The short answer
- Most carers charge £19 to £22 an hourThat is what carers based within about 45 minutes of Barnet advertise, with our fee included. The typical rate is £20.
- An hour at each end of the day is about £280 a weekFourteen hours at the typical rate here. The same hours from an agency are £392 or more.
- Nights are per night, live-in is per weekA sleeping night from £130; live-in care in Barnet typically £1,120 a week, which is where visits stop being cheaper past 35 hours.
- You may not pay all of it yourselfAttendance Allowance is not means tested, councils contribute after an assessment, and NHS funding can cover complex needs in full.
Local figures come from the advertised hourly rates of 54 carers based within about 45 minutes of Barnet, read from their profiles in September 2026. Overnight and live-in figures are what clients on PrimeCarers pay. Every carer sets their own rate, and the exact figure is on their profile.
The figures
What home care costs in Barnet
Every carer on PrimeCarers sets their own rate, so there is a range rather than a price list. This is the range here, and where it sits against the national figure, an agency and doing it yourself.
- Private carers in Barnetmiddle half of local rates£19 to £22
- UK typicalwhat clients pay on PrimeCarers£20
- Home care agencythe carer sees roughly half£28 to £35
- Hiring someone yourselfno checks, contract or insurance£16 to £18
Most carers within about 45 minutes of Barnet advertise £19 to £22 an hour; the dot is the typical rate, £20. Companionship-only visits start lower, from about £15. Overnight care is priced per night: from £130 for a sleeping night and £150 to £160 for a waking night.
3,147
carers for visits within about 45 minutes of Barnet
£20
typical hourly rate
our fee included
12 yrs
average experience
of the nearest carers
37
of the nearest 54 also do nights
From carers' own profiles, September 2026.
The typical rate in Barnet is £20 an hour, the same as the national typical rate of £20. The spread matters more than the average: the carers at the lower end are usually offering companionship and light help, and the carers at the upper end usually have years of complex-care or dementia experience behind them. The UK hourly cost guide explains the national picture and where the money goes.
Common weeks in Barnet, at the typical rate
| Hours a week | A week | A month | A year | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Three mornings | 4.5 | £90 | £390 | £4,680 |
| Every morning | 7 | £140 | £607 | £7,280 |
| Morning and evening | 14 | £280 | £1,213 | £14,560 |
| Three visits a day | 21 | £420 | £1,820 | £21,840 |
| Live-in care in Barnet | day and night | typically £1,120 | £4,853 | £58,240 |
Three mornings
- Hours a week
- 4.5
- A week
- £90
- A month
- £390
- A year
- £4,680
Every morning
- Hours a week
- 7
- A week
- £140
- A month
- £607
- A year
- £7,280
Morning and evening
- Hours a week
- 14
- A week
- £280
- A month
- £1,213
- A year
- £14,560
Three visits a day
- Hours a week
- 21
- A week
- £420
- A month
- £1,820
- A year
- £21,840
Live-in care in Barnet
- Hours a week
- day and night
- A week
- typically £1,120
- A month
- £4,853
- A year
- £58,240
Months are a twelfth of the year, not four weeks. Visits priced at the typical local rate of £20 an hour; the carer you choose may charge more or less.
Your estimate
Price your own hours for Barnet
Change the hours and the figure updates, priced at what carers near Barnet advertise, against an agency for the same week. Nothing is stored or sent anywhere.
Start from a common week
An hour at each end of the day, seven days a week.
That is about 2 hours a day if the visits are spread across all seven days. You choose each visit's length with the carer, in 15-minute steps.
The same hours, side by side
- PrimeCarers
- £266 to £308
- A care agency
- £392 to £490
PrimeCarers in Barnet at £19 to £22 an hour with our fee included, agencies at £28 to £35.
On PrimeCarers, a week
£280
£266 to £308 depending on the carer you choose
The same hours from an agency
£392 to £490
About £112 more a week at the bottom of the agency range, for the same number of hours.
There is no booking fee, and either side can end hourly care with 48 hours’ notice. You pay the carer's advertised rate, and our fee is already inside it.
See hourly carers in BarnetThis is a guide rather than a quote. Monthly figures are the weekly cost times 52 divided by 12, so a five-week month does not surprise you.
These are estimates, not financial advice. The figures here are to help you explore your options. Real prices, interest rates and funding rules vary and change, and your own circumstances will have details no calculator can capture. Please speak to an independent financial adviser about your specific situation before making decisions.
Who is available
Carers you could talk to in Barnet
Some of the carers based nearest Barnet, with the hourly rate each has set. Every one has completed our checks: identity, right to work, an accepted criminal-record check (Enhanced DBS issued within the last 18 months, DBS Update Service, Scottish PVG or Access NI), and an online interview. We check that a carer is caring; their skills and training are for you to check with them.
3,147 private carers are based within about 45 minutes of Barnet
Filter by what they charge, who drives, who does nights, and who speaks your language, then message the ones you like. Free, and nothing is booked until you say so.
See private carers for BarnetNights and live-in
Overnight and live-in care in Barnet
Visits stop being the whole answer when nights become difficult or the hours add up. Both alternatives are priced differently from visits, and both are covered on their own pages.
Past about 35 hours of visits a week, which is three visits a day plus the weekly jobs, live-in care costs about the same and the carer is there for the hours in between. When live-in care becomes cheaper than visits works through the crossover, and the cost of live-in care in Barnet has the county's own live-in figures and estimator.
