The short answer
- There are two models, not six providersAn introductory service introduces you to a self-employed carer. A fully managed agency employs its carers and is regulated by the CQC. Most of what looks like a price or quality difference between named providers comes down to this.
- The model decides the price more than the brandOn PrimeCarers, an introductory service, live-in care runs £1,050 to £1,400 a week, the carer's own rate with our fee included. A fully managed agency typically charges £1,120 to £1,750, because that price also covers the carer's employment costs and the agency's own management.
- Named providers can sit on either side, or bothSome UK providers you may have seen mentioned are introductory services, some are CQC-registered agencies, and one offers both. Knowing which is which matters more than a ranking.
- Ask the same six questions of every providerWhat the price includes, what happens if a carer cannot come, the notice period, and exactly what vetting was done on the carer you are being introduced to, not the company in general.
Figures on this page are what carers on PrimeCarers charge for a live-in week, with our fee included. PrimeCarers is an introductory service: we introduce you to self-employed carers, we do not employ them or deliver care ourselves, and we are not CQC registered because that regulated activity does not apply to what we do.
The short answer
Every provider is one of two models, and that decides most of what else is true about it
Families searching for live-in care usually find a handful of the same names coming up: PrimeCarers, Elder, Curam, Helping Hands, Hometouch, Edyn Care. Rather than ranking them, it helps more to see which of two models each one uses, because the model decides the price, who the carer works for, and who you would call if something went wrong.
| Introductory service | Fully managed agency | |
|---|---|---|
| Who employs the carer | Nobody. The carer is self-employed | The agency, as a member of staff |
| Who sets the weekly rate | The carer, individually | The agency, as a set package |
| A typical weekly range | £1,050–£1,400 | £1,120–£1,750 |
| Regulated and inspected by the CQC | ||
| Who you are legally engaging | The carer directly | The agency |
| Who chooses the carer | You, from a search | The agency, usually with your input |
Who employs the carer
- Introductory service
- Nobody. The carer is self-employed
- Fully managed agency
- The agency, as a member of staff
Who sets the weekly rate
- Introductory service
- The carer, individually
- Fully managed agency
- The agency, as a set package
A typical weekly range
- Introductory service
- £1,050–£1,400
- Fully managed agency
- £1,120–£1,750
Regulated and inspected by the CQC
- Introductory service
- Fully managed agency
Who you are legally engaging
- Introductory service
- The carer directly
- Fully managed agency
- The agency
Who chooses the carer
- Introductory service
- You, from a search
- Fully managed agency
- The agency, usually with your input
Figures are PrimeCarers' own rates and a typical fully managed agency range, not any single named company's current price.
Nothing here makes one model better than the other for every family. An introductory service tends to cost less and gives you more say over who the carer is, because you are choosing them yourself rather than being allocated one. A fully managed agency costs more but takes on the employer's responsibilities: if a carer is unwell, replacing them is the agency's problem to solve, not yours. How can I find a live-in carer? sets out a third route too, hiring completely independently, for families who want to go further still. And if live-in care itself is not the right shape of support, what live-in care alternatives are there? covers the options that sit alongside it before you compare providers at all.
Why the price differs
What a fully managed agency's price has to cover that an introductory service's doesn't
The price gap between the two models is not a mystery or a mark-up. It comes from what each price has to pay for.
- Introductory service such as PrimeCarers£1,050–£1,400 a weekTypically £1,120 a week
- Fully managed agency CQC-registered, carers employed£1,120–£1,750 a weekTypically £1,400 a week
PrimeCarers rates, September 2026, our fee included. The agency figure is a typical fully managed, CQC-registered live-in package, not any specific company, since a named agency's own price can change at any time.
On an introductory service, the weekly figure a client pays is almost entirely the carer's own rate, with a fee added on top for the introduction and the vetting behind it. The carer keeps the rest, sets it themselves, and is free to raise or lower it as they choose. On a fully managed agency, the weekly figure has to stretch much further: the carer's wages at least at the National Living Wage, employer National Insurance, holiday pay, a pension contribution, training, a rota and case management team, and the agency's own margin. None of that is hidden or unfair, it is simply what employing somebody costs, and it is why the two ranges above sit where they do rather than overlapping. The cost of live-in care breaks the PrimeCarers side of that figure down further, including what food, a room and any extras typically involve.
Who is who
The providers families ask us about
These are the names that come up most often when families compare live-in care in the UK. Prices change on any provider's own site at any time, so this only covers what kind of provider each one is, not what any of them currently charge.
