Curam vs Elder

Curam describes itself as a home care platform that connects families directly with self-employed carers (curamcare.com). You search carers, see each one's rate and profile, and agree the care with the carer you choose. It also runs Curam Managed Care, which it says is CQC registered, with a team that arranges and oversees care plans (Curam Managed Care).

Elder describes itself as an introductory agency that connects families across Great Britain with vetted, self-employed carers, and says it "does not provide regulated care services" (Elder, introductory agency). It puts forward carers for you to choose from and says it never assigns someone without your agreement (elder.org). It says it does not direct, control or oversee the day-to-day care (Elder, managed or introductory).

So with either one, the carer is self-employed and works for your family, and you direct the care. If you may want a regulated, managed service from the same company later, Curam has one and Elder does not.

Curam's carers set their own rates. Curam says the average was £20.50 an hour and £1,200 a week for live-in care in August 2025, that its 12% client fee is added to your invoices, and that the carer is paid their agreed rate minus a 15% carer fee (Curam client information). With the client fee, the live-in average comes to about £1,344 a week. Taken together, the two fees come to about 24% of what the family pays. Its live-in cost guide gives a typical range of £950 to £1,400 a week before the fee (Curam, cost of live-in care).

Elder publishes live-in care from £1,195 a week and respite from £1,595 a week or £684 for three days, with two wake-ups a night included, a two-week trial and no joining or exit fees (Elder pricing). Its terms say you pay one placement fee, made up of the amount that goes to the carer and a booking fee that Elder keeps, collected by Elder through a payment provider (Elder customer terms). It does not publish the size of the booking fee.

Elder's from-price is about £149 a week below Curam's August 2025 average with its fee, but a starting price and an average are different measures: Curam's own guide range starts at £950 before the fee. Both rise with your relative's needs, so ask each for a written price for the same care.

Curam publishes a training requirement, the Care Certificate, and Elder does not say it requires one. Elder publishes its own assessments and a 2% acceptance rate. Whichever you use, ask the carer about their experience with needs like your relative's.

Curam says its carers are encouraged to work in small teams, so your carer can tell you who covers for them, and the replacement invoices you through the platform while your regular carer is away (Curam client information).

Elder says a cover carer you have also chosen steps in while your carer is away, that it helps find a respite carer for your main carer's breaks at no extra cost, and that emergency cover is often arranged in under 24 hours (Elder, introductory agency, Elder live-in care). It says a family support specialist is available seven days a week, including bank holidays.

Elder has more reviews and a higher score on Trustpilot. Both pages are public: Curam on Trustpilot and Elder on Trustpilot. Reviews of the individual carer you are offered tell you more than either company's overall score.

Other introductory services work in similar ways, including Country Cousins, TrustonTap and PrimeCarers, which wrote this page. On PrimeCarers you see each carer's own all-in price, from £1,050 a week for live-in care or £18 an hour, with our fee inside it. Alternatives to Curam and alternatives to Elder list others.