UK Home Care Cost Calculator
Estimate the weekly cost of visiting carers in your parent's own home, based on UK 2026 rates. Pick a typical visit pattern, your region, and your situation — the calculator returns weekly and annual cost plus what the council might contribute. Free. No sign-up. Reviewed by a working UK care-home operator.
Worked example: David, 78, Birmingham — 3 calls a day
David lives alone in Birmingham. He's recently been discharged from hospital after a hip replacement and needs help getting in and out of bed, taking his medications on time, and preparing meals. His daughter Priya is co-ordinating from out of town. He has £18,000 in savings and a paid-off house worth £180,000.
They pick: England · Rest of UK average · Three calls/day (10.5 hr/wk) · £18,000.
- Hourly rate: £32 UK average × 1.00 (rest of UK) = £32/hr base. With the short-visit uplift baked in, three 30-min calls/day comes to about £400/week.
- Annual cost: approx. £20,800.
- Means test: David's £180,000 house is not counted because he still lives there — only the £18,000 in savings counts. £18,000 falls between £14,250 and £23,250, so he's in the tariff zone.
- Tariff income: (£18,000 − £14,250) ÷ £250 = £15/week.
- David pays: tariff (£15/wk) plus most of his pension income (typically ~£100/wk after the £31.80 Personal Expenses Allowance) ≈ £115/week.
- Council pays: approximately £285/week.
How home care funding works in the UK
UK home care (also called "domiciliary care", "visiting care", or just "carers coming in") covers everything from a 30-minute morning check-in to round-the-clock cover. It is delivered in your parent's own home — not a residential setting — and crucially, the home itself is excluded from the means test.
The means test for home care
If your parent has eligible needs (assessed under the Care Act 2014), the local authority runs a financial assessment using the same capital thresholds as residential care, but with the property disregarded:
Above £23,250 in savings: they self-fund.
£14,250–£23,250: tariff income applies (£1/week for every £250 above the lower limit), plus most of their assessable income.
Below £14,250: capital is ignored; income is still assessed.
The full mechanics are set out in the Department of Health and Social Care 2026/27 charging circular and explained in plain English in Age UK Factsheet 46 (May 2026).
The "private uplift" — why self-funders pay more
The Homecare Association's 2025/26 fee-rate research showed councils paid providers an average of £24.10/hour, while the Homecare Association's published Minimum Price for Homecare 2026/27 (the rate providers need to charge to remain legally compliant) is £34.42/hour. Self-funders typically pay £32–£38/hour for the same care — a 30% premium over what councils pay. This is one of several reasons to request a council needs assessment even if you think your parent is over the means-test threshold: the council's cheaper provider rates may still apply if needs are eligible.
NHS Continuing Healthcare for home care
If your parent's needs are primarily about health rather than social care — complex medication regimens, advanced dementia with behaviour, palliative input — they may qualify for NHS Continuing Healthcare, which the NHS funds in full at home. CHC is non-means-tested. Use our NHS CHC Eligibility Checker to see whether to request a Checklist screening.
Direct Payments and Personal Budgets
If the council assesses your parent as eligible for support, they can take their Personal Budget as a Direct Payment — cash they (or a nominee) use to commission their own care. This often unlocks higher-quality providers than the council's standard list and gives families more control. The detailed rules are in Age UK Factsheet 24.
How this calculator works (methodology)
The calculator combines three inputs to estimate weekly cost, then applies the means-test rules:
- Visit pattern → weekly hours. Each preset pattern represents a typical weekly schedule observed across the major UK home-care providers (Helping Hands, Home Instead, Hometouch, Curam, Promedica24). Custom hours allows any value.
- Hourly rate baseline. £32/hour UK average, drawn from Lottie 2026 home-care data, homecare.co.uk's 2026 advice page, and the Homecare Association's £34.42 minimum sustainable price.
- Regional multiplier. London ×1.20, South East ×1.15, North of England ×0.85, Wales ×0.85, rest of UK ×1.00 — reflecting the regional spread observed in industry data.
- Short-visit uplift. The preset patterns assume 30-minute visits, which carry a 20% per-hour premium because travel time becomes a larger share of carer time. Custom-hours mode does not apply this uplift (assumed to be longer visits).
- Means-test calculation per nation: England/NI £14,250/£23,250; Wales single £50,000; Scotland £22,750/£35,750. Tariff income £1/week per £250 of capital above the lower limit. Income contribution assumed at ~£100/week (after Personal Expenses Allowance) for illustration.
The result is a reasonable middle estimate. Actual quotes vary by ±15% depending on provider, time of day, and whether the visits are weekday or weekend. For a binding figure, request a Care Act needs assessment from your local authority.
How to use this calculator
- Pick your parent's nation. Funding rules differ across the UK — get this right.
- Choose region. London and the South East are 15–20% more expensive; northern regions and Wales are 15% cheaper.
- Pick the visit pattern that matches your parent's needs today. If they're between two patterns, pick the higher one — needs typically rise over time, not fall.
