Homeschool Cost Calculator

Educating a child at home carries real expenses that are easy to overlook until they accumulate. This tool estimates that financial outlay based on your child's grade level and the homeschooling approach you follow, so families can plan with a number rather than a guess. Seeing the figure clearly also makes it easier to weigh home education against the alternatives.

Behind the estimate sits a cost table that varies by grade band (elementary K-5, middle 6-8, high school 9-12) and by approach: a curriculum package, an online academy, or an eclectic do-it-yourself mix. The calculator takes the midpoint of the curriculum range for your choice and adds fixed amounts for testing and assessment, supplies, and extracurriculars and field trips, then multiplies by the number of children. The figures are the calculator's own estimates, with no inflation adjustment. For comparison it uses a flat $12,000 a year per child for private school; the latest federal figure, from NCES's 2020-21 National Teacher and Principal Survey, is an average private-school tuition of $12,790, with $9,210 at elementary/middle schools and $15,420 at high schools.

Treat the output as a planning estimate; your real spending will shift with your choices and where you live. Extracurricular activities and specialized tutoring are the line items families most often undercount, and they grow fast. One more figure rarely shows up in a curriculum budget but matters just as much: the income a household gives up when a parent cuts back work hours to teach at home.