How Much Does Homeschooling Cost? - Best Ultimate Guide & Comparison

Author

Sherein Al-Basyuni

30/3/2024

Table of Content

Homeschooling typically costs between $700 to $1800 annually per child, covering expenses like curriculum, supplies, and potential tutor fees. Hiring a homeschool teacher can range from $12 to $100 per hour.

To reduce costs, families can utilize free resources, seek low-cost programs, and take advantage of tax deductions in some states. Compared to public and private schooling, homeschooling is often more cost-effective, with savings on tuition, transportation, and other expenses. Planning for homeschooling involves considerations such as curriculum, schedule, teacher arrangements, subjects, extracurricular activities, supplies, and online resources.

Homeschooling cost is one of the things that parents focus on when they plan to homeschool their kids. They need to search for its fees first to decide if they fit their budget or not.

Some parents who plan to homeschool their kids think its costs are less than private or public school expenses, as they will save transportation and school uniform fees.

It’s noteworthy that homeschooling is becoming an increasingly common option for parents who don’t want traditional education.

But knowing its costs is a must to set to plan enough budget. So, check out how its average expenses through this article.

What is the Cost of Homeschooling?

The average cost of homeschooling ranges from $700 to $1800 per year. These expenses are for only homeschooling one child.

The cost of homeschooling is not fixed due to the different expenses of the curriculum, supplies, extracurricular activities, testing fees, and homeschooling tutors (if the parent will hire an instructor).

According to the National Home Education Research Institute report, homeschooling families pay annually $600. Other reports of research indicated that parents spend per year costs on curriculum ranging from $50 to $500 for one student.

You should take into consideration the following expenses when you put enough budget for homeschooling:

1. The Homeschooling Curriculum Cost

The curriculum’s of homeschooling cost will be set according to the learning style, resources, and online programs. Purchasing a curriculum for one child may cost over $1000.

2. Essential learning resources

Essential learning resources of homeschooling are $200 - $300. These are the costs that parents need to pay for like computers or laptops with stable connections and printers.

3. Homeschooling Food Cost

Homeschooling your kid means you need to spend on food expenses as your kid will stay at home and won’t get a meal at school.

4. Homeschooling Transportation cost

Although you’ll save money on daily school transportation, you’ll need to spend money on educational institutions that offer co-op classes providing face-to-face interaction, in addition to trips. Keep in mind that your child won’t stay at home all day.

5. The cost of Homeschooling Supplies

When it comes to buying homeschool supplies, you should start with the basics like pencils, notebooks, and other needs, as well as supplies for hands-on activities such as a globe and whiteboard.

Moreover, homeschooling cost contains learning space which costs $500, and additional activities, which costs $500.

If you look up high-quality online courses from elementary to high school check out our online programs that cover core and extra subjects.

How Much Does a Homeschool Teacher Cost?

The average cost for hiring a homeschool teacher per hour varies from $12 to $100 for an in-person lesson, whether the tutor is a freelancer or works at a company.

The cost differs according to the place and the number of homeschoolers. For homeschooling online, it costs $49 for up to 10 sessions.

If the homeschool place is in the home, library, or any public space, lessons charge from $55 to 59 for up to ten sessions.

Group sessions that contain two or three homeschoolers cost $30 per hour for over ten sessions, but if the session includes more than three homeschoolers, it costs $20 per hour for up to ten lessons.

How to Cut Homeschooling Costs?

You may find homeschooling costs unaffordable. But by following some tips, you can save money on homeschooling. Here are the top tips:

Take advantage of free resources like online education sites and YouTube.
Search for online programs with low cost to support the curriculum.
Add life skills to the homeschool curriculum like small repairs, first aid, cleaning, and shopping.
Ask for a recommendation from homeschooled families for a low-cost curriculum.
Use local libraries to look for free courses.
Save money on supplies by using tax-free weekends (for United States residents).

Cost of Homeschooling VS Public School

If you need to compare homeschooling and public school costs, you’ll find homeschooling is more affordable. Parents per year spend on homeschooling expenses $1000 on average. The fees cover the curriculum, extra resources, supplies, and other needs.

When it comes to public school fees you’ll find them free expenses. But supplies expenses start from $500 for the primary, $700 for the middle school, and $1200 for the high school.

Moreover, parents have to pay technology fees for using tablets, which vary from $20 to $45.

Cost of Homeschooling VS Private School

As homeschooling costs on average $1000 annually, you’ll find some private schools that offer free-fee education. But the others require paying an average of $12000 for elementary and middle school and $16000 for high school.

Homeschooling Tax Deduction

The homeschooling tax deduction is provided in the United States. It’s one of the top countries that authorize homeschooling. If you’re among its residents, you need to check out tax breaks that some states provide:

Louisiana: Louisiana provides a tax break for one homeschooler that estimates up to $5000 annually.
Illinois: Illinois makes homeschooling parents take advantage of $750 annually as an education fees credit.
Indiana: Indiana offers per year a $1000 tax break.

Is homeschooling Cost-Effective?

Homeschooling costs can be affordable if you save money on them. Many reasons make homeschooling cost-effective:

Saving costs of school clothes.
Parents don’t have to pay for school tuition.
Parents who have younger kids can reuse the curriculum with them after their older children use so they will save many expenses.
Homeschooling cut daily transportation and school lunch costs.

How Does Homeschooling Work?

When you homeschool your child for the first time, you should start to put a plan that covers these categories:

The curriculum and learning style.
The schedule includes hours, days of homeschooling throughout the week, and break times.
The teacher that you need to hire (if the parent won’t teach).
The basics and extra subjects you need the curriculum covers.
The extracurricular activities that you need your child to do.
Homeschooling supplies.
The required items for the homeschool space.
The online resources are additional to the curriculum.

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Conclusion

Homeschooling costs are not fixed as it differs according to curriculum and other expenses. Hiring a homeschool teacher requires prices that range from $25 to $100 per hour.

Parents can save money on homeschooling costs by following some tips like using low-cost curricula and online courses. They can homeschool their kids by putting a plan that includes homeschooling needs such as the curriculum, schedule, supplies, and subjects.

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