What it is
What Curam is, in its own words
Curam describes itself as a UK home care platform that connects families directly with self-employed carers, for live-in, hourly and overnight care. Its client information page says a 12% client fee is added to your invoices, a 15% carer fee comes out of the carer's agreed rate, and that the average rate charged was £20.50 an hour and £1,200 a week for live-in in August 2025.
It asks carers for two UK work references and a Care Certificate from the last three years, and it says it accepts council direct payments and NHS Continuing Healthcare funding (with the CHC team's agreement), and is used by personal budget holders. Separately, Curam Managed Care is a service it says is CQC registered. On Trustpilot Curam showed 4.4 from 636 reviews on 19 October 2026.
The alternatives
6 alternatives to Curam
Listed in no particular order. Each is labelled by how it works, with one line from its own website and a price only where it publishes one. Checked on 19 October 2026.
Elder
IntroductoryDescribes itself as an introductory care agency helping families find vetted, self-employed carers, and says it is not required to register with the CQC. It offers live-in care, short respite stays and part-time care.
Source: Elder, introductory agency, checked 19 October 2026
TrustonTap
IntroductorySays all its carers are self-employed and set their own rates, that the CQC defines it as an introductory agency, and that it obtains two references on every carer it takes on.
Published price: £23 to £34 an hour, average £26.
Source: TrustonTap FAQs, checked 19 October 2026
PrimeCarers
IntroductoryThe 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
Hometouch
BothRuns an introductory model, which it says has operated since 2015 and is not regulated by the CQC, and a separate managed care service that is CQC regulated.
Published price: Introductory care from £1,400 a week, regulated care from £1,500 a week.
Source: myhometouch.com, Hometouch pricing, checked 19 October 2026
Country Cousins
IntroductoryCalls itself the UK's longest-serving introductory live-in care provider. Its carers are self-employed and contracted by you, and it says it is not CQC registered. Its sister company, Trinity Homecare, is.
Source: country-cousins.co.uk, checked 19 October 2026
Consultus Care & Nursing
BothFounded in 1962. It offers an introductory service, where a self-employed carer works for you, and a fully managed live-in service that it says is regulated by the CQC in England. It also offers live-in nursing.
Source: consultuscare.com, checked 19 October 2026
Which kind suits you
Introductory or managed: which kind suits you
Most of the alternatives to Curam work the way Curam does. The question is less which name to pick than which of the two models fits your situation.
| Introductory service | CQC-registered managed agency | |
|---|---|---|
| Who employs the carer | Nobody. The carer is self-employed and works for you | The agency |
| Who chooses the carer | You, from profiles | The agency, usually with your input |
| Who directs the care day to day | You and the carer | The agency, through a care plan |
| If the carer cannot come | You find cover, with whatever help the service offers | The agency arranges cover |
| Registered with the CQC in England | No, because it does not provide the care | Yes, and its inspection reports are public |
| Price | Usually lower. On PrimeCarers, live-in is typically £1,120 a week | Usually higher. A typical managed live-in week is £1,120 to £1,750 |
Who employs the carer
- Introductory service
- Nobody. The carer is self-employed and works for you
- CQC-registered managed agency
- The agency
Who chooses the carer
- Introductory service
- You, from profiles
- CQC-registered managed agency
- The agency, usually with your input
Who directs the care day to day
- Introductory service
- You and the carer
- CQC-registered managed agency
- The agency, through a care plan
If the carer cannot come
- Introductory service
- You find cover, with whatever help the service offers
- CQC-registered managed agency
- The agency arranges cover
Registered with the CQC in England
- Introductory service
- No, because it does not provide the care
- CQC-registered managed agency
- Yes, and its inspection reports are public
Price
- Introductory service
- Usually lower. On PrimeCarers, live-in is typically £1,120 a week
- CQC-registered managed agency
- Usually higher. A typical managed live-in week is £1,120 to £1,750
Some providers run both models, so ask which one you are being offered. The managed range is a typical figure, not any named agency's price.
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.
Questions
Questions about alternatives to Curam
The services that work most like Curam are the other introductory platforms, where carers are self-employed and you choose and direct them: Elder, TrustonTap, PrimeCarers, Country Cousins and the introductory side of Hometouch and Consultus. They differ in the fee they charge, where they have carers and which checks they publish, so compare those three things for the carer you would hire.
Its main service is not a managed agency. Curam describes itself as a platform that connects families directly with self-employed carers. It also runs Curam Managed Care, which it says is registered with the CQC, so it offers both models.
It depends on the carer more than the platform, because on most introductory services each carer sets their own rate. Look at the fee as well. Curam publishes a 12% client fee added to invoices and a 15% carer fee. On PrimeCarers the standard fee is inside the price you see: 20% on hourly visits under 6 hours and 12.5% on live-in. PrimeCarers vs Curam sets the two side by side.
Often, yes. A direct payment can usually pay a self-employed carer your family has chosen, which is how most introductory services work, and Curam says it accepts direct payments too. Rules differ between councils, so ask your council's direct payments team before care starts.
Sources
Sources checked on 19 October 2026
- curamcare.comwww.curamcare.com/
- Curam client informationwww.curamcare.com/client-information
- Curam, for carerswww.curamcare.com/carers
- Curam Managed Carewww.curamcare.com/home-care-services/managed-care
- Curam on Trustpilotuk.trustpilot.com/review/curamcare.com
- Elder, introductory agencywww.elder.org/introductory-agency/
- TrustonTap FAQswww.trustontap.com/faqs
- PrimeCarers pricing/pricing
- what we check/best-carers
- myhometouch.commyhometouch.com/
- Hometouch pricingmyhometouch.com/pricing
- country-cousins.co.ukwww.country-cousins.co.uk/
- consultuscare.comwww.consultuscare.com/