The prices
Each provider's lowest weekly price against a care home
7 of the 13 published prices are at or below a typical care home place, and 10 are below a nursing home place. Where a provider adds a percentage fee on top, we have added it so the figures compare like with like.
| How it works | From, a week | Against a care home | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Curam | Introductory | £1,064. £950 a week at the bottom of its guide range, plus its 12% client fee | £96 a week less than a care home place |
| PrimeCarers | Introductory | £1,050. Our fee is already inside the price | £110 a week less than a care home place |
| Match with Care | Introductory | £1,050. Its guide figure; a platform fee shown on your invoice may be on top | £110 a week less than a care home place |
| Consultus (introductory) | Introductory | £1,092. Includes its weekly agency fee; £250 registration fee once | £68 a week less than a care home place |
| Country Cousins | Introductory | £1,155. Plus a one-off registration fee, an agency fee and the carer's travel | About the same as a care home place (£5 less) |
| Elder | Introductory | £1,195. Its booking fee is inside the price; read 5 November 2026 | About the same as a care home place (£35 more) |
| Agincare | Managed | £1,200. Traditional live-in, from its costs page | About the same as a care home place (£40 more) |
| TrustonTap | Introductory | £1,272. £1,200 plus its 5% administration fee and VAT on that fee | £112 more than a care home place, £138 less than a nursing home |
| Edyn | Managed | £1,395. Standard tier, final price after an assessment | £235 more than a care home place, £15 less than a nursing home |
| Hometouch (introductory) | Introductory | £1,400. From its pricing page, read 19 October 2026 | £240 more than a care home place, £10 less than a nursing home |
| Consultus (managed) | Managed | £1,603. Subject to assessment | £193 more than a nursing home place |
| Helping Hands | Managed | £1,675. Its cost page, reviewed 17 April 2026 | £265 more than a nursing home place |
| Trinity Homecare | Managed | £1,694. For people with lower support needs | £284 more than a nursing home place |
Curam
- How it works
- Introductory
- From, a week
- £1,064. £950 a week at the bottom of its guide range, plus its 12% client fee
- Against a care home
- £96 a week less than a care home place
PrimeCarers
- How it works
- Introductory
- From, a week
- £1,050. Our fee is already inside the price
- Against a care home
- £110 a week less than a care home place
Match with Care
- How it works
- Introductory
- From, a week
- £1,050. Its guide figure; a platform fee shown on your invoice may be on top
- Against a care home
- £110 a week less than a care home place
Consultus (introductory)
- How it works
- Introductory
- From, a week
- £1,092. Includes its weekly agency fee; £250 registration fee once
- Against a care home
- £68 a week less than a care home place
Country Cousins
- How it works
- Introductory
- From, a week
- £1,155. Plus a one-off registration fee, an agency fee and the carer's travel
- Against a care home
- About the same as a care home place (£5 less)
Elder
- How it works
- Introductory
- From, a week
- £1,195. Its booking fee is inside the price; read 5 November 2026
- Against a care home
- About the same as a care home place (£35 more)
Agincare
- How it works
- Managed
- From, a week
- £1,200. Traditional live-in, from its costs page
- Against a care home
- About the same as a care home place (£40 more)
TrustonTap
- How it works
- Introductory
- From, a week
- £1,272. £1,200 plus its 5% administration fee and VAT on that fee
- Against a care home
- £112 more than a care home place, £138 less than a nursing home
Edyn
- How it works
- Managed
- From, a week
- £1,395. Standard tier, final price after an assessment
- Against a care home
- £235 more than a care home place, £15 less than a nursing home
Hometouch (introductory)
- How it works
- Introductory
- From, a week
- £1,400. From its pricing page, read 19 October 2026
- Against a care home
- £240 more than a care home place, £10 less than a nursing home
Consultus (managed)
- How it works
- Managed
- From, a week
- £1,603. Subject to assessment
- Against a care home
- £193 more than a nursing home place
Helping Hands
- How it works
- Managed
- From, a week
- £1,675. Its cost page, reviewed 17 April 2026
- Against a care home
- £265 more than a nursing home place
Trinity Homecare
- How it works
- Managed
- From, a week
- £1,694. For people with lower support needs
- Against a care home
- £284 more than a nursing home place
Each provider's own published from-price for one person, read on 4 November 2026 unless the row gives another date. Care home figures are typical weekly fees in England (residential £1,160, nursing £1,410), not any provider's price. Most people pay more than a from-price once their needs are assessed.
