Best 24-hour care platforms in the UK (scored, November 2026)

Key Takeaways

This is a scored list of the best 24-hour care platforms in the UK: eight introductory matching services, judged on published vetting, fees, flexibility, family support and third-party reviews. None of them is CQC-registered as a care provider for the service we scored. We run Match With Care and put it in the table on the same rules. Facts we could not find are marked not published and score zero. Method: how we score platforms. Live table: home care platforms. Checked 15 November 2026.

You're probably here because Google mixed two products into one result. A live-in week where the carer sleeps, and a waking rota with two people on shifts. I still open both tabs myself.

Jo in Croydon had them on her phone at twenty past two. Kettle on. Mum was already in the kitchen, sundowning, looking for the biscuit tin she had put away an hour earlier. Jo's sister is in Leeds. The Elder pricing page said two nightly wake-ups were included from £1,195 a week. The Curam 24-hour-care page started waking coverage at £1,250, before 12%. Same search. Different nights.

The NHS (last reviewed 18 January 2024) still prices a paid carer at about £15 to £30 an hour, and is plain that help at home can run through the night. Age UK (updated 18 February 2026) still points families at registered homecare agencies, or at arranging a private carer themselves. If savings sit above £23,250, the council will not help with care costs. Age UK's cost page (updated 3 November 2026) puts privately arranged care at home around £25 an hour, residential around £1,100 a week and nursing around £1,450. Attendance Allowance is £76.70 a week, or £114.60 if help is needed through both day and night. NHS Continuing Healthcare can be arranged at home; the fast-track route is usually commissioned within 48 hours. Ask a GP or nurse about clinical needs. We do not give medical advice.

PrimeCarers' own 24-hour comparison, opened 15 November 2026, already ranks Home Instead, The Good Care Group and Trinity Homecare next to Elder. It is a PrimeCarers page, last sourced 19 October 2026, and it mixes CQC-registered agencies with introductory platforms. This list does not. We scored only the matching services.

What are the best 24-hour care platforms in the UK?

On this 15 November 2026 check we scored Elder, Match With Care, Curam, Live-in Care Direct, PrimeCarers, Country Cousins, Gladys and Care.com UK. Elder leads on published facts, at 95/100. Rank is a score, not a recommendation to switch.

How we scored these 24-hour care platforms

The CQC (updated 2 November 2026) registers people who carry on regulated activity. These platforms introduce self-employed carers, so a CQC grade cannot rank them.

Each platform is scored out of 100 from facts on its own pages: vetting 25, price transparency 20, flexibility 15, family support 20, third-party reviews 20. Review points need at least 10 reviews and are weighted by volume up to 100. A perfect 5.0 with fewer than 100 reviews earns 12 of 20. A fact we cannot find is not published, and earns nothing. Ties break on review volume, then name. Full rules: platform ranking methodology. We run Match With Care. Its rank is the score. Pages opened for this round are named under each platform. Checked 15 November 2026.

If you want the night-by-night version, we already wrote best overnight care platforms in the UK and overnight care at home: sleeping vs waking nights. This page is 24-hour cover, including the week.

Comparison table

Rank	Platform	Score	24-hour / live-in from	Family fee	Reviews
1	Elder	95/100	Live-in from £1,195 a week; two wake-ups included	One agreed weekly rate	4.8/5 from 905, Trustpilot
2	Match With Care	89/100	Live-in around £1,050–£1,400; waking 24-hour costs more	15% platform fee on the invoice	5.0 on Google, fewer than 100 reviews (12/20 review points)
3	Curam	88/100	Waking 24-hour £1,250–£1,600; live-in from £950	12% on the carer's rate	4.5/5 from 588, Trustpilot
4	Live-in Care Direct	75/100	One carer from £1,200; two carers from £2,600	One fixed weekly fee	4.9/5 from 121 Google reviews, as stated on their homepage
5	PrimeCarers	72/100	Live-in from £1,050; waking rota about £2,793–£3,388	Fee included	4.1/5 from 43, Trustpilot
6	Country Cousins	55/100	Two-carer 24-hour: call for a quote; live-in around £1,155	Lifetime registration fee (amount not published)	3.8/5 from 108, