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Care home or care at home — which costs less?
Staying at home, bringing in a live-in carer, or moving into a care home each add up very differently as care needs grow. Adjust a few figures and compare the real weekly and yearly cost of all three, side by side.
The true cost of care at home vs a care home
Families often compare a care-home fee to home-care hours alone — but a care home already includes the room, meals and bills, while staying at home means paying for those on top of the care. Adjust the figures for an illustrative weekly and yearly comparison, and see where a care home becomes the cheaper choice.
Household costs total £173/week. Attendance Allowance is a non-means-tested benefit (recent rates roughly £73.90 lower / £110.40 higher per week — check the current rate); it is usually payable whether you stay at home or self-fund a care home, so it is applied to every option below.
Home-care visits
35 hrs/week × £23
£978/wk
£50,856/year
£805 care + £173 bills
Lowest total cost
Live-in care
one carer, living with you
£1,573/wk
£81,796/year
£1,400 care + £173 bills
Residential care home
room, meals & bills included
£1,200/wk
£62,400/year
Where it changes over
Once the £173/week of household bills are counted, staying at home works out cheaper only up to about 45 hours of care a week. Beyond that, a residential care home — where the bills are already included — usually costs less.
A guide, not a quote
Every figure is an editable estimate. Household bills vary by home and circumstances; live-in care may need two carers for high or overnight needs; and the right choice depends on the level of care needed, not just the total. Always get real quotes and a care-needs assessment before deciding.
Illustrative only — a transparent model, not a quote. See who should pay towards care in our care funding & means-test calculator, or ask Bart.
What to keep in mind
Three things that swing the cost
It depends on the hours
A few visits a week is the cheapest option by far. But hourly costs add up — past a point, live-in care or a care home’s fixed weekly price works out lower.
Compare like with like
Staying at home only costs the care figure on top of the rent, food and bills you already pay. A care home fee bundles the room, meals and utilities in.
Then check who pays
Once you know the likely cost, the means test decides how much of it falls to you and how much the council covers. Our funding calculator works that out.
Want to know who pays? Try the care funding & means-test calculator.