How Much Does a Nanny Cost in BC?
A nanny in British Columbia costs $32 an hour through Puffin Services — $1,280 a week, or about $5,547 a month, for full-time care eight hours a day, Monday to Friday. A nanny you employ directly typically starts at $45,000–$52,000 a year in wages ($3,750–$4,333 a month), plus the costs of being an employer.
Nanny costs by the day, week, month and year
A nanny is budgeted by the week and the month, so that is how the figures below are set out. Each one is an hourly Puffin booking priced by the engine that charges your card, for a nanny working eight-hour days. A month is 52 weeks divided by twelve.
| Nanny | Schedule | Per day | Per week | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part-time nanny | 8:00 AM–4:00 PM, three days a week, one child aged 4 | $256 | $768 | about $3,328 | $39,936 |
| Full-time nanny | 8:00 AM–4:00 PM, Monday to Friday, one child aged 4 | $256 | $1,280 | about $5,547 | $66,560 |
| Full-time nanny, with a baby | 8:00 AM–4:00 PM, Monday to Friday, a four-month-old | $304 | $1,520 | about $6,587 | $79,040 |
Two ways to pay for a nanny
Book a nanny by the hour. Puffin is the employer. The nanny is our employee, cleared by a CRRP vulnerable-sector check, covered by WorkSafeBC and our liability insurance, and paid through our payroll. You pay one hourly rate, with no subscription: each shift is booked individually, so the schedule can change from one week to the next. Puffin’s hourly care covers 16 municipalities across the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley.
Employ a nanny directly. You hire the nanny and become their employer: you set the salary, run payroll, remit CPP and EI, and meet BC employment standards on overtime, vacation pay and statutory holidays. The wage is the largest cost, and it is set out below.
Puffin’s Nanny Placement service — coming soon — will charge a one-time fee of $500 for placements under three months or $1,000 for three months or longer. It is a search, not a salary: it covers sourcing candidates, CRRP background checks, reference verification, and two to three matched candidates presented to your family. We are not taking placements yet.
Nanny wages in BC
A full-time, long-term nanny employed directly typically starts at $45,000–$52,000 a year, rising with experience and with what the role asks of them. Here is that band by the month, the week and the hour, at 40 hours a week. This is what you pay your nanny, not a Puffin rate.
| Per year | Per month | Per week | Per hour (40 hrs/week) |
|---|---|---|---|
| $45,000–$52,000 | $3,750–$4,333 | $865–$1,000 | $21.63–$25.00 |
The costs on top of a nanny’s salary
The gross salary is not the total. As an employer you pay the employer share of CPP and EI, vacation pay, and statutory holiday pay, and you carry the question of WorkSafeBC coverage and insurance yourself. Budget above the band, not at it. When you book by the hour instead, all of that is inside the $32 rate.
Which costs less: an hourly nanny or employing one?
For full-time care, employing a nanny directly usually costs less per year — and we would rather say so than let you find out later.
| Per year | What else you pay | |
|---|---|---|
| Booked by the hour through Puffin | $66,560 | No employer costs — screening, WorkSafeBC, insurance and payroll are in the rate |
| A nanny you employ directly | $45,000–$52,000 in salary | Employer CPP and EI, vacation and statutory holiday pay, and a one-time placement fee if you use an agency to find them |
Hourly care costs more over a full year because it includes the employer’s costs and obligations, and because you are paying for flexibility: no subscription, no payroll, and a schedule you can change by the week. It is usually the better fit for part-time care, irregular hours, a short stretch before a daycare place opens, or a family that does not want to be an employer. Employing directly tends to win for long-term, full-time care, where the saving on the rate is large enough to justify taking on payroll.
What moves a nanny’s cost
A baby under 12 months. The infant rate is $38/hr, so full-time care with a baby is $1,520 a week — $240 more than with an older child. It applies to the whole booking, not per child.
Long days. Hours past eight in a single booking bill at 1.5x. A ten-hour day is $352, not $320: eight hours at $32 and two at $48. An eight-hour day avoids it entirely.
Not the number of children. Two or three children cost the same as one, which is why families with more than one child often find the gap with daycare narrower than they expected.
How much do nannies charge per hour in BC?
Through Puffin, a nanny is $32 an hour, or $38 with a baby under 12 months. A nanny you employ directly at the salary band above works out to $21.63–$25.00 an hour before your employer costs. The difference between those two numbers is the screening, insurance, WorkSafeBC and payroll that come with the agency rate — the same list set out above.
If you need care for an evening rather than a working week, the babysitter cost guide prices it by the night, including after-school and overnight care.
Common questions
- How much does a full-time nanny cost per month in BC?
- Booked by the hour through Puffin Services, a full-time nanny working 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM, Monday to Friday, is $1,280 a week — about $5,547 a month — for a child 12 months or older, or about $6,587 a month with a baby. Three days a week is about $3,328 a month. A nanny you employ directly typically starts at $3,750–$4,333 a month in salary, plus employer costs.
- What are nanny wages in BC?
- A full-time, long-term nanny employed directly in BC typically starts at $45,000–$52,000 a year — $3,750–$4,333 a month, $865–$1,000 a week, or $21.63–$25.00 an hour at 40 hours a week — rising with experience. That is the salary the family pays as the employer; the employer share of CPP and EI, vacation pay and statutory holiday pay sit on top of it.
- How much do nannies charge per hour in BC?
- A nanny booked through Puffin Services charges $32 an hour, or $38 with a baby under 12 months, with hours past eight in a day at 1.5x. That rate includes the CRRP check, WorkSafeBC, liability insurance and payroll. A nanny employed directly at a typical starting salary earns about $21.63–$25.00 an hour, before the employer’s own costs.
- Is it cheaper to hire a nanny directly than through an agency?
- Per hour, yes — a privately hired nanny almost always quotes less than an agency rate. Puffin Services charges more because the criminal record check, WorkSafeBC registration, commercial liability insurance, payroll, and remittances are already done and already paid for. Hiring directly does not remove those costs; it moves them, along with the employer obligations, onto the family.
- How much does it cost to hire a nanny through an agency?
- Puffin Services’ Nanny Placement is coming soon, and will charge a one-time placement fee: $500 for placements under three months and $1,000 for three months or longer. We are not taking placements or deposits yet. There will be no ongoing agency commission and no percentage of the nanny's salary — the nanny's wages are paid by the family as their employer. If you need care now, hourly nanny care is $32/hr and does not make you an employer.
- Do I have to run payroll for a Puffin caregiver?
- Not for hourly care. Childcare, postpartum, senior support and event nannies are delivered by Puffin employees, so Puffin handles payroll, deductions and remittances and you are never the employer of record. Nanny Placement is the exception: a placed nanny becomes your family’s employee, so payroll becomes yours. That difference is deliberate — a placement is a one-time search and vetting service, not an ongoing employment relationship.
- Does childcare cost more for twins or multiple children?
- No. In-home childcare is priced by the hour, not by the child — one child or four, the rate is the same, with no per-child fee and no sibling uplift. Twins aged 12 months and over are $32/hr, not $64. The only thing that changes the rate is age: if any child under 12 months is in the booking, the infant rate of $38/hr applies to the whole booking rather than per baby. Whether one caregiver is enough for your situation is worth discussing when you book rather than assuming either way.
See your exact price before you pay.
The booking form prices your dates and times as you enter them, with the breakdown shown before you enter a card. No phone call needed.