How Much Does Home Care Cost in the UK? 2026 Prices

Short answer: hourly home care in the UK costs around £32 an hour on average in 2026, with most families paying between £26 and £38 depending on region and complexity. Live-in care runs at roughly £220 a day (about £1,540 a week). Overnight care is around £210 a night for a sleeping night and £260 for a waking night.

This guide covers the rules across England. Read it for your council area, with your council's contact details, published care rates and local figures.

Want quotes? Compare home care agencies in Worthing by CQC rating and ask up to three for prices.

Arranging care in London? Read our London guide: How much does home care cost in London? (2026 rates by borough).

Worthing, Adur and the wider South East sit at the upper end of those national ranges. Below is the full picture: what each type of care costs, what pushes a quote up or down, how local prices compare, and every route to help paying for it.

What does home care cost in 2026?

There is a useful benchmark for judging any quote you receive. Each year the Homecare Association — the national membership body for home care providers — publishes a minimum sustainable price: the lowest hourly rate at which a provider can pay the National Living Wage, cover carers’ travel time and mileage between calls, fund training and supervision, and remain financially viable.

For 2026/27 that minimum is £34.42 an hour in England, up from £32.14 the previous year. It is aimed at local authorities commissioning care, but it’s the single most useful number a private family can hold in their head.

A rate well below the sustainable minimum is not a bargain. That gap is being carried somewhere — usually in unpaid carer travel time, no supervision visits, minimal training, or the kind of staff turnover that means a different stranger at your mother’s door every week.

Hourly, live-in and overnight pricing compared

Hourly (visiting) care

The most common starting point. A carer visits for a set period — typically 30 minutes to two hours — to help with washing, dressing, medication prompts, meals or companionship.

Watch the minimum visit charge. Many providers bill a 30-minute call at a rate equivalent to 45 minutes or an hour, so a “£32 an hour” headline can become £20 for a half-hour visit. Ask directly.

Live-in care

A carer lives in the home, sleeping there, providing support through the day and reassurance at night. You provide a private room and food.

• UK average: around £220 a day — roughly £1,540 a week, £6,700 a month, £80,000 a year
• Typical range: £1,200–£1,900 a week, higher for complex or dementia care
• Couples: one live-in carer can often support two people, usually for a modest uplift rather than double — frequently the single best-value option in all of home care

See our full live-in care vs care home comparison.

Overnight care

Our article on waking nights vs sleeping nights explains which one a person actually needs — getting this wrong is a common and expensive mistake in both directions.

Respite and emergency care

Priced the same as the equivalent hourly, overnight or live-in care, though short-notice emergency respite may carry a premium. Some providers set a minimum booking of a few days for live-in respite.

What affects the cost of care at home

1. Hours and visit length. The biggest single driver. Four 30-minute calls cost more than two hours in one block, because each visit carries travel and handover time.
2. Time of day. Evenings, early mornings, weekends and bank holidays typically add 15–50% because carers are paid unsocial-hours rates. Christmas Day and New Year’s Day are often double.
3. Complexity. Dementia, PEG feeding, stoma care, catheter care, hoisting and end-of-life care all require additional training and usually carry a higher rate.
4. Number of carers. A double-up call — two carers for safe hoisting or transfers — costs twice the hourly rate. An occupational therapy assessment sometimes shows equipment can reduce this to a single carer.
5. Location. Rural calls with long travel times cost more. Within West Sussex the variation is modest, but a call to an isolated property near Findon costs a provider more than one in central Worthing.
6. Introductory agency vs managed service. Introductory platforms advertise from around £19 an hour, but you become the carer’s employer: contracts, wages, tax, holiday pay, insurance, DBS checks and cover when they’re ill all fall to you. A managed CQC-regulated service costs more per hour and absorbs all of that.
7. Notice and contract terms. Check the notice period, whether you’re charged for cancelled visits, and whether supervision and quality checks are billed separately.

Local cost comparison: Worthing & Adur

West Sussex sits in the South East, where rates run above the national average but below central London. Here’s how the main options compare locally for a realistic scenario — an 82-year-old needing help morning and evening, plus overnight reassurance.

Ranges are indicative market figures for 2026, not quotes. Your own price depends on assessed need. Ask any provider for their current rate card in writing.

The pattern is worth noticing. At light and moderate levels, home care is dramatically cheaper than residential care. The crossover comes somewhere around 40–50 hours a week — and at that point live-in care usually becomes better value than stacking hourly visits and nights, while still keeping the person at home. Our home care vs care home page works through the decision properly.

