Cost of a Baby Calculator
Every list of baby costs is a shopping list. The two biggest costs are not things you buy: the income you give up while off work, and childcare when you go back. This counts all four.
The first year costs you
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- Income you give up
- $0
- Childcare
- $0
- Ongoing costs
- $0
- One-off buying
- $0
- Averaged each month
- $0
Where the first year goes
Each block is sized by its share, so you can see whether income you give up or childcare is the bigger part without reading a single number.
Move it and watch
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at {v} for your monthly pay
And what you can change
Why your own figure may differ
Where the money actually goes
Biggest first. The shopping list is almost never the top line.
| Cost | First year | Share |
|---|
Income given up = months off x your monthly pay x the share that is unpaid. Childcare = the months between going back and the end of the first year, times the monthly cost. Neither appears on a shopping list, and together they usually dwarf it.
The first year with a baby: real examples
Three first years. Click any card to load it.
- A typical picture
Three months off, half paid
Returning to work at month three.
$25,800 in the first year - and $10,800 of it is childcare, with $6,000 of income given up. The shopping is the small part.
Load this scenario in the calculator → - Fully paid leave
Good employer benefits
Full pay through leave, no childcare in year one.
Just $9,000. Paid leave and staying home a year strips out both of the largest costs entirely.
Load this scenario in the calculator → - Unpaid leave
No paid leave at all
Six months off, none of it paid.
The income you give up becomes the biggest line by far. This is the number that catches people out, and it never appears on a shopping list.
Load this scenario in the calculator →
Common questions about the first year with a baby
What is the cost people always forget?
The income you give up while off work. It is usually the largest single line in the first year and it almost never appears in the lists of things to buy. A cot costs a few hundred once. Three months of unpaid leave can cost thousands.
Why does this not tell me the average cost of a baby?
Because those figures come from surveys with enormous ranges hidden inside them, and they depend entirely on childcare where you live and how much leave you get paid. An average would be worse than useless here. Put your own numbers in.
What is the biggest ongoing cost?
Childcare, once you go back to work, by a wide margin in most places. It often rivals a mortgage payment. Work out what it costs where you live before you plan your return date, not after.
When should I start saving for it?
As early as you can, because the big costs land in a rush. The most useful thing is to build up whatever you would lose in unpaid leave before the baby arrives, so that part is already covered.
What about the things everyone says to buy?
A great deal of it is optional and much of it is available second hand. The one-off buying is real but it is the smallest of the four numbers here for most families. Do not let a shopping list distract you from the leave and childcare figures.
Does a second child cost the same?
Usually less. Most of the one-off buying carries over and you already know what you actually need. Childcare and lost income scale though, and those are the two big ones, so do not assume it halves.