Live-in careCost guide
The cost of live-in care, explained
Live-in care typically costs £1,120 a week, roughly £160 a day for round-the-clock, one-to-one care at home. Standard care starts from £1,050 a week, complex care from £1,260, and a couple pays about a fifth more, not double. Here’s exactly where the money goes, and how to work out your own figure.
By James Bowdler, founder of PrimeCarers · Updated August 2026
The short answer
Live-in care costs at a glance
Three things set the price of live-in care: the level of care needed, where you find your carer, and how much of the week family can cover. Typical UK figures for 2026:
What your level of need costs
- Companionship & light helpfrom £1,050/week
Mostly independent: company, meals and a hand with the day.
- Standard personal caretypically £1,120/week
Washing, dressing, medication and housekeeping. Most people need this.
- Complex or specialist carefrom £1,260/week
Advanced dementia, hoisting or clinical needs, handled by experienced specialists.
Couples: one carer looks after you both for about £1,350 a week: a fifth more, not double. Nights are included unless the carer would be up most of the night.
The same care, three ways to buy it
- Traditional agency£1,400+/week
£1,120–£1,750/week
Admin handled for you, but you rarely choose the carer, and they can be swapped without your consent.
- PrimeCarerstypically £1,120/week
from £1,050, set by each carer
You choose a vetted, insured carer; contracts, payments and DBS monitoring are all included in their rate.
- Fully independent carer£980 average/week
£840–£1,400/week
Cheapest on paper, but no vetting, no insurance guarantee, no contract help and no backup if it goes wrong.
How much does live-in care cost per week?
Live-in care costs £1,050 to £1,400+ per week in the UK, depending on the care needed. On PrimeCarers standard personal care for one person is typically £1,120 per week with our fee included, and about £1,350 for a couple, since one carer looks after you both. That works out near £160 a day for 24-hour, one-to-one care, which is less per hour than three daily pop-in visits.
What is that per month, and per year?
At the typical £1,120 a week, live-in care costs about £4,853 per month and £58,240 per year. Most families pay less than the headline: family covering one day a week trims roughly 14% off the bill, Attendance Allowance adds up to ~£110 a week towards it, and councils contribute below the £23,250 means-test threshold. See the funding guide.
The estimator
Build your own estimate
Slide the answers around and watch the price change. It’s the quickest way to understand what changes the cost of live-in care. Nothing is stored or sent anywhere.
Sleeping nights are included; your carer helps once or twice if needed. Add waking nights only if someone would be up with them most of the night.
Live-in care is priced by the day, so every day family takes over comes straight off the bill.
Your estimate
£1,120/week
Expect £1,050–£1,260, as carers set their own rates.
- Standard personal care£1,120
Plus the everyday extras: your carer’s food (£5–£10 a day) and 45p a mile when they drive your loved one. No agency fees, no subscriptions.
See real carers & rates near youFree to look · each carer’s exact rate is on their profile
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.
Hourly care or live-in?
Where hourly care stops being cheaper
Hourly visits feel cheaper until the hours add up. Drag the slider to see where a week of visiting care overtakes the flat weekly cost of a live-in carer.
Care in visits, with nobody there between them or overnight.
One carer living in: help, meals and company all day, cover at night.
At 4 hours a day, hourly visits cost about £560 a week less. Live-in care starts to win from around 8 hours of daily help.
Typical rates: hourly care £18–£25/hr, live-in care £1,120/week for standard needs. Every carer sets their own price.
Comparing against a care home instead? Read is live-in care cheaper than a care home?. It has a full calculator for your own numbers, including how long your savings would last.
Behind the price
What changes the cost of live-in care
Six things explain almost every pound of difference between one family’s live-in care costs and another’s.
The level of need
Care that asks more of a carer costs more: heavy moving and handling, challenging behaviour, degenerative conditions and end-of-life care all demand extra skill, patience and resilience, and rates of £1,260–£1,750 a week reflect that.
Where you find your carer
The same carer costs very different amounts through different routes. Agencies average £1,400+ a week with the carer seeing only part of it; going fully independent is cheaper but unvetted and uninsured; a platform sits between, with vetting and insurance included.
Experience & specialisms
Carers with nursing backgrounds, dementia training or years of complex-care experience set higher rates. That’s usually worth paying when the needs call for it, and unnecessary when they don’t.
Where you live
London and city rates run higher than the national average, following the cost of living. Very remote areas can cost a little more too: fewer carers nearby, and further for them to travel.
