The short answer
- A private carer usually costs less an hourCarers on PrimeCarers typically charge £18 to £25 an hour with our fee included. Agencies charge £28 to £35 for the same visit, because more of that fee pays for the office rather than the person in the room.
- You choose who comes, and can keep the same personA private carer is somebody you meet and pick yourself, and you can ask for the same person every visit. An agency sends whoever the rota has free that day.
- An agency carries CQC registration and arranges its own coverThe agency itself is inspected by the CQC and is expected to send a replacement if your usual carer is off sick. A private carer engaged directly is exempt from CQC registration, and cover is something you and the carer agree between you.
- Council-arranged care is usually through an agencyMost councils commission CQC-registered agencies directly. A private carer becomes an option once your relative holds a direct payment or personal budget.
Rates checked against PrimeCarers pricing and gov.uk on 5 September 2026. Figures for care agencies are for comparison and are not what PrimeCarers charges.
What each one is
What a private carer is, and what an agency carer is
Both terms describe someone doing the same kind of work in your parent's home. The difference is in how they got there and who stands behind them.
A private carer
Self-employed, engaged directly
An agency carer
Employed by a CQC-registered company
Both kinds of carer can do the same everyday tasks: washing and dressing, meals, medication reminders, light housework, company and getting to appointments. Neither can carry out a task that counts as a clinical or nursing procedure without the training and authorisation for it; what carers are not allowed to do sets out where that line sits. The choice between the two is not about what gets done. It is about who does it, who chose them, and what stands behind the arrangement if something goes wrong.
Eight differences
Eight differences, side by side
Rather than a list of pros and cons for each, here is the same set of questions answered for both, so you can see where they differ and where they do not.
| Private carer | Agency carer | |
|---|---|---|
| Who employs the carer | The carer is self-employed. On PrimeCarers we introduce you to each other; we do not employ them or provide the care ourselves. | The agency employs the carer directly and sends them to you as part of a rota. |
| CQC registration | Not usually required. A carer engaged directly by a family, without an agency involved, to give personal care is exempt from CQC registration. | The agency itself is registered with the CQC and inspected against its standards. |
| Cost per hour | £18 to £25 on PrimeCarers, with our fee already included | £28 to £35, most of which covers the agency's office, training and rota management rather than the visit itself |
| Choice of carer | You choose who you meet and who you book, and you can ask for the same person every visit. | You are usually sent whoever the rota has free that day. |
| Continuity | The same carer normally does every visit, so they notice small changes early. | Carers rotate through the rota, especially at weekends, on sickness cover and over holidays. |
| Cover if the carer cannot come | You and the carer agree cover between you in advance. PrimeCarers can help you find a second carer but does not guarantee one at short notice. | The agency is expected to send a replacement from its own staff. |
| Training standard | Not centrally set. Experience and any training sit on a carer's own profile for you to read and ask about at interview. | The agency is responsible for its staff completing the Care Certificate and the ongoing training the CQC expects it to provide. |
| Contract and notice | Agreed directly between you and the carer, or under the PrimeCarers terms if booked through us. | Set by the agency's own contract, typically two to four weeks' notice. |
Who employs the carer
- Private carer
- The carer is self-employed. On PrimeCarers we introduce you to each other; we do not employ them or provide the care ourselves.
- Agency carer
- The agency employs the carer directly and sends them to you as part of a rota.
CQC registration
- Private carer
- Not usually required. A carer engaged directly by a family, without an agency involved, to give personal care is exempt from CQC registration.
- Agency carer
- The agency itself is registered with the CQC and inspected against its standards.
Cost per hour
- Private carer
- £18 to £25 on PrimeCarers, with our fee already included
- Agency carer
- £28 to £35, most of which covers the agency's office, training and rota management rather than the visit itself
Choice of carer
- Private carer
- You choose who you meet and who you book, and you can ask for the same person every visit.
- Agency carer
- You are usually sent whoever the rota has free that day.
Continuity
- Private carer
- The same carer normally does every visit, so they notice small changes early.
- Agency carer
- Carers rotate through the rota, especially at weekends, on sickness cover and over holidays.
Cover if the carer cannot come
- Private carer
- You and the carer agree cover between you in advance. PrimeCarers can help you find a second carer but does not guarantee one at short notice.
- Agency carer
- The agency is expected to send a replacement from its own staff.
Training standard
- Private carer
- Not centrally set. Experience and any training sit on a carer's own profile for you to read and ask about at interview.
- Agency carer
- The agency is responsible for its staff completing the Care Certificate and the ongoing training the CQC expects it to provide.
Contract and notice
- Private carer
- Agreed directly between you and the carer, or under the PrimeCarers terms if booked through us.
- Agency carer
- Set by the agency's own contract, typically two to four weeks' notice.
Checked against gov.uk, the CQC and PrimeCarers pricing on 5 September 2026.
