Frankfurt Kita Fees: Free From Age 2, Not Just Age 3, Since 2023

The Official Rule

Two different rules stack on top of each other in Frankfurt, and mixing them up is the easiest way to misjudge your actual bill.

The Hessen state floor: under HKJGB § 32c, every Kindergarten in Hessen has been required to offer 6 hours of daily care free of charge, from a child’s third birthday until school entry, since 1 August 2018. That’s the statewide minimum every city and municipality has to meet.

Frankfurt’s own top-up: the city went well beyond that floor on its own initiative. Following a Magistrat (city council) decision on 24 March 2023, effective 1 June 2023, Frankfurt charges zero Betreuungsentgelt for the full contracted daily care duration, not capped at 6 hours, starting from the 1st of the month a child completes their second year of life, a full year earlier than the state rule, and continuing until school entry. This applies to Kita Frankfurt (the municipal operator) and independent (freie Träger) facilities alike, and covers half-day, two-thirds, and full-day contracts equally. It doesn’t create an automatic right to a full-day spot, your contracted hours still depend on availability and documented need, but whatever hours you do have under contract are free of a care charge.

What still costs money for the age-2-to-school-entry group is only the meal contribution (Verpflegungspauschale), which the fee-free rule explicitly does not touch:

Under age 2, in Krippe care, neither rule applies and full fees are charged, with a sibling discount built directly into the fee table:

Which siblings count is narrower than many parents assume. Per the Stadtschulamt’s brochure, children in a Kita or Erweiterte Schulische Betreuung under the city fee rules or with a Frankfurt childminder recognized by the Stadtschulamt count, as do siblings in a Kita outside the city fee scheme, with an external licensed childminder, or in free care from age 2 to school entry. Attending school (including a private or all-day school), homework supervision, or the free Pakt für den Ganztag does not count, and all children must be registered with the same main residence in Frankfurt. The discount is not backdated. The income-based fee levels are not available for children under 2 in Krippe care; the brochure points families for whom the fee is a burden to the Jugend- und Sozialamt (Kostenübernahme). The income-tiered reduction exists only for Hort and Erweiterte Schulische Betreuung (see below).

Hort and Erweiterte Schulische Betreuung (school-age after-school care) are not covered by the free-until-school-entry rule at all. Once a child starts school, an entirely separate, income-tiered fee schedule takes over, with four levels based on household income:

A flat meal fee (around 75 euros a month for 5 days) and sibling discounts apply on top of these tiers the same way they do for under-2 Krippe care. One more timing detail worth knowing if you have a child starting school around now: from the 2026/2027 school year, Hort and school-based care introduce mandatory attendance until 2:30pm, and holiday-period care (Ferienbetreuung) becomes included in the regular fee for children in grades 1 through 3, rather than billed as an extra.

Photo by Jakub Zerdzicki on Pexels

What Real People Say

The 2023 policy change was a genuinely significant, publicly debated decision, not a minor administrative tweak. City officials framed it explicitly as cost-of-living relief: education councillor Sylvia Weber (SPD) said at the time that the change would relieve Frankfurt families by up to 198 euros a month, since it moved the free-care threshold from age 3 down to age 2 and removed the 6-hour cap entirely. Parents and local reporting describe the practical effect as most noticeable for families with a child who has just turned 2, since that’s the exact point where a previously substantial monthly Krippe bill drops to just the meal contribution overnight.

The more common source of confusion, based on how families actually describe the system, isn’t the age-2 rule itself, it’s assuming it covers Hort once a child starts school. Because the free-care period and school-age after-school care sit right next to each other on the calendar (a child ages out of free Kindergarten care into paid Hort in the same transition), it’s an easy assumption to make that the free period continues. It doesn’t, and the income-tiered Hort fee schedule catches some families by surprise in first grade specifically because the previous few years felt cost-free.

Step by Step

1. Work out which age bracket applies to your child right now: under 2 (full fees), 2 to school entry (free care, meal fee only), or school-age in Hort/ESB (separate income-tiered fees).
2. If your child is under 2, check whether a sibling discount applies (2 or more children in Kita, Hort/ESB or recognized childminder care) and, if the fee is a burden, ask the Jugend- und Sozialamt about Kostenübernahme, since the income-based tiers do not apply under age 2.
3. If your child turns 2 during an existing Krippe contract, expect your bill to drop to just the Verpflegungspauschale from the 1st of that month, no separate application should be needed for the care-fee portion.
4. If your child is starting Hort or Erweiterte Schulische Betreuung, apply to the Stadtschulamt for your income tier ahead of time rather than waiting for a first invoice to arrive at the standard rate.
5. Keep your income documentation current. If you’re on a reduced tier, submit your renewal roughly 4 weeks before the current determination expires to avoid a gap back to the standard rate.

Compliance Note

This page reflects Frankfurt’s fee rules and the fee schedule effective from 2023 through 2026 as published by Kita Frankfurt and the Stadtschulamt, but euro amounts, income thresholds, and school-age attendance rules (especially the 2026/2027 changes) can be revised. For your specific fee determination, confirm current figures directly with the Stadtschulamt Frankfurt or your Kita.