Costs and expenses
What an au pair year actually costs.
An au pair is not cheap childcare and not free labour — it is a family arrangement with a clear budget behind it. Choose a country for the honest picture of who pays for what, and what the au pair covers themselves.
Who pays for what
- The family pays
- A private room, all meals at home, weekly pocket money, and travel for anything done on family business.
- The au pair pays
- Their flight out, their phone, their own nights out and personal travel, and souvenirs for home.
- Agree in writing
- Course fees, the flight home, use of the family car, and what happens if either side ends the stay early.
Au pair or nanny — the honest comparison
Across most of Europe a full month of hosting lands well under the cost of a part-time nanny, because room and board carry a large part of the value. In Australia, the UK, Ireland, Canada and New Zealand the arrangement is treated as employment, so the gap narrows and the paperwork matters: written hours, minimum pay where it applies, and records you can show. That is a fair trade for live-in flexibility — it is not a loophole.