None of this makes one option simply better than the other. An agency's higher price buys a guarantee of cover and a company that answers for the whole arrangement. A private carer's lower price buys choice, and the continuity of the same person, without that guarantee. The rest of this page goes into each row in more depth, and private carer or agency: the three routes compared sets a third option, hiring somebody entirely yourself, alongside these two.
Training and terms
What stands behind each carer's skills
Care profiles and agency brochures both use terms that are worth knowing the meaning of before you rely on them.
Terms you will see
- Care Certificate
- The baseline standard for anyone starting work in adult social care in England, covering the basics of safe, dignified care. It is not a qualification in itself but the induction every new care worker is expected to complete.
- Level 2 or 3 Diploma in Adult Care
- The current qualification for care workers, regulated under the Ofqual Regulated Qualifications Framework. It replaced the old NVQ Level 2 and 3 in Health and Social Care, which are no longer awarded, though the skills covered have not changed, only the name.
- Enhanced DBS check
- A check of a person's criminal record and, where relevant, the adults' barred list, run by the Disclosure and Barring Service. It shows what was on file on the day it was issued.
- DBS Update Service
- A subscription that lets a DBS certificate be checked again at any time, rather than trusted from a piece of paper that could be years old.
An agency is responsible for making sure its staff complete the Care Certificate and go on to further training, and this is something the CQC checks when it inspects the agency. A private carer's training is not centrally set in the same way: it sits on their own profile, so read it and ask about it directly, in the same way you would ask an agency what training the person they send has done. Background checks on a private carer covers what an identity check, a right to work check, an enhanced DBS check and an interview each confirm, and what none of them tells you about training or references.
Continuity and cover
Why the same face matters, and what happens when they cannot come
This is where the two routes differ most in daily life, and it cuts both ways.
What a private carer usually gives you
- The same person for every visit, who notices a change in a week rather than being told about it
- A relationship your parent gets used to, which often matters more with dementia or after a bereavement
- A carer you chose yourself, having met or spoken with more than one
- Flexibility to add, drop or move a visit by messaging the carer directly
What an agency usually gives you
- A guarantee of who turns up, since a private carer's holiday or illness is covered by whatever the two of you agreed, not by a company rota
- A single phone number to call if a visit falls through and nobody has cover arranged
- The paperwork and inspection history that comes with a CQC-registered provider
What each one costs
What each route costs, by the hour
The gap between a private carer and an agency is usually the clearest number in this decision, and it holds across most parts of the country.
- Hiring someone yourself£16–£18/hr
- Private carer, PrimeCarers£18–£25/hrOur fee is already included in this figure.
- A care agency£28–£35/hr
PrimeCarers pricing and typical UK home care agency rates, checked 5 September 2026. Figures for a care agency are for comparison; PrimeCarers is not an agency.
Legal responsibility
Who is legally responsible for what, in each arrangement
This depends on exactly how you arrange care, not simply on whether the word 'agency' or 'private' is involved.
| Private carer via PrimeCarers | You hire a carer entirely yourself | A care agency | |
|---|---|---|---|
| CQC registration | Not required; the carer is exempt as someone engaged directly for personal care | Not required, for the same reason | The agency is registered and inspected |
| ID, right to work, enhanced DBS | Checked by PrimeCarers before the profile appears | Your responsibility to see the evidence yourself | The agency's responsibility |
| Contracts, pay and pension duties | Set out in the PrimeCarers terms; the carer remains self-employed | Yours, if the arrangement makes you an employer rather than a client of a self-employed carer | The agency's responsibility, as the carer's employer |
| Who answers if the arrangement goes wrong | PrimeCarers supports you as an introductory service; it does not provide or manage the care itself | You, since there is no company between you and the carer | The agency, as the CQC-registered provider |
CQC registration
- Private carer via PrimeCarers
- Not required; the carer is exempt as someone engaged directly for personal care
- You hire a carer entirely yourself
- Not required, for the same reason
- A care agency
- The agency is registered and inspected
ID, right to work, enhanced DBS
- Private carer via PrimeCarers
- Checked by PrimeCarers before the profile appears
- You hire a carer entirely yourself
- Your responsibility to see the evidence yourself
- A care agency
- The agency's responsibility
Contracts, pay and pension duties
- Private carer via PrimeCarers
- Set out in the PrimeCarers terms; the carer remains self-employed
- You hire a carer entirely yourself
- Yours, if the arrangement makes you an employer rather than a client of a self-employed carer
- A care agency
- The agency's responsibility, as the carer's employer
Who answers if the arrangement goes wrong
- Private carer via PrimeCarers
- PrimeCarers supports you as an introductory service; it does not provide or manage the care itself
- You hire a carer entirely yourself
- You, since there is no company between you and the carer
- A care agency
- The agency, as the CQC-registered provider
Checked against CQC guidance and gov.uk on 5 September 2026. PrimeCarers is an introductory service, not a care agency, and does not employ or manage carers.
