FREE CALCULATOR · MONEY
Switching au pairs is never just one bill. Overlap weeks pay two stipends, a rematch means up to two paid hosting weeks, a gap means backup care, and the new au pair needs her own agency fee and education payment. Add every piece here and see the real cost of the switch — before it lands in your account.
Enter your stipend and the weeks each phase lasts — the week strip below shows every paid week, and the receipt shows where the money goes.
One au pair, one stipend, one predictable year — that is the brochure version. A switch breaks the pattern, because the costs of the old placement and the new one overlap instead of replacing each other. The calculator adds the five pieces that actually land in the same month.
The stipend is a flat weekly amount: any work in a week — even one hour — owes the full stipend, and the stipend never prorates. That single rule is why transitions are expensive: every week two au pairs are both owed money, or a week with no au pair still costs backup care, adds up at the full weekly rate. The premium line answers the question families actually ask — how much more than a normal stretch of the same length does this switch cost?
Stipend: $195.75/week. Overlap: 2 weeks × 2 au pairs × $195.75 = $783. Education for the new au pair: $500. No hosting, gap, agency fee, or extras. Total: $783 + $500 = $1,283. A normal 2-week stretch would cost 2 × $195.75 = $391.50, so the switch carries a $891.50 premium — the second stipend for two weeks plus the second education payment.
Stipend: $195.75/week. Rematch hosting: 2 × $195.75 = $391.50. Gap: 5 weeks × $600 backup care = $3,000. Arrival and training: 1 × $195.75 = $195.75. Education: $500. Total: $391.50 + $3,000 + $195.75 + $500 = $4,087.25 across 8 transition weeks. A normal 8-week stretch would cost 8 × $195.75 = $1,566 — the rematch premium is $2,521.25, and the gap alone is nearly three-quarters of the bill.
Yes. The stipend is a flat weekly amount: any work in a week — even one hour — owes the full stipend, and it never prorates. That is why the calculator has a separate departure-week toggle. If she works no hours in that final week, no stipend is owed for it. The same rule applies on the other side: if the new au pair does any work in her arrival week, that week owes the full stipend too.
Usually yes, for up to two weeks. Agencies typically require the family to keep housing the outgoing au pair while a new placement is arranged — and to keep paying the stipend even if the family asks her not to do childcare. Check your agency contract for the exact hosting obligation; it is one of the two or three numbers that decide what a rematch really costs.
It depends on the replacement. A rematch au pair already in the country can arrive within days. An extension au pair depends on her current placement’s end date. An out-of-country replacement generally takes 4–6 weeks to arrive. Every gap week costs backup care on top of everything else, so the gap is usually the biggest single line in a switch.
Yes — the education payment is per au pair, per program year, so a new au pair means a new $500. The one exception: some agencies prorate it at about $9.62 a week when a placement ends early, crediting the unused portion against the next au pair’s education payment. Ask your agency whether a proration applies before you pay the full amount twice.
It varies by contract, and it is the least predictable line in the calculator. Many agencies apply a credit for unused months toward the next au pair’s fees, or offer partial refunds early in a contract — often within the first three months. A rematch inside the same program year frequently carries no new program fee at all. Get your agency’s policy in writing and enter the confirmed numbers here.
Many families end up making 51 weekly payments across the 52-week year, because the final week is the travel month, when no work is done and no stipend is owed. That is why a clean handover still costs more than a normal stretch: the overlap and education payments sit on top of a year that already has its own rhythm. Ask your agency how your pay schedule handles the last week.
Compare the two numbers honestly. A planned handover costs about $1,283 at the federal floor; a rematch with an out-of-country replacement costs about $4,087. A year with a poor fit costs far more than either — in backup care, missed work, and stress — but a switch you have not priced can still blindside a monthly budget. Run the numbers first, then decide with the full cost in front of you.
Learn the method: the free cost of switching au pairs guide walks through the five stacked costs, agency credits, and what to ask your agency — step by step.