, such as going to the toilet.

Take a look at the infographic below to see what a babysitter can ask above the normal rate based on these factors.

how to determine babysitting rates in the united kingdom

The babysitting rate per hour needs to be coordinated between the parent and the babysitter. Look at the knowledge, experience, and age of the babysitter and discuss extra tasks that the babysitter is responsible for. This way you can put together a fair babysitting rate!

Average cost of a nanny

Nannies using Babysits indicate an average hourly rate of £12.60, with rates ranging between £10 up to £30/hour.


Are you looking for a babysitter, nanny or childminder? Check out babysitters in some of our top cities here:

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