Hi Host families! About the cost: the initial upfront costs can vary. Agencies usually cost between €800 and €3500 depending on the country and the offerings which could include finding an au pair, reviewing documents, contracts, and the visas. Additionally, the host family usually pays for at least half of the travel costs for the au pair.
After arrival there are monthly costs such as pocket money, insurance, language courses, and travel and phone allowances. These equal approximately €500 monthly depending on the country.
Check out the prices per country below!
With love, Jasmijn and Lyla
The amount of pocket money depends on the country: You can find the full breakdown of pocket money for all countries here.
Yes! An au pair is entitled to two weeks of paid holiday per year. If you choose to offer more holiday days, that’s completely up to you, but pocket money should still be paid during that time.
Yes, in the Netherlands, au pairs must have Dutch health insurance. However, they are eligible for the government’s zorgtoeslag (healthcare allowance), which helps cover most of the costs.
A specific au pair insurance is optional, except for Filipino au pairs—for them, it is mandatory. At Nina.care, we also offer an au pair insurance that covers not only medical emergencies but also a potential rematch.
Yes! The minimum duration is 6 months, as the same administrative work applies.
If you’d like an au pair for a shorter period (e.g., 9 months), the agency fee is calculated as following:
Example: €2800 Full-Service Fee (NL) / 12 * 9 = €2100
Luckily, this rarely happens! However, we do have our Nina.care insurance exactly for this purpose!
With the insurance, you will be covered for a rematch and you can get a new au pair for no additional costs. Download our insurance brochure for the Netherlands here.
Yes. Since au pairs only receive pocket money, these additional costs are covered by the host family. You can either arrange a phone plan and public transport card yourself or choose a package via Nina.care.
If you have an unused SIM card or travel card at home, you can also lend that to your au pair!
Flight costs are typically split 50/50 between the au pair and host family. However, if you’d like to cover the full ticket, that’s completely up to you!
At Nina.care we care about quality and screening. We also value proper support while you embark on this adventure to open up to welcome a new person into your family.
An au pair agency is mandatory in some countries and in others not, but either way, their job is to assist with the matching, visa, and arrival process of the au pair. In countries where the agency is required, the agency fee is likely to be on the higher end of the spectrum, around €2,000 to €3,000.
This fee covers all of the pre-arrival aspects of the au pair program such as recruitment and screening of au pair candidates. The cost is lower for families who find their own au pair and wish to have her screened.
Once a match is made, the agency helps with the next steps such as signing contracts, checking the house, reviewing visa documents, creating the weekly schedule, and applying for the visa. All of these elements are included in the upfront program fees.
The most important monthly au pair cost to consider is the pocket money which goes straight to the au pair and is her spending money, as her other basic costs such as housing and food are included within the program. Still, these total costs often equate to less than a full-time nanny when parents are deciding if a nanny vs au pair is the right childcare choice for them. In some countries where regulations are a bit stricter like the United States, au pairs receive a weekly stipend rather than a monthly payment, which is in line with the legally applicable minimum wage requirements in the state they reside in.
The payment to the au pair should be paid out regularly to ensure a good working relationship. Some host families choose to pay their au pairs with cash-in-hand directly. For matches with Nina.care, we pay the au pairs through our app to facilitate a secure process for both the au pair and host family. Depending on the regulations and amount of pocket money the au pairs receive, the host family or au pair may be subject to taxes in their country.
While we have outlined the main upfront and monthly costs for the au pair program, there are some varying costs to consider that we will outline. The first being the travel costs for the au pair’s arrival to and departure from the host country. The responsibility of this cost varies per country, but as an agency we typically recommend that the host family and au pair split these costs evenly. In some cases, the au pair’s nationality may require that the entire ticket be covered by the host family due to visa regulations.
The other costs to take into account of course are the room and board of the au pair. As housing and food is included within the au pair program, the host family should compensate in their budget for things like additional groceries, utilities, and housing necessities. When comparing au pairing to other types of childcare, the cost can often times average cheaper than daycare or nannying, but families should consider all aspects of the cost and the program to determine if it is right for them.