Four ways to buy an hour
An hour of care in Barnet: agency, private, or doing it yourself
The same hour costs a different amount depending on who arranges it and who carries the paperwork. This is a week of morning and evening visits, fourteen hours, bought each way.
- Hiring someone yourself£224£16 to £18 an hour. No checks, contract or insurance, and you may become an employer.
- Private carer, Barnet£280£20 an hour with our fee included: checks, contract, insurance and payments handled, and the carer keeps most of it.
- Home care agency£392+£28 to £35 an hour. 90 agencies are registered in Barnet.
- Care home, for comparison£1,160England average, a week, one resident, before extras.
PrimeCarers rates from carers' profiles; agency and direct-hire figures are the usual UK ranges; care home figures are published fees.
A care home only becomes the cheaper option once somebody needs most of the day covered, and even then the household bills come off the home care side of the comparison. Care at home or a care home covers how to decide, and agency or private carer sets out what you give up and gain with each.
What changes it
Why one carer in Barnet charges more than another
Six things explain almost every pound of difference between two carers in the same county.
What the care involves
Experience and specialisms
How long each visit is
Nights, weekends and bank holidays
Travel
Notice
Help paying
Help with the cost of home care in Barnet
Support depends on your needs, circumstances and the rules where you live. Check eligibility before including funding in your budget.
The funding guide goes through each route in full, including how to apply and what to say at an assessment.
How to arrange it
From this page to a carer in Barnet
Four steps, and the first two cost nothing. You choose the carer; we handle the checks, the contract and the payments.
- 1
Search carers for Barnet
FreeEvery profile shows the carer's hourly rate, their experience, their reviews, the travel time from your postcode, and whether they drive or do nights. Read a few and shortlist the ones whose experience matches what your relative needs. - 2
Meet two or three
This weekMessage them through PrimeCarers with a short description of a typical day. Most families decide after a visit or a video call, and a good carer will ask you as many questions as you ask them. - 3
Agree the visits and the rate
A few daysThe rate on the profile is the price. The contract between you and the carer is set up on PrimeCarers, with invoicing and payment handled online after each visit. Notice is 48 hours for visits. - 4
The first visits, then adjust
Week 1Start with a week or two and change the pattern as you learn what helps. Adding a visit, dropping one, or moving to live-in later is a conversation, not a new contract.
Questions
Questions families in Barnet ask about the cost
Most carers based within about 45 minutes of Barnet advertise between £19 and £22 an hour for daytime visits on PrimeCarers, with our fee included, and the typical rate is £20. Companionship-only visits start lower, from about £15, and shifts of six hours or more are advertised lower still, around £18 an hour. Each carer sets their own rate, so the figure to plan around is the one on the profile of the carer you choose.
It depends on the hours. An hour every morning is 7 hours a week, about £140 at the typical rate here; an hour at each end of the day is 14 hours, about £280; three visits a day is 21 hours, about £420. Past about 35 hours a week, live-in care in Barnet costs about the same, typically £1,120 a week, and the carer is there at night too. The estimator on this page prices any number of hours.
The shortest visit is an hour, or 30 minutes with a carer who offers shorter visits at their own half-hour rate. Longer shifts of six hours or more are advertised at a lower hourly rate, typically around £18 against £20 for short visits, because the carer is not travelling between calls. If you need a full day, ask the carer for their shift rate rather than multiplying the hourly one. The minimum visit length and what a carer can do in an hour cover how visits are planned.
Overnight care is priced per night rather than per hour. A sleeping night, where the carer is in the house and helps once or twice, is £130 to £145. A waking night, where the carer stays awake and active, is £150 to £160. 37 of the 54 nearest carers who advertise a rate also do overnight care. Overnight care explains which night suits which situation.
Agencies in Barnet typically charge £28 to £35 an hour, and the carer sees roughly half of it. For 14 hours a week that is £392 or more, against about £280 with a private carer through PrimeCarers, who keeps most of the rate and comes every time rather than whoever is on the rota. There are 90 home care agencies registered in Barnet. Agency or private carer weighs the two properly.
The rate on a carer's profile is the rate you pay. It includes the carer's pay, our fee, insurance cover while the carer works in your home, the contract between you, and invoicing and payment handling. Mileage is only chargeable if you agree it in advance and in writing, and 55p a mile is the usual figure when a carer drives your relative in their own car. Bank holidays are charged at one and a half times the carer's rate and Christmas Day at double, which is in the contract. Weekends carry no automatic uplift; if a carer charges more at weekends it is on their profile.
Ask your council for a care needs assessment and, where relevant, a financial assessment. Help with care costs depends on eligible needs, finances and the agreed care plan. People over State Pension age with qualifying care or supervision needs may be eligible. It is not means tested; eligibility depends on the benefit rules and your circumstances. Some adults with a primary health need qualify after an assessment. Eligibility depends on the nature, intensity, complexity and unpredictability of needs, not a diagnosis alone. Attendance Allowance and the funding guide explain the options and eligibility.
PrimeCarers charges nothing to stop or change care. The notice you give your carer is in the contract between you: 48 hours for visits. A visit you cancel inside that is payable, unless the reason is an unplanned hospital stay, illness, or something else you and the carer agree, and a carer can always waive it at their discretion. Cancellations and late-running visits goes through the detail.