How much does live-in care cost?
Live-in care in the UK typically costs between £1,200 and £1,500 a week for one person, with more complex needs pushing that towards £1,800. It's charged as a weekly fee rather than by the hour, because the carer lives in the home and the price covers being there day and night.
What you'll actually pay
There's no fixed national price for live-in care, because it's a private arrangement and every provider sets its own rates. But the quotes families see in autumn 2026 cluster in a fairly narrow band. For one person with everyday needs — help washing and dressing, meals, medication prompts, company and keeping on top of the house — most agencies quote somewhere between £1,200 and £1,500 a week. A few budget or introductory arrangements start nearer £900, and anything much below that is worth questioning closely. For the full picture of what the carer actually does, see what live-in care involves.
The figure climbs when the care is harder. Advanced dementia, a condition that needs two people for safe moving and handling, or someone who's up and needs help several times a night will all add to the weekly cost, often taking it to £1,600–£1,800 or more. Short-term and respite live-in care — a fortnight while a family carer takes a break — tends to be priced a little higher per week than an ongoing placement, because the provider is covering a short booking.
| Type of live-in care | Typical weekly cost (2026) |
|---|---|
| One person, everyday needs | £1,200 – £1,500 |
| Complex or specialist needs (e.g. advanced dementia, two carers) | £1,600 – £1,800+ |
| A couple, cared for together | £1,600 – £1,900 (one fee for both) |
| Short-term or respite live-in care | £1,000 – £1,300 |
These are typical market rates quoted by UK live-in care agencies in autumn 2026, gathered across several provider price guides; treat them as a guide, not a quote. The only way to know your own figure is to describe the real situation and ask two or three providers to price it.
Why it's a weekly fee, not an hourly rate
Visiting care is sold by the hour. The Homecare Association, which represents home care providers, puts the minimum sustainable price for an hour of homecare in England at £34.42 for 2026/27, up from £32.14 the year before. Multiply that out across a day and round-the-clock visiting care would be wildly expensive — which is exactly why live-in care exists as a separate model.
A live-in carer is in the home for 24 hours but doesn't work all 24. They get proper daytime breaks and a night's sleep, and the weekly fee is built around that. So although someone is always there, you're not paying an hourly rate for every hour of the day, and that's what keeps live-in care roughly level with a care home place rather than several times dearer. If someone genuinely needs help through the night, every night, one carer can't also cover the days alone — a second carer or a waking-night arrangement is added, and the price rises to match.
What's included, and what costs extra
The weekly fee normally covers the carer's time, the agency's management and support behind them, and the carer's own living costs while they're with you. In return you provide a spare room for the carer to sleep in and have some privacy off duty, and you cover the household running costs you'd pay anyway, such as food and heating. Most households fold the carer's food into the weekly shop.
A few things sit outside the headline price and are worth asking about before you sign:
- A second carer for two-person handling, or a waking-night carer, which can add several hundred pounds a week.
- Cover for the carer's own breaks — some providers build in a few hours of local respite each week, others expect the family to arrange it.
- Mileage or the use of a car if the carer needs to drive to appointments and shops.
- The changeover when one live-in carer rotates out and another comes in; a good provider plans this so there's never a day without cover.
Get the quote in writing and be clear about what sits inside the weekly fee and what's billed on top. A price that looks low often turns out to leave out night cover or respite.
Live-in care compared with a care home
For one person, live-in care and a care home now cost broadly the same. The directory carehome.co.uk puts the 2026 UK self-funder average at £1,298 a week for residential care and £1,535 a week for nursing care, and typical live-in care sits in much the same range. The real gap opens up for couples: one live-in carer can look after two people for a single weekly fee of around £1,600–£1,900, whereas two care home places are charged separately and can easily come to £2,600 or more combined.
| Option | Typical weekly cost, one person (2026) |
|---|---|
| Live-in care at home | £1,200 – £1,500 |
| Residential care home (self-funder) | £1,298 average |
| Nursing home (self-funder) | £1,535 average |
Sources: carehome.co.uk care home fees, 2026 UK self-funder averages; Homecare Association minimum price for homecare 2026/27 (£34.42 an hour, England); live-in figures are typical agency quotes for autumn 2026. Cost aside, the two options feel very different day to day — live-in care keeps someone in their own home with one familiar carer, and for many families that, rather than the price, is what decides it.
Help with the cost
Most people arranging live-in care pay for it themselves at the start. In England, if the person needing care has more than £23,250 in savings and capital they're treated as a self-funder and meet the cost in full; below that, the council may contribute after a financial assessment. The thresholds and rules differ across the UK, so check the rules for your nation. Our hub on home care costs sets out the wider picture.
A few things can bring the real cost down. Attendance Allowance is not means-tested and goes to people over State Pension age who need help with care — £76.70 or £114.60 a week in 2026/27, depending on how much help is needed. If someone's needs are mainly about health rather than everyday living, NHS continuing healthcare can cover the entire cost of their care at home and isn't means-tested; it's hard to qualify for, but worth checking. Our guide on how to pay for care at home walks through each of these.
The nations differ. In Scotland, personal care at home is free for everyone assessed as needing it, whatever their age or savings; the set weekly rates of £260.30 for personal care and £117.10 for nursing care from 1 April 2026 apply to people living in care homes. In Wales, councils cap what they charge for care at home at £100 a week, held at that level for 2026/27, though that cap covers council-arranged care rather than a private live-in placement.
Common questions about live-in care costs
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