The pattern is the model, not the company. An introductory service introduces a self-employed carer whom you hire and direct, and its fee is smaller because it does not employ the carer or manage the care. A managed agency employs the carer, is registered with the CQC for the care, and arranges cover and supervision, which is where the extra cost goes. Introductory or managed explains the difference in full.
The providers
Twelve live-in care providers and what each publishes
The order follows the table, from the lowest published weekly price. For each provider we say how it works, in its own words, and link the page its price came from.
1.Curam
Both: an introductory service and a CQC-registered managed service
- What it publishes
- A platform of self-employed carers who set their own rates, with a separate managed care service that it says is CQC registered. Its live-in cost guide says live-in care typically costs between £950 and £1,400 a week, with its platform fee on top. Curam, cost of live-in care
- Published price
- £950 to £1,400 a week before its 12% client fee, so about £1,064 to £1,568 with it.
- Suits
- Families who want the widest choice of self-employed carers and will compare them on their own rates.
2.PrimeCarers
Introductory service: you hire a self-employed carer
- What it publishes
- The service that wrote this page. Self-employed carers set their own weekly rate and you see it on their profile before you contact them. The family pays one weekly price with our standard fee of 12.5% already inside it; the carer keeps the rest. Before a carer appears we check their ID, their right to work and an enhanced DBS (or PVG in Scotland, Access NI in Northern Ireland) issued within the last 2 years, and we interview them online. We do not verify references, qualifications or training, so ask the carer about those yourself. The cost of live-in care
- Published price
- £1,050 to £1,400 a week, typically £1,120, fee included (PrimeCarers rates, October 2026).
- Suits
- Families who want one all-in weekly price per carer and will choose and direct the carer themselves.
- Worth knowing
- We are weaker on cover. Carers are self-employed, so we help you look for a replacement but cannot guarantee one, which a care home or a managed agency takes on for you.
3.Match with Care
Introductory service: you hire a self-employed carer
- What it publishes
- Says the CQC classes it as an introductory agency. Its carers are self-employed, set their own rates, and it does not supervise day-to-day care. Match with Care, live-in cost
- Published price
- Usually around £1,050 to £1,400 a week, according to its cost guide. You pay the carer's rate plus a platform fee shown on your invoice.
- Suits
- Families comfortable choosing a carer on a newer marketplace.
4.Consultus Care & Nursing
Both: an introductory service and a CQC-registered managed service
- What it publishes
- Founded in 1962. An introductory service where a self-employed carer works for you, and a fully managed service that it says is regulated by the CQC in England. Consultus live-in costs
- Published price
- Introductory from £1,092 a week including its weekly agency fee, plus a £250 registration fee. Managed from £1,603 a week, subject to assessment.
- Suits
- Families who want an introductory carer from a long-established company, with a managed option if needs grow.
5.Country Cousins
Introductory service: you hire a self-employed carer
- What it publishes
- Says it has introduced live-in carers since 1959. Its carers are self-employed and contracted by you; managed care comes from its sister company, Trinity Homecare. Country Cousins live-in cost
- Published price
- From £1,155 a week (its figure for October 2026), plus a one-off registration fee, an agency fee and the carer's travel.
- Suits
- Families who want a long-established introductory agency.
6.Elder
Introductory service: you hire a self-employed carer
- What it publishes
- Describes itself as an introductory care agency helping families find self-employed carers, and says it is not required to register with the CQC. Elder pricing
- Published price
- Live-in care from £1,195 a week, with its booking fee included (read 5 November 2026).
- Suits
- Families who want an introductory service with one weekly quote.
7.Agincare
CQC-registered managed agency
- What it publishes
- Says it employs and pays all its care workers, including live-in carers, and that its Smart Start lets you try live-in care for 2 to 4 weeks. Agincare live-in costs
- Published price
- Live-in from £1,200 a week, couples from £1,400.
