Private family mediation in Ontario usually costs $150 to $500 an hour, shared between the two of you, and a complete separation settled in mediation typically runs $2,000 to $8,000 per couple plus HST. Court-connected mediation costs less: it’s free at the courthouse on your court date, and off-site sessions are billed on a sliding scale based on your income.

At Divorce the Smartway, mediation time is $250 an hour with a senior mediator, which is $125 an hour each, and the documents are billed at set rates. At our standard rates, a typical separation with two children, a house and a pension runs about $7,700 for the couple, or roughly $3,850 each, plus HST. We also work on a sliding scale, so for some families it comes in lower. Below is the full breakdown, a worked example, who pays, and how it compares with hiring lawyers.

What mediation costs in Ontario

There are three ways to pay for family mediation in Ontario, and the price depends on which one you use.

• Private mediators. Most charge by the hour, from about $150 for a mediator-only practice to $500 or more for a senior lawyer-mediator in Toronto. Some sell flat packages that bundle a set number of sessions, often $2,500 to $3,600 per couple. Watch for what’s left out: intake meetings, drafting the agreement and financial analysis are often extra.
• Court-connected mediation. Every family court in Ontario has a mediation service under contract with the Ministry of the Attorney General. On-site mediation is free on the day your matter is scheduled in court. Off-site mediation, which you can use any time, is billed on a sliding scale based on your income and number of dependents, and providers can reduce or waive the fee. These services are for parenting and support issues more often than property, and you still need your own legal advice.
• Legal Aid Ontario. If you qualify, Legal Aid can connect you with mediators who charge on a sliding scale. Its own guide puts the average cost of mediation under $5,000, against $5,000 to $25,000 for family court.

The hourly rate is only part of the answer. What matters is the total, and the total depends on how many hours you need and how much of the financial work is included. That’s why the rest of this page shows you the whole file, not just the rate.

Our rates

Mediation time is billed hourly and shared between you:

• Senior mediators: $250 per hour, which works out to $125 per hour for each of you
• Associate mediators: $160 to $190 per hour

The documents are billed at a fixed rate, so you know the cost before the work starts:

• Financial disclosure package, including your Form 13.1 financial statement: $795 per spouse
• Child and spousal support analysis, up to three settlement scenarios: $595
• Property division and equalization worksheets, up to three scenarios: $995
• Parenting provisions and parenting time schedule: $595 and $195
• Draft separation agreement: $1,350

All fees are plus HST. There are other line items for specific situations, such as a pension valuation application or a cash-from-home-sale worksheet, and every one is set out in writing in our engagement agreement before you commit to anything. Nothing gets added later without you seeing it first. You pay as you go; there’s no retainer.

These are our standard rates, not a fixed price list. We work on a sliding scale, and for some families the fee is lower. If cost is the thing standing between you and getting this settled, raise it on our first call. It’s a normal conversation to have, and you won’t be the first person to ask.

A worked example

Here’s a representative file: two children, one matrimonial home being sold, one defined benefit pension, both spouses employed, no business and no serious conflict. Four mediation sessions from first meeting to signed agreement.

Item	Fee
Financial disclosure package, $795 each	$1,590
Pension valuation application	$195
Child and spousal support analysis	$595
Property division and equalization worksheets	$995
Cash from home sale worksheet	$195
Parenting provisions	$595
Parenting time schedule	$195
Draft separation agreement	$1,350
Mediation time: eight hours across four sessions at $250	$2,000
Total for the couple, plus HST	$7,710

That’s $3,855 each, plus HST. It’s an example at our standard rates, not a quote. Your file could come in lower if you already agree on most things, or higher if it takes more sessions to get there. And because we work on a sliding scale, some families pay less than the figures above. But this is the shape of a normal one.

What moves the number

Three things drive the cost, and you control two of them.

1. How much you already agree on. This is the big one. Couples who arrive with the separation date settled and a rough sense of the parenting schedule spend far less time in session than couples who are still arguing about who moved out and when.
2. How organized your disclosure is. Mediation can’t move forward until both of you have put your finances on the table. If bank statements, pension documents and tax returns arrive complete and on time, we spend session hours on decisions instead of chasing paper.
3. What you actually own. A pension, a business, investment accounts and a house each add analysis. A couple renting with no pensions and no children has a much shorter list of documents to prepare.

What’s not included

These are real costs, and I’d rather you see them here than find them later.

• Independent legal advice. Each of you takes the signed draft to your own lawyer for review. Many family lawyers offer this at a flat fee. Budget for it separately.
• Real estate appraisals. Paid directly to the appraiser if you need a current value on the home.
• Court filing fees and disbursements. If you go on to file for divorce, the court’s fees are separate from ours. Our Naked Divorce Filer service prepares a simple or joint divorce application for $999, and filing fees and process serving are extra.
• HST. Every figure on this page is before tax.

Who pays for mediation?

Mediation fees are normally split equally between you, which is why the hourly rate above is shown both ways. Equal sharing keeps the mediator neutral: nobody is the client who’s paying the bill.

Some couples divide it differently:

• In proportion to income, so the higher earner pays a larger share.
• One spouse pays, with the cost counted in the overall settlement.
• From a joint account, so it comes out of family money before anything is divided.

That’s a decision the two of you can make, and it’s one of the things we sort out at the start. It’s written into the agreement to mediate, so there’s no argument about it later. If money is tight for one of you, say so early. A sliding-scale fee, a court-connected service or a payment plan may be the answer, and none of them is unusual.

