Daycare profit and break-even calculator
Enter your enrollment, revenue and monthly costs to see what your daycare really earns, what each child costs you, and how many children you need to break even. Free, private, and nothing to sign up for.
Your daycare's numbers
Example numbers are filled in. Replace them with yours.
Your results
You're 2 children above break-even.
Estimates only, based on the numbers you enter. Not accounting, tax or financial advice. Nothing you type is saved or sent anywhere.
What the calculator tells you
Monthly profit and margin
Revenue minus all your costs, as a dollar amount and as a percentage of revenue.
Your break-even point
The number of enrolled children where revenue covers your fixed costs. Below it you lose money each month; above it, every extra child adds profit.
Cost per child
Your total monthly costs divided by the children enrolled, so you can compare it to what you charge.
Staff cost share
Staffing is often the largest cost in a childcare budget, so it's worth watching as enrollment changes.
Profit at full capacity
What you would earn if every licensed spot were filled, which shows how much room you have to grow.
The value of one more child
The fee minus that child's own costs: what each extra enrollment actually adds to your month.
How to use it
- Replace the example numbers with your own: licensed spots, enrolled children, and monthly revenue per child (parent fees plus any subsidy).
- Add your monthly costs: staff, rent or mortgage, other fixed costs, and food and supplies per child.
- Read your profit and break-even point, then change enrollment or fees to test scenarios.
This calculator gives estimates from the numbers you enter. It isn't accounting, tax or financial advice, and it doesn't include income tax, grants or one-time purchases.
Daycare profit questions
How do I calculate break-even for a daycare?
Add up your fixed monthly costs (staff, rent or mortgage, insurance, utilities, software). Divide that by what each child adds after their own variable costs, which is monthly revenue per child minus food and supplies per child, then round up. The result is the number of enrolled children you need.
What should I include as revenue per child?
Parent fees plus any subsidy you receive for that child, per month. If your fees differ from child to child, use the average.
What counts as a fixed cost and what counts as variable?
Fixed costs don't change with enrollment in the short term: the wages of the staff you need, rent, insurance. Variable costs rise with each child you enroll, mostly food and supplies.
Does it include taxes?
No. It shows operating profit before income tax, grants and one-time purchases.
Is my data saved?
No. Everything is calculated in your browser. Nothing you type is sent or stored.
How can I track these numbers automatically?
MyLittleWorld keeps enrollment, billing, payroll hours and expenses in one place, so these figures come from your real data. For Quebec daycares it also prepares RL-24 slips and plans remittances.