Playground Equipment Budget Calculator

Two compounding reasons. First, All-Ages Inclusive starts from a $120,000 base structure cost versus Toddler's $18,000. Second, All-Ages Inclusive's base structure is assumed to already cover 25 kids (versus Toddler's 10), but any capacity ABOVE that base is charged at $3,000 per extra kid for All-Ages Inclusive versus $1,500 for Toddler -- so even the capacity upcharge itself is pricier per child on the more elaborate age group, on top of the higher starting base.

Not quite -- it does more than double the base cost's inputs, but the outcome depends on Child Capacity. Number of Play Structures multiplies the base equipment cost directly (2 structures = 2x base cost), but it ALSO doubles the "included" capacity before any per-kid upcharge applies. If your Child Capacity already fit within one structure's baseline, adding a second structure you don't need for capacity still adds its full base cost -- the capacity upcharge simply drops to $0 either way.

Because those two lines are sized from Estimated Play Area (sq ft) alone -- a flat 75 sq ft per child of Child Capacity -- which has nothing to do with what the equipment looks like. Equipment Style's 15%-40% multiplier only applies to the equipment subtotal (base cost plus any capacity upcharge), which is why choosing Custom/Themed over Basic raises Equipment Cost ($) and, through the 25% installation rate, Installation Cost ($) too, but leaves Site Preparation ($) and Surfacing Cost ($) untouched.

Swing Bays is sized directly from Child Capacity at roughly one bay per 8 kids (rounded up, minimum 1 bay when swings are included at all), independent of Age Group, Number of Play Structures, or Equipment Style. That's a deliberate simplification: a swing set's capacity is about how many kids can use it at once, which scales with total playground capacity rather than with how many climbing structures are on site.