15 vs 30 Hours free childcare - what's the difference?

If you're a parent navigating nursery costs in the UK, you've almost certainly come across the government's free childcare schemes. But the difference between 15 and 30 hours and who actually qualifies for what, can feel surprisingly confusing, especially with the major changes introduced in 2024 and 2025. This guide cuts through it. We'll explain exactly what each scheme offers, who's eligible, what's changed recently, and most importantly - why even 30 free hours often isn't enough to cover the real cost of childcare.

What Is "Free Childcare" in the UK?

The government funds a set number of childcare hours per week for children under school age. These are delivered through registered nurseries, childminders, and early years settings.

The catch, and it's worth being upfront about this, is that "free" doesn't always mean completely free. Nurseries are not allowed to charge top-up fees for the funded hours themselves, but they can charge for extras like meals, nappies, and hours beyond the funded entitlement. Most families still end up paying something.

There are also important differences depending on your child's age, your employment status, and your household income. Here's how it breaks down.

The Universal 15 Hours: Who Gets It

The 15-hours offer is the baseline, available to almost all families regardless of whether you work.

Who qualifies:

• All children aged 3 to 4 years old in England (automatic and no application needed, your nursery handles it)

• Some 2-year-olds, if the family receives certain benefits (such as Universal Credit with household income below £15,400 after tax), or if the child has an Education, Health and Care Plan

  
  

What you get:

• 15 hours per week

• For 38 weeks per year (term time)

• That's 570 hours annually

You do not need to be working to access the universal 15 hours for 3 and 4-year-olds. It's available to all families as a baseline entitlement.

The 30 Hours Scheme: Extended Support for Working Parents

The 30 hours scheme doubles the funded entitlement, but it comes with eligibility criteria tied to employment and income.

Who qualifies:

• Both parents must be working (or a single parent, if applicable)

• Each parent must earn at least the equivalent of 16 hours per week at National Minimum Wage - from April 2025 this is £10,158 per year (£195 per week)

• Neither parent can earn more than £100,000 adjusted net income per year

  
  

What you get:

• 30 hours per week

• For 38 weeks per year

• That's 1,140 hours annually - double the universal offer

  
  

Important: You must apply through the HMRC Childcare Service and reconfirm your eligibility every 3 months. If you miss a reconfirmation window, you can lose your entitlement for that term.

What's Changed in 2024 and 2025 - The Big Expansion

This is the part many guides miss, and it's significant. The government has been rolling out a major expansion of funded childcare that changes the picture considerably for parents of younger children:

• From April 2024: Eligible working parents of 2-year-olds gained access to 15 hours of funded childcare

• From September 2024: Eligible working parents of children from 9 months old gained access to 15 hours

• From September 2025: Eligible working parents of children from 9 months old up to school age can now access the full 30 hours

  
  

This means that as of September 2025, if you're a working parent meeting the income criteria, your child can access 30 hours of funded childcare from the term after they turn 9 months old, right through until they start school. The government estimates this could save eligible families up to £7,500 a year per child. This is a major shift. The old mental model of "free childcare starts at 3" is now out of date.

Key Differences

Things Parents Commonly Miss

1. You still pay for extras Nurseries cannot charge top-up fees for the funded hours, but they can, and usually do charge for meals, snacks, and nappies. A "free" session often comes with a £5–£10 daily charge for lunch. Factor this in.

2. Stretching hours across the year reduces weekly entitlement The 30 hours is calculated over 38 term-time weeks. If your nursery offers year-round provision and you spread it across 52 weeks, your effective weekly hours drop to around 22. Worth understanding before you plan your working schedule around it.

3. The reconfirmation requirement catches people out For the 30 hours, you must reconfirm your eligibility every 3 months via your HMRC childcare account even if nothing has changed. Many parents miss this and lose their place for a term.

4. Not all nurseries offer the funded hours Providers can choose how many funded places they offer. Some popular nurseries in high-demand areas don't take funded hours at all, or only for limited sessions. Check with your nursery directly.

5. Tax-Free Childcare works alongside these schemes Tax-Free Childcare is a separate government scheme that lets you save up to £500 every 3 months (£2,000 per year) toward childcare costs, with the government topping up 20%. You can use it alongside your 15 or 30 free hours - it applies to the paid hours on top. We've covered this in detail in our guide to Tax-Free Childcare and how to make the most of it.

The Gap That Remains

Even with 30 free hours, most families face a significant shortfall. Here's why:

• Funded hours are term-time only (38 weeks), but most parents need year-round childcare

• Additional hours beyond the entitlement are charged at full nursery rates, often £6–£12 per hour

• Meals, nappies, and activities add up daily

• Many nurseries charge more per hour for the paid sessions to offset the lower government funding rate

  
  

The average UK nursery bill for a child under 2 is around £14,000 a year. Even once funded hours kick in, families with younger children or those needing full-time childcare often still pay £8,000–£12,000 a year out of pocket. That gap is exactly the problem Kindo was built to address.

How Kindo Helps Bridge the Gap

Government funding helps, but it doesn't cover everything. Kindo lets parents earn cashback on the nursery fees they're already paying, turning an unavoidable expense into something that gives back.

Here's how it works:

1. You pay your nursery by bank transfer as normal

2. You upload your invoice into the Kindo app

3. Kindo verifies it and awards Kindo Points

4. You redeem those points as cashback at 190+ brands including Amazon, Boots, M&S, Nike, IKEA, and more

   
   

Kindo costs £6.99 per month and earns a minimum of 1.75% cashback on your nursery fees. On a £1,200 monthly nursery bill, that's over £250 back per year, more than covering the subscription cost many times over. Some employers now also offer Kindo as an employee benefit.

Find out how Kindo works →

Summary

• 15 hours = universal support for all 3 and 4-year-olds, no application needed

• 30 hours = doubled support for eligible working parents, now available from 9 months old (as of September 2025)

• Both are term-time based and come with extras to factor in

• Even with full government support, most families still face a significant nursery bill

  
  

Understanding what you're entitled to is the first step. Making the most of what's left over through tools like Tax-Free Childcare and Kindo is how you actually close the gap.

This guide reflects the current position as of 2026. Government childcare policy can change so always check the latest eligibility on GOV.UK.