How Much Does Home Care Cost in London?

Ask three people what home care costs in London and you will get three different answers. That is not because anyone is hiding anything. It is because “home care” covers very different things: a two-hour morning visit, someone staying the night, or a carer who lives in the house. Each is priced in its own way.

This guide explains what drives the cost, shows real weekly numbers, and compares them with care home fees in London so you can see where each option sits.

What drives the cost of home care

Four things decide most of the bill:

The type of care. Hourly visits, overnight care and live-in care are priced differently.
How many hours a week. For hourly care, this is the biggest factor by far.
When the care happens. Many providers charge more for evenings, weekends and bank holidays.
What is included. Travel time, mileage, booking fees and minimum visit lengths can all add to the headline rate.

The last two are where families most often get caught out. A low hourly rate can look very different once weekend supplements and travel are added. Always ask for a full weekly quote, not just the rate.

Hourly care: paying for the time you need

Hourly care suits most people at the start. A carer visits for set blocks of time, usually in the morning, and helps with getting up, washing, dressing, meals, medication reminders and company.

With Viola, hourly care is £20 an hour, the same rate on weekdays, evenings, weekends and bank holidays, with travel included and no hidden fees. You can see everything on our prices page.

What that looks like in a week

Pattern	Hours a week	Weekly cost with Viola
Two visits of 2 hours for company and shopping	4	£80
Two-hour morning visit every day	14	£280
Daily morning visit plus two longer visits	20	£400
Morning and evening visits every day	28	£560
Weekday cover, 8 hours a day	40	£800

Most families start somewhere between 14 and 20 hours a week. If you are not sure where your parent sits, our guide on how many hours of care your parent actually needs walks you through it in about twenty minutes.

Overnight care: when nights are the problem

If your parent is up in the night, at risk of falling on the way to the toilet, or a family member has not slept properly in weeks, daytime hours will not fix it. Overnight care means a carer stays in the home through the night, usually from 10pm to 8am.

With Viola, overnight care starts from £140 per night.

Two nights a week: from £280
Three nights a week: from £420
Every night: from £980

Many families use two or three nights a week so that a husband, wife or adult child can get proper sleep and keep going.

Live-in care: someone there around the clock

When needs grow beyond about 50 hours a week, or your parent should not be alone at all, live-in care is often better value than stacking up visits. A carer lives in your parent’s home, usually for three to four weeks at a time before another carer takes over.

With Viola, live-in care starts from £150 per day, which is from £1,050 per week. The carer needs their own room. Arrangements are usually long term, with a minimum of one month, and can often be set up within about five days.

To compare: 55 hours of hourly care a week at £20 is £1,100, which is already more than the starting price of live-in care. Our guide to live-in care costs in London goes into more detail, with a calculator.

How this compares with a care home in London

Care homes charge a weekly fee that covers accommodation, meals and care. According to figures from LaingBuisson reported by Which?, average weekly fees at for-profit care homes in 2024/25 were:

	England	Greater London
Residential care home	£1,042	£1,189
Nursing home	£1,372	£1,513

LaingBuisson also found that across the UK, people paying for themselves were charged more on average than councils paid for the same type of place: £1,278 a week for residential care and £1,594 for nursing care in 2024/25.

These are averages from 2024/25, so fees for a new admission today may well be higher. They are useful as a rough guide, not a quote. We compare the two options in more detail in live-in care vs a care home.

Why hourly prices vary so much

You may see hourly rates in London that are well above £20. Part of the reason is the business model behind the price.

The Homecare Association, which represents homecare providers, publishes a minimum price for homecare in England. For 2026/27 it is £34.42 an hour. It is a benchmark for what it costs a regulated care agency that employs and manages its own care workers to deliver homecare sustainably, and it is mainly used in discussions about what councils pay. It is not a price list, and individual agencies set their own rates.

Viola works differently. We are an introductory agency: we introduce families to vetted, self-employed carers and handle the agreement, invoicing and payments, while families choose the carer and agree the care arrangements directly with them. Because the structure is different, the costs are different too. We explain the models side by side in introductory agency vs care agency.

Help with paying for care

You may not have to fund everything yourself. Some of the main options in England:

Attendance Allowance. A benefit for people over State Pension age who need help because of an illness or disability. In 2026/27 it is £76.70 a week at the lower rate and £114.60 at the higher rate. It is not means-tested.
A needs assessment from the council. Free, and anyone can ask for one. If your parent’s savings are below £23,250, the council may contribute.
Direct payments. If the council agrees to fund care, it can pay the money to you so you choose how it is spent.
NHS Continuing Healthcare. For people with long-term complex health needs, the NHS may fund care in full.

Every situation is different, so check the details on gov.uk or get advice for your parent’s circumstances. Our guide to paying for care at home in England goes through each option step by step.

Getting a clear number for your family

The simplest way to know what care will cost is to start from your parent’s real week and price it properly, with weekends and travel included. Tell us what is happening through the form on our home page and we will come back with a clear weekly figure and, usually within 48 hours, a suitable carer to meet. Or call us if you would rather talk it through.

Frequently asked questions

How much does home care cost per hour in London? Rates vary a lot between providers. With Viola it is £20 an hour, every day of the week, with travel included.

Is home care cheaper than a care home? For most people who need a few hours a day, yes. Even live-in care, from £1,050 a week with Viola, starts below the average London care home fee of £1,189 a week in 2024/25.

Do weekends and bank holidays cost more? With many providers they do. With Viola the rate is the same every day.

Can Attendance Allowance be used to pay for home care? Yes. It is paid to your parent and they can spend it however they choose, including on care.

What is the cheapest way to cover nights? If only nights are the issue, overnight care from £140 a night for two or three nights a week is often enough.