- Enter savings and investments only. Do NOT include the value of the home — for home care, the property is disregarded.
What's NOT included in this calculator
- Attendance Allowance (£76.70 lower / £114.60 higher per week, 2026/27) — non-means-tested, claimable for any over-State-Pension-age person with significant care needs at home.
- Carer's Allowance (£86.45/week, 2026/27) — for a family member providing 35+ hours/week of unpaid care, where the cared-for person receives a qualifying benefit such as AA.
- NHS Continuing Healthcare — if eligible, the NHS funds the full care package wherever delivered. Check separately with our CHC Eligibility Checker.
- Bank holiday and overnight surcharges beyond the standard pattern — many providers add 25–50% for bank holidays.
- One-off costs — provider sign-up fees (typically £0–£200), assessment fees, equipment hire (commodes, hoists), home adaptations.
- Local authority eligibility variation — councils apply Care Act eligibility differently. The same level of need can be funded in one borough and refused in another.
- Specialist nursing — district nurses (NHS, free) cover wound care, injections, and similar clinical tasks; this is separate from social care.
The hourly rates, visit-pattern hours, regional multipliers, and means-test thresholds are sourced from UK industry data: the Homecare Association's 2025/26 fee-rate study and 2026/27 minimum price publication, Lottie's 2026 home-care data, homecare.co.uk's 2026 advice content, and the Department of Health and Social Care's 2026/27 charging circular. Sources are linked inline so you can verify.
The tool is reviewed by Hinesh Patel, owner-operator of Birkdale Village Care Home, with over a decade of UK care-sector experience including direct involvement in care planning, council assessments, and CHC pathways. The methodology is published openly above.
Frequently asked questions
How much does an hour of home care cost in the UK in 2026?
The UK average is around £32 per hour for private home care in 2026, with most providers charging between £26 and £38 per hour. The Homecare Association's published Minimum Price for 2026/27 — the rate they say providers need to charge to cover the National Living Wage and statutory employment costs — is £34.42 per hour. Evenings, weekends and bank holidays carry surcharges, and 30-minute visits cost more per hour than 60-minute visits because travel time is a larger share of the carer's time.
Will the council pay for home care?
Possibly. Local authorities must offer a free Care Act needs assessment to anyone who appears to need care. If eligible needs are identified, the council will conduct a financial assessment using the £14,250 / £23,250 capital thresholds (England, frozen since 2010). Crucially for home care, the value of the home is NOT counted because the person still lives there. Even self-funders should request the assessment — councils pay providers an average £24.10/hour vs £32+ paid by self-funders, so understanding the gap is worth the paperwork.
Is home care cheaper than a care home?
For low to moderate care needs, yes — significantly. Two daily 30-minute visits cost around £275/week vs £1,300+/week for a residential care home. Once needs reach 4 visits a day or overnight care, the equation flips: 24-hour wake-in-night home care can exceed £1,800/week, more than most nursing homes. Live-in care (£1,200-£1,500/week) sits in between and is often the natural step-up from intensive visiting care. Use our Care Home Cost Calculator for the residential comparison.
What's the difference between sleep-in and waking-night home care?
A sleep-in carer sleeps in the client's home overnight, available for up to two brief calls, and is paid only for hours awake (per the Mencap v Tomlinson-Blake Supreme Court decision). Cost: around £210/night. A waking-night carer is awake the entire shift — required when needs may arise frequently overnight (incontinence, repositioning, distress). Cost: around £260/night.
Can I claim Attendance Allowance for home care?
Yes. Attendance Allowance is non-means-tested and can be used to pay for home care. The 2026/27 rates are £76.70/week (lower) and £114.60/week (higher), confirmed in the DWP benefit and pension rates 2026/27. It does not affect other benefits and is one of the most under-claimed UK benefits — anyone over State Pension age with significant care needs should consider applying.
Does my home count in the means test for home care?
No. For community care (i.e. care delivered in your own home), the value of your home is not counted. This is one of the biggest practical differences between home care and residential care funding. Only savings, investments, and other capital count toward the £14,250 / £23,250 thresholds.
What is a Direct Payment for home care?
If your council assesses your parent as eligible for a Personal Budget, they can take it as cash (a Direct Payment) and arrange their own care — choosing a private provider, employing a personal assistant directly, or paying a family member (usually not first-degree relatives). Direct Payments give more flexibility than council-commissioned care and often unlock higher-quality providers.
How much does 24-hour home care cost in the UK?
True 24-hour care with two carers in rotation typically costs £2,000+/week. Live-in care (one carer with daily breaks, sleeping at night with up to two calls allowed) is more affordable at £1,200-£1,500/week. Waking-night cover (carer awake overnight) seven nights a week is around £1,820/week.
Last updated: May 2026. Sources: Homecare Association Minimum Price 2026/27; Lottie 2026 home-care data; DHSC 2026/27 charging circular; Age UK Factsheet 46.