Home care in London typically costs £28 to £40 an hour in 2026, above the £26 to £38 UK-wide average. Introductory platforms start from around £19, fully managed agencies typically run £28 to £35 for standard support and £32 to £42 for dementia or complex care, and specialist or end-of-life support reaches £60 or more. The gap between the cheapest and most expensive hour is not really about margin. It is about what is actually included.
If you would like a written quote for hourly visits, call us on 0203 576 1970 and we will talk through what your family needs before any figures are discussed.
How much does home care cost per hour in London in 2026?
Most London families arranging visit-based support pay somewhere between £28 and £40 an hour, with the standard managed-agency rate averaging around £29 to £31 across Greater London. That sits above the £26 to £38 UK-wide average reported by homecare.co.uk for 2026, reflecting London wages and running costs. Age UK’s own national guidance puts typical homecare around £25 an hour as a UK-wide floor, though local private-provider rates are usually higher. Where a family lands within the London range depends on the provider model and what the visit actually requires, not the postcode. The table below sets out the realistic bands.
| Care arrangement | Typical hourly rate, London 2026 |
| Introductory platform (family manages the carer directly) | £19 to £25 |
| Fully managed agency, companionship or standard personal care | £28 to £35 |
| Fully managed agency, dementia or complex care | £32 to £42 |
| Specialist or end-of-life care | £38 to £60 or more |
| Two carers attending together | Usually double the single-carer rate |
| Evenings, weekends and bank holidays | Often 15 to 50 per cent above the standard rate |
| Overnight, for comparison | Sleeping night £100 to £230, waking night £250 to £320 or more |
| UK-wide average, for comparison | £26 to £38 an hour |
Tidal Living publishes its own standard rate openly, at £32.14 an hour, which sits inside the managed-agency band above. We think families should be able to compare a quote against a published number, not negotiate blind. Our full guide to hourly home care in London covers what a typical visit includes.
Why do hourly quotes range from £19 to £60?
Because an introductory platform and a managed agency are not the same product wearing a different price tag. On a platform, your family becomes the carer’s employer in most practical respects: you arrange payroll, cover for sickness or holiday, insurance, and what happens if the match is not working. The lower hourly figure reflects that the platform is not carrying those costs. It has moved them to you.
A fully managed agency carries all of that itself. The rate covers vetting and DBS checks, ongoing supervision, a replacement carer when needed, and CQC oversight of the service as a whole. That is why the honest comparison is never simply the number on the invoice. It is the number plus what happens on the day a carer cannot make the visit, and what the visit itself requires, since dementia experience and complex needs push the managed-agency rate higher, as the table above shows.
What should the hourly rate include?
A fair 2026 quote should be clear about travel time and mileage, the minimum visit length, and whether evenings, weekends and bank holidays carry an uplift, typically 15 to 50 per cent above the standard rate. Ask whether a shorter visit still carries a minimum charge equivalent to forty-five minutes or an hour, and whether a separate travel or call charge applies on top of the headline rate.
Ask too whether the rate includes supervision and quality checks, or whether these are billed separately. A rate that looks unusually low against the £28 to £40 London range is rarely a bargain. Somewhere in the arrangement, a cost is being carried by someone: the carer’s pay, their travel time, or the family’s own administrative burden.
The three price benchmarks worth knowing
homecare.co.uk’s 2026 guidance puts the UK average hourly rate at £26 to £38. The Homecare Association, the sector’s membership body, publishes a minimum sustainable price for England of £34.42 an hour for 2026/27, calculated from the National Living Wage plus travel, waiting time and the basic cost of running a compliant care business. A quote significantly below that figure is not simply competitive. It usually means something in the calculation, most often a carer’s unpaid travel time, has been left out. London-based agencies also carry higher operating costs than the England-wide average, which is part of why London quotes often sit above that floor.
Tidal Living’s own published rate of £32.14 an hour sits within the London managed-agency range described above. We would rather a family could check that number against the benchmarks here than take our word for it.
When is hourly care no longer the cheapest option?
Hourly visits work well for one, two or three calls a day. Once a family needs more than five or six hours of support a day, or the gaps between visits start to feel unsafe, live-in care often becomes the more cost-effective option. A live-in carer in London costs £1,300 to £1,800 a week for standard support, close to what five or six hours of daily hourly visits would cost across the week, but with someone present between visits rather than only during them. Our guide to 24-hour live-in care costs in London sets out that comparison in full.
Who helps pay for hourly home care?
Three routes are worth knowing. A council needs assessment can lead to funding once eligible needs are established. The financial assessment that follows applies a £23,250 upper capital threshold, above which you pay in full, and a £14,250 lower threshold, below which the council contributes and you pay only from income; some London boroughs run more generous policies. NHS Continuing Healthcare can fund a full package at home, hourly visits included, where the primary need is health rather than social care. Attendance Allowance, for 2026/27, pays £76.70 or £114.60 a week depending on the level of help needed, is not means-tested, and is often unclaimed by families who assume savings will disqualify them. Our guide to who pays for home care and how funding works walks through all three routes in detail.
Twenty years in clinical practice has shown me that the cheapest hourly rate rarely stays cheapest. A carer who never returns because the rate could not sustain them costs a family more in disruption than a fair rate would have cost in fees. Continuity is where the real saving lives.
Every family’s situation is different, and the right rate depends on what a visit actually needs to achieve. Tidal Living provides psychotherapist-led, CQC-registered domiciliary care across London, including hourly, live-in and respite support. To talk through your family’s situation and receive a clear written quote, call 0203 576 1970.
Frequently asked questions
How much does home care cost per hour in London?
In 2026, London home care typically costs £28 to £40 an hour, above the £26 to £38 UK-wide average. Introductory platforms start around £19, fully managed agencies typically charge £28 to £42 depending on the type of support needed, and specialist or end-of-life care reaches £60 or more.
How much do carers charge per hour?
It depends on the model. An independent carer through an introductory platform may charge £19 to £25 an hour. A managed agency carer, whose rate includes vetting, supervision and cover, typically charges £30 to £40.
Why do care agencies charge more than introductory platforms?
A managed agency’s rate covers DBS-checked recruitment, ongoing supervision, replacement cover when a carer is unavailable, and CQC regulation of the whole service. A platform’s lower rate reflects that these responsibilities pass to the family instead.
What is included in the hourly home care rate?
A fair rate should cover the carer’s time, reasonable travel, and the provider’s supervision and quality checks. Ask specifically about minimum visit length and any evening, weekend or bank holiday premium before comparing quotes.
Is hourly care cheaper than live-in care?
For one or two visits a day, hourly care is usually the cheaper option. Once a family needs more than five or six hours of support a day, the weekly cost often approaches live-in care, which runs £1,300 to £1,800 a week in London and provides continuous presence rather than scheduled calls.
Will the council pay for hourly home care?
Potentially, after a needs assessment establishes eligibility and a financial assessment is applied. NHS Continuing Healthcare can fund hourly visits in full where the primary need is health-related. Attendance Allowance can also help, and is not means-tested.
References
- homecare.co.uk, Paying for care at home, 2026 (UK average £26 to £38 an hour).
- Homecare Association, Minimum Price for Homecare, England 2026/27 (£34.42 an hour).
- GOV.UK, Attendance Allowance: what you’ll get (2026/27 rates £76.70 and £114.60).
- NHS, Financial assessment (means test) for care.
- Age UK, Paying for homecare (national benchmark and capital thresholds).