How mediation compares with hiring lawyers

Canadian Lawyer magazine runs a legal fees survey every two years. Here are the 2024 median fees Ontario family lawyers reported:

Service	Ontario median fee
Uncontested divorce	$1,500
Separation agreement without children	$3,000
Separation agreement with children	$3,750
Motion to change an existing order	$8,000
Contested divorce	$10,000
Trial up to two days	$20,000
Trial up to five days	$50,000

I’ll be straight with you about what those numbers mean, because most mediation websites are not. If you and your spouse already agree on everything, a lawyer drafting your separation agreement at the Ontario median of $3,750 costs roughly what our mediated file costs per person. Mediation is not the bargain in that scenario. If you genuinely agree on parenting, support and property, and you just need the document written, say so on our call and I’ll tell you honestly whether you need us.

Three things that comparison leaves out:

• It’s one lawyer, working for one of you. Your spouse needs their own, and that’s a separate bill at a similar number. Our fee covers both of you.
• The financial work has to happen before anyone can draft. No lawyer can write a separation agreement until the financial statements are prepared, income is verified, support is calculated, the pension is valued and the property is equalized. That work isn’t in the $3,750. It’s billed on top at the lawyer’s hourly rate, or you do it yourself and hope it holds up. It’s included in our fee.
• Neither are the hours spent negotiating. That figure is the price of writing an agreement, not the price of reaching one. Every hour spent getting you to that point is billed separately, by both lawyers.

One more thing: that’s a median for the whole province. In my experience, rates across the Greater Toronto Area sit above it. Our guide to divorce lawyer fees in Ontario goes through hourly rates and retainers, and the cost of a divorce in Ontario adds up the whole picture, court fees included.

The real comparison is the bottom of that table. Couples who can’t reach terms don’t pay $3,750. They pay $10,000 for a contested divorce, and $20,000 to $50,000 if it reaches trial, each. In fifteen years of doing this, the couples who spend the most are almost never the ones with the most complicated finances. They’re the ones who spent a year fighting before anyone sat down at a table. That’s what you’re buying: not a cheaper document, but a much lower chance of ending up on the expensive end of that list.

Is a mediator cheaper than a lawyer?

Usually, yes, when you count both spouses’ bills and the time it takes to reach an agreement. But the right question is which route fits your situation, because mediation isn’t right where there’s family violence or one spouse won’t take part. Our comparison of a mediator vs a lawyer goes through that decision in detail.

How the process works

Our Soft Landing Mediation moves through five milestones, from separate intake meetings to a draft separation agreement that each of you takes to your own lawyer. Many couples get from first meeting to signed agreement in about four sessions. Others need more time, and that’s fine; the pace is set by your situation. Our guide to how to start mediation in Ontario covers the first steps, including how to raise it with your spouse.

Mediation costs in Ontario: common questions

How much does a family mediator cost in Ontario?

Private family mediators charge about $150 to $500 an hour, shared between the spouses. DTSW charges $250 an hour with a senior mediator, $125 each

Lawyer-mediators in Toronto are at the top of that range. Mediator-only practices and associate mediators are lower. Ask what the rate includes, because intake meetings, financial analysis and drafting are often billed on top.

Who pays for divorce mediation?

The two spouses usually split the fee equally, but you can agree to a different split based on income or have one spouse pay

Whatever you choose goes into the agreement to mediate at the start. Court-connected and Legal Aid services use a sliding scale for people with lower incomes.

Is there free mediation in Ontario?

Yes. On-site mediation at family court is free on your court date, and off-site court-connected mediation uses an income-based sliding scale

These services are provided under contract with the Ministry of the Attorney General, and the provider can reduce or waive the fee. They don’t include legal advice or the financial analysis a property settlement needs, so budget for those separately.

How much does mediation cost for parenting or child custody issues?

Parenting-only mediation is usually one of the cheaper files. At DTSW, the parenting documents are $595 and $195, plus session time

Two or three sessions at $250 an hour, shared, plus the parenting documents, is a common shape. Court-connected mediation services handle parenting issues too, often on a sliding scale.

How much does financial mediation cost?

At DTSW it’s built into the mediation fee: disclosure at $795 per spouse, support analysis at $595, property worksheets at $995, plus session time

Many mediators don’t do the financial analysis and send you to an accountant or a divorce financial analyst, which is a separate bill. Our divorce financial planning page explains what the analysis covers.

How many mediation sessions will we need?

Many couples finish in about four sessions. Couples who already agree on most things need fewer, and high-conflict or complex files need more

The number of sessions is the biggest variable in your total cost, and it’s mostly in your control. Arriving with your disclosure complete and the easy decisions already made is the best way to keep it down.

Do we still need a lawyer if we use a mediator?

Yes, for independent legal advice before you sign. A mediator is neutral and doesn’t give legal advice

Each of you takes the draft separation agreement to your own lawyer, who reviews it and signs a certificate of independent legal advice. Many lawyers offer this at a flat fee, and it’s separate from the mediation fee.

Is mediation cheaper than going to court?

Almost always. Legal Aid Ontario puts average mediation under $5,000, against $5,000 to $25,000 for family court, and trials cost far more

The Ontario median fee for a contested divorce is $10,000 per spouse, and a five-day trial is $50,000. Most couples who mediate never see those numbers.