PrimeCarers
Introductory service
Elder
Introductory service
Curam
Introductory service
Helping Hands
CQC-registered agency
Hometouch
Introductory service and CQC-registered agency
Edyn Care
CQC-registered agency
Regulation
When paying for a registered agency is worth it, and when it isn't
CQC registration exists because delivering personal care to somebody is a regulated activity. An introductory service is not regulated for exactly the reason that it does not deliver care: the carer works directly for you, under your direction, which is the same reason a self-employed personal assistant paid through a council direct payment is not regulated either. Neither model is automatically the right or wrong choice.
Which reasons apply to your situation?
0 of 6 ticked
Reasons some families choose a fully managed, registered agency
Reasons some families choose an introductory service instead
If several needs are complex enough that clinical delegation matters, read can you get live-in nurses? before deciding between the two models, since it covers a third option that sits closer to registered nursing care than either. And if you are weighing live-in care against a move into a home at all, what's the difference between live-in care and a nursing home? sets that comparison out before you get as far as choosing a provider.
Before you choose
Ask this before you sign anything, whichever provider you're looking at
The questions below apply equally to an introductory service and a fully managed agency. The answers tell you far more than which name is on the website.
Ask every provider
- Exactly what the weekly or hourly figure includes, and what is billed separately, such as food, a public holiday uplift or mileage (on PrimeCarers, mileage is only chargeable if it was agreed with the carer in writing beforehand; see do live-in carers get paid for travel?)
- What happens, and who is responsible, if the carer is unwell and cannot come
- How much notice either side must give to end the arrangement, and where that is written down
- Whether the carer is self-employed or employed, since it decides who directs their work day to day
- What vetting was completed on the specific carer being introduced, not a general claim about the company
- How a complaint is handled, and whether that route sits with an independent regulator or only with the company itself
Don't take on trust
- That a low headline figure is the whole weekly cost
- That any price on this page is still current. Prices on every provider's own site, including ours, change over time
- That "vetted" means the same checks everywhere. Ask which checks, specifically, and on whom
- Signing anything before the fee, cancellation terms and notice period are confirmed in writing
Questions
Questions families ask about comparing providers
An introductory service introduces you to a self-employed carer who works directly for you and sets their own rate. A care agency employs its carers as staff, sets the price itself, and is registered with and inspected by the Care Quality Commission. Both can arrange live-in care; they are simply built differently, and that difference decides most of what else is true about the price and the arrangement.
Because the weekly figure covers less. On an introductory service the price is close to the carer's own rate plus a fee. On a fully managed agency it also has to cover the carer's employment costs (wages, employer National Insurance, holiday pay, pension) and the agency's own management and margin. On PrimeCarers that works out at £1,050 to £1,400 a week against £1,120 to £1,750 for a typical fully managed agency. The cost of live-in care has the fuller breakdown.
No, and it would not make sense for it to be. CQC registration applies to organisations that deliver personal care. PrimeCarers introduces families to self-employed carers who then work directly for the client, which is the same reason a self-employed personal assistant hired through a council direct payment does not need to be CQC registered either. PrimeCarers is not an agency, does not employ carers, and does not provide or manage care itself.
On PrimeCarers, live-in care runs from £1,050 to £1,400 a week, typically around £1,120, the carer's own rate with our fee included. A fully managed, CQC-registered agency typically charges £1,120 to £1,750 for the same coverage. The cost of live-in care covers what is and is not included in either figure.
Not on its own. The price mostly reflects the business model rather than the person providing the care. A self-employed carer found through an introductory service goes through the same kind of checks, an ID check, a right to work check and an enhanced DBS on the Update Service, as many agencies require of their own staff. What changes with the model is who employs the carer and who manages the arrangement day to day, not automatically the quality of the person.
Search the agency by name on the Care Quality Commission's own directory of care services, which is free to use. Every registered domiciliary care or live-in care agency has a current rating, Outstanding, Good, Requires improvement or Inadequate, and a published inspection report explaining it. An introductory service will not appear there, since it is not the kind of organisation the CQC registers.
You would need to search for and agree a replacement carer yourself, which is one of the trade-offs against the lower price. This is worth planning for before it happens rather than after: keep a shortlist of one or two other carers you liked when you first searched, and agree cover for holidays and illness with your current carer in writing from the start. A fully managed agency takes this responsibility on itself, which is part of what its higher price is paying for.