How much does daycare cost in Metro Vancouver?

The honest answer: the advertised price and the price you actually pay are often very different. Metro Vancouver has some of the highest childcare costs in Canada, but it also has the deepest subsidies, so a fee that looks like $1,600 a month can land closer to $700 once the reductions apply. Here's how to read the real cost.

Typical market fees, before any reductions

These are rough monthly ranges for full-time licensed care in Metro Vancouver. Actual fees vary by city, by centre, and by group versus family care, so treat these as ballpark, not quotes.

• Infant and toddler (under 36 months): roughly $1,300 to $1,900 a month. This is the most expensive band because staffing ratios are tightest.
• Ages 3 to 5 (preschool-age, full day): roughly $1,000 to $1,500 a month.
• Preschool (part-day programs): much less, since these run only a few hours a day.
• Before- and after-school care (ages 5+): lower again, since it's a few hours around the school day.

Infant care is the scarcest and the priciest, which is why families often start their search and their budgeting there.

What you actually pay, after reductions

Two programs do most of the work bringing those numbers down, and you can read the full detail in our subsidies guide. In short:

• CCFRI is an automatic reduction applied by participating providers. It takes up to $900 a month off infant and toddler group care, and up to $545 off care for ages 3 to kindergarten. You don't apply, and it isn't income-tested.
• The Affordable Child Care Benefit is an income-tested benefit you apply for, worth up to $1,250 per child per month, stacked on top of CCFRI for families under roughly $111,000 in household income.

So the real math for an infant in a participating group centre often looks like this: a market fee around $1,600, minus the $900 CCFRI reduction, leaves about $700 a month out of pocket before you even apply for ACCB. A lower-income family applying for ACCB on top could pay considerably less.

There's also a floor worth knowing: at participating centres, full-time fees won't be reduced below $200 a month ($10 a day) under the broader affordability rules, with limited exceptions.

The fees the headline number hides

When you compare centres, look past the base monthly fee. Common extras include:

• Registration or enrolment fees, often a few hundred dollars, usually one-time.
• Deposits to hold a spot (allowed at the provider's discretion, even though waitlist fees at funded providers are not).
• Optional fees for things like meals, field trips, or transportation. These are genuinely optional at CCFRI-enrolled providers, so you can decline them and still get standard care.

A centre with a slightly higher base fee but no add-ons can be cheaper than a "lower" one that charges for everything. Ask for the all-in monthly number.

Why costs vary so much across Metro Vancouver

• Age is the biggest driver. Infant care costs more than preschool everywhere, because the required staff-to-child ratio is much tighter.
• Group versus family care. Licensed family care (in a caregiver's home) is often priced differently from group centres. Our family vs group guide covers the trade-offs.
• Location. Fees differ across cities and neighbourhoods, partly tracking local operating costs.
• $10 a day spots are the cheapest of all, but they're a limited, frozen program, so most families won't get one. Don't build your budget assuming you will.

How to budget for it

1. Start with the infant or toddler number if that's your stage. It's the highest, so plan around it.
2. Subtract CCFRI for a realistic out-of-pocket figure at a participating centre.
3. Check ACCB if your household income is under about $111,000. It can change the picture significantly.
4. Add the extras (registration, deposit, optional fees) to compare centres on a true all-in basis.
5. Confirm enrolment. A centre that isn't CCFRI-enrolled won't have the automatic reduction, so the same sticker price costs you a lot more.

Use this directory to find licensed centres near you, then ask each one for the all-in monthly fee and whether they're CCFRI-enrolled. That's the number that actually matters.