How to reduce or fund care costs

Attendance Allowance — start here

A tax-free, non-means-tested benefit for people over State Pension age who need help with personal care or supervision. It doesn’t matter what you have in savings or whether you own your home. From April 2026 it pays:

• £76.70 a week (lower rate) — help needed during the day or at night
• £114.60 a week (higher rate) — help needed day and night, or you’re terminally ill

That’s up to £5,959 a year towards care. It is one of the most under-claimed benefits in the UK — roughly 1.7 million people claim it, and many more are eligible. The claim form is long; Age UK and Citizens Advice will help you fill it in free of charge.

Local authority funding

Anyone who appears to need care is entitled to a free care needs assessment from West Sussex County Council, regardless of income. If eligible needs are identified, a financial assessment follows:

The point most families miss: for care delivered in your own home, the value of your property is not counted in the means test. That’s one of the sharpest practical differences between home care and residential care funding — and a reason to explore care at home before assuming a house sale is inevitable.

NHS Continuing Healthcare

If the person has a complex, ongoing “primary health need”, the NHS pays 100% of care costs with no means test — including care at home. It is assessed via a checklist and then a full multidisciplinary assessment. It’s hard to get, frequently refused, and genuinely worth pursuing for anyone with substantial nursing-level needs. Ask the GP or discharge team for a checklist assessment.

Direct payments and personal budgets

If the council agrees to fund care, you can take the money as a direct payment and choose your own provider rather than accepting whoever the council commissions. Most families who do this report better continuity of carers.

Other help worth checking

• Carer’s Allowance — £86.45 a week (2026/27) for someone caring 35+ hours a week and earning under the threshold
• Pension Credit — tops up weekly income and acts as a gateway to other support
• Council Tax reduction or disregard — including the severe mental impairment disregard, which can be backdated and is widely missed
• Disabled Facilities Grant — up to £30,000 via Adur & Worthing Councils towards adaptations that may reduce the care hours needed
• VAT relief — disability-related equipment and some adaptations are zero-rated

Full detail in our West Sussex home care funding page.

Getting a clear price, not an estimate

No provider can quote accurately without assessing the need in person. Any reputable agency will visit free of charge and give you a written proposal and a firm price, with no obligation to proceed.

Frequently asked questions

How much is home care per hour in West Sussex?

Typically £28–£38 an hour in 2026 for managed, CQC-regulated agency care, with the South East sitting above the £32 UK average. The Homecare Association’s minimum sustainable price for England in 2026/27 is £34.42 an hour.

Is live-in care cheaper than a care home?

Often comparable, and better value for couples. Live-in care averages around £1,540 a week nationally against £1,100–£1,600 for a West Sussex residential home and £1,400–£2,000 for nursing care. Because one live-in carer can support two people, a couple needing care will almost always pay less for live-in care than for two care home places.

Can I get help paying for home care?

Yes, through several routes: Attendance Allowance (non-means-tested, £76.70 or £114.60 a week), local authority funding after a needs and financial assessment, NHS Continuing Healthcare for primary health needs, and direct payments. Start with Attendance Allowance — it’s the quickest win and doesn’t depend on savings.

Does my house count when the council assesses me for home care?

No. For care delivered in your own home, the property’s value is excluded from the means test. Only savings, investments and other capital count towards the £14,250 and £23,250 thresholds.

Why do home care prices vary so much between providers?

Mostly because of what’s included. Introductory agencies are cheaper because you become the carer’s legal employer, handling contracts, tax, cover and insurance yourself. Managed CQC-regulated providers cost more per hour but absorb recruitment, training, supervision, sickness cover and regulatory responsibility.

How much does a carer cost per week?

It depends on the hours. One hour a day, seven days a week, costs about £196 to £266 at typical West Sussex rates of £28 to £38 an hour, and a morning hour plus a 30-minute evening visit costs about £294 to £399. Live-in care typically costs £1,400 to £1,700 or more a week.

Why is home care so expensive?

The hourly rate pays for much more than the carer’s time in the home: wages at or above the National Living Wage, travel time and mileage between visits, holiday pay, training, supervision, insurance, the office and out-of-hours cover, and CQC registration. The Homecare Association calculates a minimum sustainable price of £34.42 an hour in England for 2026/27.

Is a self-employed carer cheaper than an agency?

The hourly rate is usually lower, but you carry more of the cost and risk: finding cover for holidays and sickness, checking insurance and, in some arrangements, taking on employer duties. Our guide to introductory agencies vs managed care compares the true costs.

The Care Panel is an independent publication. We are not a care provider and are not regulated by the Care Quality Commission, because we do not deliver care. Always check a provider’s own CQC registration and inspection report before you commit.

Written and fact-checked by The Care Panel. Figures current as at September 2026; sources include the Homecare Association, DWP benefit rates 2026/27, the Department of Health and Social Care charging circular, and gov.uk. Reviewed annually each January, with a benefits check each April. This is general information, not financial advice.

Reviewed by The Care Panel team on 25 October 2026. This guide is general information about care in England, not legal, medical or financial advice. Rules and rates change; check with your council or an adviser before making decisions.