Content
7 min
Sep 27, 2026
Most families calculate hourly rate times hours per week and assume that is their weekly childcare cost.
But your nanny's wage and your cost as their employer aren't the same number.
Employer CPP and EI contributions, payroll costs, and potentially overtime, mileage, and other work-related expenses all affect the real cost. Understanding those costs upfront gives you a much clearer picture of what your childcare budget can support.
Here's what to budget for when hiring a nanny.
“What should I expect to pay a nanny?”
For professional nanny placements, a typical range is $25 to $35+/hour.
Where a role falls depends on where you live, your children's ages, the schedule and responsibilities, and the experience you’re looking for.
More specific requirements, whether it's infant experience, an ECE, another language, a driver's licence or specialized experience, can mean a higher rate.
The hourly rate you offer also affects the candidate pool you're choosing from, so your budget needs to account for a rate that's competitive for the nanny you're hoping to hire.
“Do I choose between paying a salary or hourly?”
Nannies are paid hourly, although families often talk about their compensation as an annual salary. That annual number comes from their hourly rate and guaranteed hours.
For example, a nanny earning $30/hour with 40 guaranteed hours per week earns:
$30 × 40 hours × 52 weeks = $62,400/year
Guaranteed hours mean your nanny receives their regular pay for being available for the agreed-upon schedule, even on days when you don't need them (e.g., when your family is away).
If they work beyond their regular schedule, you pay those additional hours separately, including overtime when it applies.
“Do nannies get paid overtime?”
Overtime is one of the easiest nanny costs to underestimate. Two families can hire nannies at the same hourly rate for the same number of hours and still have different wage costs depending on how those hours are scheduled.
Overtime requirements vary by province or territory, and some have daily and weekly thresholds.
It's easier to reach overtime than families realize. Staying late for handover, adding a longer day or asking your nanny to babysit on the weekend all add to their working hours. Calling those extra hours “babysitting” or “date night” doesn't separate them from their regular employment.
For example, if your nanny already works a 40-hour week and then babysits for four hours on Saturday, those hours may be paid at time-and-a-half depending on the rules where you live.
Accounting for regular overtime from the start can help you decide what schedule makes sense.
“What does payroll add to the cost?”
When you employ a nanny, deductions are taken from their gross pay, and as the employer, you also make your own CPP and EI contributions on top of their wages.
So a $30/hour nanny working 40 hours per week costs more than the $62,400 you pay them in gross wages.
Using 2026 rates outside Quebec, the approximate cost looks like this:
Gross wages: $62,400
Employer CPP: ~$3,505
Employer EI: ~$1,424
Estimated employment cost: ~$67,329/year
You don't need to calculate all of this yourself. Use the calculator below to estimate what your nanny's hourly rate will actually cost you as an employer. Once you hire, a household payroll service can handle the deductions, remittances and year-end documents for you.
“Do I need to add vacation pay on top?”
For this calculator, we're assuming your nanny receives vacation as paid time off.
That means a nanny earning $1,200 per week continues receiving their regular pay during an agreed paid vacation week.
Those paid weeks are already included in the 52-week calculation.
Vacation requirements vary across Canada, and your payroll provider can help administer vacation pay based on the rules where you live.
Your nanny's wages and employer payroll contributions are the biggest predictable costs, but there may be others depending on the job.
Payroll service. Many families use a household payroll provider, which may cost $40 to $60 per month.
Mileage for work-related driving. If your nanny uses their own vehicle to drive your children to activities, budget to reimburse their work-related kilometres. Their commute to and from your home is different from driving for work.
Work-related expenses. You should cover parking, transit with the children, activities, craft supplies, or groceries purchased for your family.
Workers' compensation and statutory holidays. Requirements vary by province or territory and may create additional employer costs.
Optional benefits. Some families also offer health benefits, wellness allowances, professional development, bonuses or additional paid time off.
For a nanny working 40 guaranteed regular hours per week, with no overtime:
$25/hour | $30/hour | $35/hour | |
Gross annual wages | $52,000 | $62,400 | $72,800 |
Employer CPP | ~$2,886 | ~$3,505 | ~$4,124 |
Employer EI | ~$1,187 | ~$1,424 | ~$1,572 |
Estimated annual employment cost | ~$56,073 | ~$67,329 | ~$78,496 |
Average monthly cost | ~$4,673 | ~$5,611 | ~$6,541 |
Estimates use 2026 CPP and EI rates outside Quebec and assume no overtime. They don't include payroll-service fees, workers' compensation premiums, statutory holiday costs, mileage, benefits or other work-related expenses. Quebec payroll costs differ.
So if you're considering a nanny at $30/hour for 40 hours per week, $62,400 is their gross wage. Around $67,300 is a better starting point for what employing them will actually cost, before job-specific expenses.
The number you're comfortable spending determines the hourly rate you can offer, the schedule you can guarantee and ultimately, the candidate pool available to you.
That's why I work through compensation with families before we start recruiting.
If the nanny you're hoping to hire and the budget you've planned don't line up, it's better to discover that before the search begins.
A well-planned nanny job gives you childcare that works for your family long-term.
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