Kinsail vs YellowNest
Both offer the workplace nursery benefit through salary sacrifice. Where they differ is the part your finance team asks about first: how the fee is set, what the nursery receives and who does the work.
The short version
Choose Kinsail if you want the benefit run in plain sight.
Kinsail is built for employers who want every number explained, every pound accounted for and as little admin as possible landing on HR and payroll.
- A fee stated plainly as a charge for the service, never as a share of a tax saving.
- Nothing charged to your employees.
- A fixed nursery contribution that everyone knows from day one.
- Nursery improvements chosen from the setting’s own OFSTED report.
- Agreements signed online, with changes handled on the platform.
Side by side
In their words and ours.
Every YellowNest point comes from YellowNest's own website, with a link so you can check it for yourself.
| Kinsail | YellowNest | |
|---|---|---|
| What the employer pays | A management fee of 15% of the salary sacrifice amount plus VAT, stated as a charge for the service. | Describes the benefit as “designed to be completely cost-neutral to employers as the benefit is funded through the employer’s National Insurance savings”. Source |
| How the fee is set | A fixed percentage of the amount sacrificed, not linked to the employer’s National Insurance saving. | Describes an “Operator Fee” that “tracks the Employer NI rate of 15%”. Source |
| What employees pay | Nothing. Employees pay Kinsail nothing. | Answered in YellowNest’s parent FAQs. Check the current answer there. Source |
| What the nursery receives | 8.7% of the amount sacrificed, spent on improvement priorities agreed with the setting. | Says partner nurseries receive “uncapped additional funding to improve their nursery setting”. Source |
| How the nursery is paid | Kinsail manages payments to the nursery under the nursery agreement. | Nurseries “continue to invoice their parents as usual” and payments come from YellowNest. Any shortfall is topped up by the parent directly. Source |
YellowNest information is quoted or summarised from YellowNest's public website, checked on 14 October 2026. Kinsail information is from our current standard terms. Savings depend on salary, tax band and nursery fees. This is general information, not tax advice.
Why Kinsail
Built for the people who have to sign it off.
Finance, HR, parents and nurseries all get something they can see and check.
- Finance
A fee your finance director can model.
15% of the salary sacrifice amount plus VAT. One number, described as exactly what it is: a charge for running the benefit. No savings maths to unpick.
- Parents
Nothing charged to your employees.
Parents pay Kinsail nothing, so the saving from salary sacrifice stays with the family.
- Nurseries
Money that visibly reaches the nursery.
8.7% of every sacrifice goes to the setting and is spent on improvements the employer and nursery agree together. Something your team can point to.
- Quality
Improvements grounded in OFSTED evidence.
Our OFSTED Analysis Tools turn each nursery’s inspection report into clear priorities, so every conversation starts from independent evidence.
- HR
Less admin for your people team.
Agreements are signed online and changes are made on the platform for future months, so nobody in HR is chasing paperwork.
- Choice
Their nursery, not one we pick.
Any registered setting can join our network, with national coverage across the UK, so parents keep the nursery their child already knows.
Already offering the benefit with another provider? Let’s talk about moving over.
Book a demoQuestions employers ask us
Do Kinsail and YellowNest offer the same benefit?
Both offer the workplace nursery benefit through salary sacrifice. The differences are in how the fee is set and described, what reaches the nursery and how the arrangement runs day to day. The table above sets them out.
Do employees pay anything with Kinsail?
No. Employees pay Kinsail nothing. What each parent saves depends on their salary, tax band and nursery fees.
How much does Kinsail cost an employer?
Kinsail charges a management fee of 15% of the salary sacrifice amount plus VAT, paid by the employer. Employees pay Kinsail nothing.
Can we move to Kinsail from another provider?
Yes. Book a call and we will talk through timings, your current agreements and how to bring parents and nurseries across with as little disruption as possible.
Where does the YellowNest information come from?
Every statement about YellowNest is taken from YellowNest’s own public website, and each row links to the page it comes from. We last checked these pages on 14 October 2026. If anything has changed, let us know and we will correct it.
Comparing more than one provider? Use our provider checklist.
See what Kinsail would look like for your team.
A 30-minute call covering the fee, the agreements and exactly what HR, payroll and parents would do.