Price one week of care before you compare nurseries. Fix the child's age, the days, the hours, and whether meals, transport and holiday weeks are included. A lower headline can be a shorter day or a shorter year.
Confirm the licence, then ask for that week's fee sheet. In Dubai, search the KHDA early childhood directory. In Abu Dhabi, enrol at the nursery under ADEK's registration rules. A nursery child there should not be above 4. Some Dubai centres offer FS1 or FS2. Check each centre's age range.
Go to: What you may pay first · Six fee sheets · Cash and the repeating bill · Bus, holidays, late pickup
What you may be asked to pay before the child starts
Dubai. KHDA's registration and refund policy and parent FAQ (effective 23 March 2026) say a registration deposit can be requested only after you accept an offer. It cannot exceed 10 percent of annual programme fees and is credited against those fees once the child starts. For FS1 or FS2, an application fee of up to AED 500 is allowed and is not deducted from programme fees. Younger children and flexible attendance should not be charged an application fee unless KHDA approved one. Submit a written withdrawal with the intended date. Absence is not a withdrawal. FS1 and FS2 term refunds use deductions of one month, two months or the full term, depending on when the child withdraws. Flexible attendance refunds are prorated from the withdrawal date under the agreed contract.
Abu Dhabi. ADEK's fees policy (September 2024, compliance from the 2025/26 fall term) caps registration at 5 percent of payable tuition and says it is deducted from the final payment. The sheet must say if it is non-refundable when you do not enrol. Late pickup and other extras need approval and must be itemised. Fee changes are filed from January through April and, if approved, apply from September. A nursery waits three years from opening, or from the last increase, before requesting another.
Al Ghad is separate. ADEK describes free childcare for UAE nationals and children of Emirati mothers aged three months to four years in catchment areas, with priority for working mothers. It is not in the private sample.
Six fee sheets, not a city price
The first three rows are 2026/2027. The next three are 2025/2026. The fee sheets do not itemize meal prices or state consistently whether meals are included. Ask each nursery. This is a small illustration.
Five days, published care ending at 14:00, 2026/2027.
| Centre | Where | Hours | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ladybird Nursery | Jumeira First, Dubai. KHDA 502351. Ages on its page: 6 months to 4 years, including FS2. Fee not split by age | 8:00 to 14:00 | AED 15,100 a term. Three terms are listed. Three times that price is AED 45,300 if every term uses it |
| Westfield Nursery | Al Wasl, Dubai. KHDA 501987 | 7:30 to 14:00 | AED 13,900, then AED 10,900, then AED 10,900. The year on those three terms is AED 35,700 |
| Simba Nursery | Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi. Provider-stated ADEK-approved fees. Confirm the nursery's licence before enrolling | 8:00 to 14:00. The centre is open Monday to Thursday 7:30 to 17:00 and Friday 7:30 to 12:30 | Annual AED 25,000: AED 10,000, then AED 7,500, then AED 7,500 |
Westfield starts earlier. Ask Simba whether the five-day fee includes the shorter Friday.
2025/2026, same idea, different year.
- Victory Heights, Dubai Production City, KHDA 505488. Five days, 7:30 to 13:30: AED 42,000 a year for babies, waddlers and toddlers, and AED 44,000 for rising threes. The payments cover 15, 14 and 12 weeks, 41 weeks, and add back to those annual figures.
- Little Dreamers, Jumeira Third, KHDA 502075. Five days, 8:00 to 14:00, is AED 14,370 a term. Three times that price is AED 43,110 only if the longer term 1 uses the same printed price.
- Falcon British Nursery, Abu Dhabi, Sunday to Thursday. Five days, 8:00 to 14:00, is AED 10,400 for one term. The page does not say how many terms make the year, so there is no annual total here. These are provider-published fees. Confirm the nursery's licence before enrolling.
Cash at the start, and the bill that repeats
Westfield, term route, five days, 7:30 to 14:00. Term 1 is AED 13,900. Registration is AED 1,500 and the sheet calls it compulsory and non-refundable. The two together are AED 15,400. The later terms are AED 21,800. The monthly column is AED 4,590 from September to June, AED 45,900 over ten months, which is AED 10,200 above the term total. The monthly plan says it covers half-term, winter and spring camps. Compare the camp coverage before choosing a payment plan. KHDA's policy credits a registration deposit against programme fees, so ask Westfield whether its AED 1,500 is credited to tuition.
Ladybird add-ons: registration AED 500, security placement AED 2,000 once, medical AED 1,000 a year, one polo AED 50. The listed upfront charges total AED 3,550, including a one-time AED 2,000 security placement payment. The page does not say whether that payment is refunded or credited to tuition. Ask, and if it is credited, do not count it twice.
Simba. Registration AED 1,000, called non-refundable, and a uniform of AED 250 including 5 percent VAT. Five percent of AED 25,000 is AED 1,250, so the registration amount is inside ADEK's cap. Confirm that it is deducted from the final payment, which is what ADEK's policy requires and Simba's page does not say.
Bus, holidays and late collection
| Extra | Published figure |
|---|---|
| Westfield after the core day | 16:00 to 17:30 costs AED 2,500, AED 1,800 and AED 1,800, together AED 6,100. Late collection is AED 75 an hour, plus AED 100 after 17:30. Before 7:30, drop-off is AED 75 a day |
| Westfield summer, five days, 7:30 to 14:00 | AED 3,690 for four weeks, or AED 6,290 for eight weeks |
| Little Dreamers | Extra hour AED 65. After 18:00, AED 200. Placement fee AED 2,500: AED 1,000 deductible from the final term with notice, AED 1,500 non-refundable. For withdrawal, apply the current KHDA refund policy for the child's attendance model |
| Falcon, one term | Bus AED 2,450 one way or AED 3,150 both ways. A holiday week, five days, 8:00 to 14:00, is AED 800. Registration AED 1,000, called non-refundable and non-deductible |
| Victory Heights | Enrolment or reenrolment AED 3,000, shown once. Transport and uniform say "to be confirmed" |
| Ladybird transport | The transport page says the nursery does not provide transport |
A full day at Victory Heights, five days from 7:30 to 17:30, is AED 45,000 for babies, waddlers and toddlers, and AED 47,000 for rising threes. Meal prices are not on any of these sheets.
For the school years after nursery, use the Dubai or Abu Dhabi fee guide. Place the package you chose in the Dubai or Abu Dhabi living-cost guide.
Official sources checked on 30 September 2026. The sample is small and illustrative; each fee sheet is for the year shown. Cover generated with AI for illustration.
