For 2021 (including FSA plans that start in 2021, even if they run on a different calendar, like July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2022) the child and dependent credit will save you more money than an FSA as long as your income is less than $200,000. (Above that, it gets very tricky to calculate.)
The maximum dependent care FSA for plans starting in 2021 is $10,500 but the maximum eligible expense for the credit is $8000 (1 child) or $16,000 (2 or more children) and the credit is up to 50% of expenses, greatly increased from the 20% most taxpayers got before.
However, this is only for tax year 2021, and for FSA plans that start during 2021. The credit and FSA rules go back to normal for tax year 2022 and for plans that start on or after January 1, 2022.
