Alternatives to Agincare for home and live-in care

Agincare says it has been family-owned since 1986 and has 100+ locations. It says it employs and pays all its care workers, including live-in carers, and that all its care services are regulated by the CQC. It runs live-in care, home care, care and nursing homes and supported living. It says its live-in care workers are enhanced DBS checked, and its own ratings page lists its live-in services as Good.

Its Smart Start lets you try live-in care for 2 to 4 weeks. Its live-in costs page lists traditional live-in from £1,200 a week, couples from £1,400, and flexible live-in on set days each week from £695. Other Agincare pages give slightly different starting figures. On Trustpilot it showed 4.1 from 595 reviews on 4 November 2026.

• Helping Hands

  Alternatives to Helping HandsCQC-registered managed agency

  Says it directly employs and trains all its carers and is regulated by the CQC and Care Inspectorate Wales. It offers visiting care and live-in care, with local care managers and a team of specialist nurses.

  Published price: Live-in from £1,675 a week for one person and £2,125 for a couple (page reviewed 17 April 2026).

  Source: Helping Hands live-in care, Helping Hands live-in cost, checked 19 October 2026

• Home Instead

  Alternatives to Home InsteadCQC-registered managed agency

  A network of over 255 locally owned offices in the UK since 2005, regulated by the CQC and the regulators in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Every visit lasts at least an hour, and it offers live-in care too.

  Source: homeinstead.co.uk, checked 19 October 2026

• Bluebird Care

  Alternatives to Bluebird CareCQC-registered managed agency

  Home care, live-in care (including for couples) and complex care from 220 locally owned franchise offices, founded in 2004. Each office is inspected by the CQC in its own right, so ratings and prices differ by office. It gives live-in prices as a quote after a free consultation.

  Source: Bluebird Care, why us, Bluebird Care live-in, checked 4 November 2026

• Trinity Homecare

  Alternatives to Trinity HomecareCQC-registered managed agency

  Live-in care across mainland England and visiting care in Surrey. It says its live-in carers are employed and paid directly by it, and the CQC register shows its Worcester Park service rated Outstanding. Country Cousins, an introductory service, is its sister company.

  Published price: Live-in from £1,694 a week for people with lower support needs, with a quote after a free assessment.

  Source: Trinity Homecare live-in care, Trinity carer FAQs, CQC register, checked 4 November 2026

• Consultus Care & Nursing

  Alternatives to Consultus Care & NursingBoth

  Founded in 1962 and family-owned. It offers an introductory service, where a self-employed carer works for you and you pay them directly, and a fully managed live-in service that it says is regulated by the CQC in England. It also offers live-in nursing.

  Published price: Introductory live-in from £1,092 a week including its weekly agency fee, plus a £250 registration fee; managed live-in from £1,603 a week, subject to assessment.

  Source: consultuscare.com, Consultus live-in costs, checked 4 November 2026

• Country Cousins

  Alternatives to Country CousinsIntroductory

  Says it has introduced live-in carers since 1959 and calls itself the UK's longest-serving introductory live-in care provider. Its carers are self-employed and contracted by you, and it is not CQC registered. Managed care comes from its sister company, Trinity Homecare.

  Published price: Live-in from £1,155 a week (its figure for October 2026), plus a one-off registration fee, an agency fee and the carer's travel.

  Source: country-cousins.co.uk, Country Cousins, introductory vs managed, Country Cousins live-in cost, checked 4 November 2026

• Elder

  Alternatives to ElderIntroductory

  Describes itself as an introductory agency connecting families across Great Britain with vetted, self-employed carers, and says it does not provide regulated care. It offers live-in care, respite stays and, in some cities, visiting care.

  Published price: Live-in from £1,195 a week and respite from £1,595 a week, with its booking fee inside the price.

  Source: Elder, introductory agency, Elder pricing, checked 5 November 2026

• PrimeCarers

  Alternatives to PrimeCarersIntroductory

  The service that wrote this page. Families search self-employed carers near them, see each carer's own rate and choose who to hire. It is not a care agency and is not CQC registered. Every carer has an ID check, a right to work check, an enhanced DBS (or PVG or Access NI) issued within the last 2 years and an online interview. We do not verify references, qualifications or training.

  Published price: Hourly visits £18 to £25, live-in £1,050 to £1,400 a week, our fee included.

  Source: PrimeCarers pricing, what we check, checked 19 October 2026

An introductory service tends to suit a family that wants to choose the carer, can be the person the carer answers to, and wants more of the price to reach the carer. A managed agency tends to suit care that is complex or clinical, a family that cannot be on hand to direct it, or anyone who wants the provider to be responsible for cover. Either way, ask which checks were done on the carer you would get, not on the company in general.