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Alternatives to Home Instead for home care

Home Instead is a network of locally owned home care offices, each one registered and inspected in its own right. Families looking for an alternative usually want another local agency, or a lower hourly price through an introductory service where they choose a self-employed carer. Both kinds are below.

By PrimeCarers, the service that wrote this comparison  ·  Updated October 2026  ·  6 min read

What it is

What Home Instead is, in its own words

Home Instead came to the UK in 2005 and says it now has over 255 locally owned offices, each independently owned and operated as a franchise. It offers companionship, personal care, dementia care and live-in care, and says every visit lasts at least an hour. Its site shows the CQC and the regulators in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Home Instead does not publish prices on its home page. Ask your local office for its rates.

The alternatives

7 alternatives to Home Instead

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.

  • Bluebird Care

    CQC-registered managed agency

    Home care, live-in care and complex care from 220 offices nationwide. Each office is inspected by the CQC in its own right: its Burnham, Gerrards Cross and High Wycombe office, for example, says it employs all its own staff and is rated Outstanding.

    Source: bluebirdcare.co.uk, a Bluebird Care office, checked 19 October 2026

  • Helping Hands

    CQC-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

  • Agincare

    CQC-registered managed agency

    Family-owned since 1986, in 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.

    Source: agincare.com, checked 19 October 2026

  • Curam

    Both

    Describes itself as a home care platform that connects families directly with self-employed carers. It also runs Curam Managed Care, which it says is CQC registered.

    Published price: Average hourly rate £20.50 and £1,200 a week for live-in (Curam's figures for August 2025), with a 12% client fee added to invoices.

    Source: curamcare.com, Curam Managed Care, Curam client information, checked 19 October 2026

  • TrustonTap

    Introductory

    Says 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

    Introductory

    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

  • Trinity Homecare

    CQC-registered managed agency

    Live-in care across the country and visiting care by the hour, day or week. It says it is CQC rated Outstanding.

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

Which kind suits you

Introductory or managed: which kind suits you

If what you value is a local office that runs the care, look at other managed agencies near you. If the hourly price is the problem, an introductory service is the bigger change.

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 Home Instead

An introductory service usually costs less per hour, because the carer is self-employed and there is no employer overhead in the price. On PrimeCarers hourly visits cost £18 to £25, typically £19.47, with our fee included. TrustonTap publishes £23 to £34 an hour. You choose and direct the carer yourself on both.

Home Instead offices arrange and manage the care, and are registered with the regulator. An introductory service introduces you to a self-employed carer who works directly for you; it is not registered with the CQC because it does not provide the care itself.

Look up each office on the CQC website for its rating and latest inspection, then ask each one the same questions: the hourly rate, the minimum visit length, what happens if the regular carer is off, and the notice period.

Sources

Sources checked on 19 October 2026

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