How much of the week you need
Live-in care is priced by the day. Every day family covers comes straight off the bill: one family day a week cuts roughly 14% from the monthly cost, and covering the carer’s week off saves more again.
Nights
A live-in carer sleeps at night and happily helps once or twice; that’s in the price. If your loved one needs someone awake and active through the night, a waking-night carer adds about £148 a night, a few nights a week or every night.
The extras to budget on top
The carer’s rate covers the care. A few everyday costs sit on top. They’re small, but agree them up front so there are no surprises.
Your carer shares meals with your loved one, so budget it with the weekly shop.
Only when the carer drives your loved one in their own car and you have agreed it in advance in writing (usually the HMRC rate); insurance for business use is theirs to hold.
Tickets and entry for anything the carer attends to support your loved one; agree these in advance.
Sleeping nights (helping once or twice) are included. If they’d be up often, add a waking-night carer instead.
Keeping it affordable
Six ways to bring the cost down
These are the changes that lower the bill without lowering the standard of care.
Cover a day or two yourselves
Live-in care is priced by the day, so family taking one day a week cuts the monthly bill by about 14%, and a full week each month saves around 23%. You also learn exactly what the job involves.
Cover the carer’s weeks off
Live-in carers work in stints of one to twelve weeks, then take time off. If family can cover those weeks instead of booking respite cover, the saving can reach a third of the annual cost.
Offer real job security
Our standard notice is 7 days, but the best relationships agree closer to a month. A carer who knows the work is steady will often settle on a better rate, and stays longer, which is worth even more.
Look after your carer
Looking after your carer pays for itself. A carer who feels valued, gets their daily break (aim for ~14 hours of cover across the week) and is encouraged to have a life locally stays for years, and long stays keep costs down.
Make the home easy to live in
Good Wi-Fi, a comfortable bed, heating they can control and a clean start cost almost nothing, and they’re the difference between a carer who stays at a fair rate and a revolving door of replacements.
Claim what you’re entitled to
Attendance Allowance (not means-tested, up to ~£110/week) goes unclaimed by huge numbers of eligible families. Councils contribute below £23,250 in savings, and NHS Continuing Healthcare can cover complex care in full.
Funding options explainedFind out how much care costs
Care is often more affordable than families expect. In one email, we'll show you:
- Typical hourly and live-in rates near you
- How that compares with a traditional agency
- A clear picture of what your care would cost
“Having guided thousands of families, there are few that understand the cost of care as well as I do.”James Bowdler, Founder
Cost questions
The cost of live-in care, answered
Everything families ask us about live-in care costs before they book. Prefer to talk it through with a person?
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Between £1,050 and £1,400+ per week for one person, depending on the level of care. On PrimeCarers standard personal care is typically £1,120 a week with our fee included, starting from about £1,050, and complex or specialist care runs £1,260–£1,750. Traditional agencies typically charge £1,400+ for the same care.
On PrimeCarers, the rate on a carer’s profile is the rate you pay. It covers the carer’s pay, insurance for care in your home, contracts, invoicing and payment handling, and continuous DBS monitoring. There are no agency fees or subscriptions on top. You provide the carer’s room and meals.
Yes. A live-in carer shares meals with your loved one, so budget £5–£10 a day extra on the weekly shop. Beyond food, expect 45p a mile if they drive your loved one in their own car, and the cost of tickets when they accompany them to events. Agree these up front and there are no surprises.
About a fifth more than care for one, not double. One live-in carer looks after both partners for typically around £1,350 a week. That makes live-in care dramatically cheaper than a care home for couples, where two residents means two fees. Read the couples guide.
A live-in carer sleeps at night but is there for emergencies, and helping once or twice is part of the role. If your loved one needs someone awake and active through the night, add a waking-night carer at about £148 a night (a few nights a week or every night), or the live-in carer’s rest will suffer and the arrangement will break down.
For one person the totals land close together once you include household bills; for couples, live-in care is almost always significantly cheaper because a care home charges per resident. Compare the costs in detail with our calculator, which works it out on your own numbers, including how long your savings would last.
Cover some days yourselves (one family day a week saves ~14% of the monthly bill; covering the carer’s weeks off can save up to a third), agree a fair notice period so your carer has job security, look after them so they stay long-term, and claim the funding you’re entitled to: Attendance Allowance alone is worth up to ~£110 a week and isn’t means-tested.
Often, yes. Attendance Allowance isn’t means-tested and most older people needing daily help qualify. Councils contribute after a care-needs assessment once savings fall below £23,250, and NHS Continuing Healthcare covers the full cost where needs are primarily health-based. Funding options explained.
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