Whether hiring a carer directly makes you their employer, with the tax, pension and insurance duties that come with that, depends on the detail of the arrangement rather than the label "private carer". Can I employ a private carer? sorts the question, and employing a private carer sets out what an employer's duties involve if the answer is yes. Do self-employed carers need to be registered with the CQC? covers the registration exemption in more detail.
Which fits you
Which one usually fits, depending on what matters most
These are not recommendations, because only you know which of these matters most for your family. They are the structural reason one route tends to cover a given priority better than the other.
The lowest cost per hour
A private carer on PrimeCarers usually costs less, because the fee covers introducing and vetting a carer rather than running an office and a rota.
The same carer every time, chosen by you
You pick who you meet and who you book, and you can keep one carer for the regular visits.
A guaranteed replacement if a carer is off sick or on holiday
An agency is contracted to send someone else from its own staff. A private carer arrangement relies on cover you and the carer agree between you.
Care arranged and paid for by the council, without a direct payment
Most councils commission CQC-registered agencies directly. A private carer becomes an option once you hold a direct payment or personal budget.
No payroll, contracts or employer duties to manage yourself
An agency or a platform like PrimeCarers both keep this off your desk. It only becomes your job if you hire a carer completely independently.
If your relative is already funded by the council through a standard commissioned package, an agency is usually what is arranged, because most councils only commission CQC-registered providers. Ask about a direct payment or a personal budget if you would rather choose a private carer yourself; the different types of care funding explains how a direct payment works, and local authority funding for care at home covers how to ask for one. If your relative pays for their own care, how to privately fund care sets out the options for paying either route.
How to start
How to move ahead, whichever you choose
The first steps look similar either way. Where they differ is in who does the checking, which the steps below make clear.
- 1
Write down what your parent needs
TodayThe tasks, the times of day, and anything about their health a carer would need to know. This becomes the care plan whichever route you take. - 2
Decide how much you want to choose yourself
This weekIf picking and meeting a carer sounds manageable, search private carers by postcode. If you would rather a company arranged everything, including cover, contact a CQC-registered agency near you and ask to see its latest inspection report. - 3
Ask about cover before you decide
At the interview or the enquiry callAsk a private carer what happens if they are ill or on holiday. Ask an agency how quickly it can send a replacement, and whether that is usually the same face or a different one. - 4
Start with what you are sure of
Week 1A short first booking, whichever route you choose, tells you more about the arrangement than any brochure or profile can. Visits can go up, down or change with a private carer far more easily than an agency package can be renegotiated.
Questions
Questions families ask about private carers and agencies
Usually, yes. Carers on PrimeCarers typically charge £18 to £25 an hour with our fee included, against £28 to £35 an hour for a comparable agency visit. The gap is largely the agency's office, management and margin, which a private arrangement does not carry in the same way.
Not automatically. An agency is responsible for making sure its staff complete the Care Certificate and further training, and the CQC checks this when it inspects the agency. A private carer's training sits on their own profile, so read it and ask about it directly rather than assuming a standard has been applied for you.
That is something to agree with the carer before you need it. Some private carers arrange their own cover with another carer they trust; others do not, and you would need to find someone yourself for that period. An agency is expected to send a replacement from its own staff, which is one of the main things its fee pays for.
No, generally not, if they are engaged directly by you or your family without an agency involved, because the regulated activity of personal care has an exemption for someone working under the direction of the person they care for. Do self-employed carers need to be registered with the CQC? covers when that changes.
Yes, if your relative has a direct payment or a personal budget rather than a care package the council arranges for them. A direct payment can be used to employ a private carer, hire the CQC-registered agency of your choice, or a mix of both. How to get local authority funding for care at home covers how to ask for one.
It depends on how the arrangement is structured. Book a self-employed carer through PrimeCarers and you are not their employer; PrimeCarers introduces you and the carer remains self-employed. Arrange things entirely yourself, without a platform or agency involved, and you may take on an employer's duties, including tax, pension and insurance obligations. Can I employ a private carer? sorts the question for your situation.
A private carer found through PrimeCarers has their identity, right to work and enhanced DBS checked, and completes an online interview, before their profile ever appears, in the same way an agency vets the staff it employs. How we vet every carer sets out the process, and background checks on a private carer explains what each check does and does not cover.
Yes, if you plan the switch rather than stopping the agency first. Find and meet a private carer, check the agency's notice period, and try to overlap the two for at least one visit so nothing about your parent's routine is lost in the handover. Moving from agency care to a private carer covers the full process step by step.
Broadly, yes: washing and dressing, meals, medication reminders, light housework, company and getting to appointments. Neither can carry out a task that counts as a clinical or nursing procedure without the specific training and authorisation for it. What carers are not allowed to do sets out where that line sits for both.