How much does homeschooling cost per year? A worksheet for one child and for several

How much does homeschooling cost per year?

The honest answer is a range that depends on your number of children, your curriculum's billing model and what your state requires. The search suggestions for "homeschool curriculum cost per year" on November 6, 2026 include versions for the USA, America and the UK, so this guide covers the US only, and leaves every amount to the vendors' live pages. What it provides is a worksheet that turns any set of prices into a cost per child and per year.

Three ways a curriculum bills

• By the student: Time4Learning's cart adds each student by grade, with monthly billing or an annual option, and shows reductions of 10, 20 and 25 percent as the student count rises. Miacademy lists per-student monthly, annual and lifetime plans.
• By the subject or the course: some curricula charge for each course. Time4Learning's FAQ lists extra courses for older students that are added for each student.
• By the family: SchoolhouseTeachers.com bills one membership for the immediate family, with no per-child or per-course fee, in annual, quarterly or lifetime form. Miacademy lists a family lifetime option for up to four students.

The yearly worksheet

• Step 1: list each child and the grade they will study this year.
• Step 2: read each candidate curriculum's live price from a US view. Write down the price for one year in the form you would pay it, annual or twelve months of monthly charges, or four quarters.
• Step 3: for a per-student plan, multiply the yearly price by the number of children and apply any multi-student reduction the vendor shows. For a family plan, use the one price.
• Step 4: add books, supplies, printing, records, testing and activities from the next section.
• Step 5: divide the total by the number of children to get the cost per child. Do the same for each candidate and compare.

Costs outside the curriculum

• Books: SchoolhouseTeachers' FAQ says some courses may recommend books, often from the library, and a few upper-level courses require a purchased text.
• Supplies and printing: paper, ink and materials, which matter most with printable lessons.
• Records: tools for attendance, portfolios and transcripts are included in some memberships and not in others, so check.
• Testing and evaluation: some states require it. HSLDA's directory of homeschool laws by state at hslda.org/legal is a starting point, and your state's own rules have the final word.
• Activities: sports, music, co-ops and field trips are separate from curriculum.

Why the number of children matters most

With one child, a per-student plan and a family plan buy about the same single seat, so billing style matters less than fit. Each added child adds a charge to a per-student plan, partly offset by reductions where offered, and adds nothing to a family plan such as SchoolhouseTeachers', according to its FAQ. That is why the cost per child of a family membership falls as the family grows, and why the same price can look high for one child and low for four. The SchoolhouseTeachers cost guide applies the worksheet to that plan.

Next step

Pick two or three candidates from the best online homeschool curriculum guide, run the worksheet for each and confirm the live prices before you pay. For a direct comparison of a family plan and a per-student plan, read SchoolhouseTeachers vs Time4Learning.