What will this sentence cost your family?
Nobody warns you that prison has a bill for the people outside. Add up your own numbers. Then use the tools below to shrink them.
Why this number matters
The cost lands on a household that has usually just lost an income, and it runs for the whole sentence. Knowing the real number helps you budget for it, claim the help that exists, and make the cuts that do not hurt: cheaper calls save money without one less minute of talking, and the visits scheme pays for trips you were making anyway.
Common questions
How much does it cost a family to have someone in prison?
For a typical family sending £25 a week, visiting twice a month at £30 a trip, and topping up for clothes and extras, a 2 year stay inside costs well over £2,000. Longer sentences run into five figures. The costs fall on the household that just lost an income, which is why planning and the free help schemes matter.
What do families actually pay for?
Money sent in for phone credit and canteen, travel to visits (plus food and sometimes childcare or a day off work), clothes and trainers sent in, and bigger one-offs like a TV subscription inside or catalogue items. None of it is compulsory, but staying close costs money.
How can we cut the cost?
Three levers. Get visit travel paid if you are on a low income (the Assisted Prison Visits Scheme). Halve the call cost with a cheaper calls service. And send steady small amounts rather than lump sums, because there is a weekly cap on what they can spend anyway.