- Suits
- Families who want a managed agency at a price close to a care home, and a trial first.
8.TrustonTap
Introductory service: you hire a self-employed carer
- What it publishes
- Says it is an introductory agency, that its carers are self-employed and set their own rates, and that it takes two references on each carer. TrustonTap pricing
- Published price
- Live-in from £1,200 a week, plus a client administration fee of 5% plus VAT.
- Suits
- Families who want an introductory service that takes references for them.
9.Edyn
CQC-registered managed agency
- What it publishes
- Fully managed live-in care, which it describes as CQC-regulated in England, with a care manager and care coordinator behind each carer. Edyn pricing
- Published price
- From £1,395 a week for one person, up to £1,895 for its advanced tier.
- Suits
- Families who want the agency to manage the carer and the cover, at about a nursing home price.
10.Hometouch
Both: an introductory service and a CQC-registered managed service
- What it publishes
- Runs an introductory model that is not regulated by the CQC and a separate managed care service that is. Hometouch pricing
- Published price
- Introductory care from £1,400 a week, regulated care from £1,500 (read 19 October 2026).
- Suits
- Families who may want to move from introductory to managed care with one company.
11.Helping Hands
CQC-registered managed agency
- What it publishes
- Says it directly employs and trains all its carers and is regulated by the CQC and Care Inspectorate Wales. Helping Hands live-in cost
- Published price
- From £1,675 a week for one person and £2,125 for a couple (page reviewed 17 April 2026).
- Suits
- Families who want a large managed agency with specialist nurses behind the carer.
12.Trinity Homecare
CQC-registered managed agency
- What it publishes
- Says its live-in carers are employed and paid directly by it. The CQC register shows its Worcester Park service rated Outstanding. Trinity Homecare live-in care
- Published price
- From £1,694 a week for people with lower support needs.
- Suits
- Families who want a fully managed carer and are comparing against a nursing home rather than a care home.
Each provider’s own page was checked on 4 November 2026. Prices and services change, so confirm them with the provider before you rely on them.
Comparing fairly
What the weekly prices leave out
A care home fee pays for a room, meals, heating and staff. A live-in price pays for the carer, and the house goes on costing what it costs.
When your relative stays at home, council tax, energy, water, food and repairs carry on, and a live-in carer needs a bedroom of their own and their food. Add those to the live-in figure before you set it against a care home fee. Where a husband, wife or other relative still lives in the house, most of those costs would carry on either way, and the comparison is closer to the prices above.
A from-price is the start of the range. Care for someone with dementia, or who needs two people to move them, or help most nights, is priced higher by every provider. Once somebody has to be awake every night, care at home costs nearly twice a care home place: 24-hour care at home or a care home has those figures.
For a couple, live-in care usually costs less than two places. On PrimeCarers one carer for two people is about £1,350 a week, against about £2,320 for two care home places. To run the sums on your relative's own house, savings and income, use the calculator in is live-in care cheaper than a care home?
Questions
Questions about live-in care and care home costs
For one person, one live-in carer from an introductory service costs about the same as a typical care home place, about £1,160 a week in England, before the running costs of the house. Fully managed live-in agencies publish prices from about £1,200 to £1,700 a week, closer to a nursing home place at about £1,410. For a couple, live-in care usually costs less than two care home places.
On the prices they publish, introductory services: Curam, PrimeCarers, Match with Care, Consultus's introductory service, Elder and Country Cousins all publish from-prices at or below about £1,210 a week, before one-off fees. Agincare is the lowest managed agency we found, from £1,200 a week. Prices rise with need, so ask each for a quote.
A managed agency employs the carer, pays holiday and National Insurance, is registered with the CQC for the care it gives, and arranges supervision and cover. With an introductory service you hire a self-employed carer directly and take on more of that yourself, so the fee is smaller.
Councils use the same means test for both. If your relative qualifies for help, the council can pay towards live-in care through a direct payment, though it may cap the amount at what a care home place would cost it. Ask for a needs assessment.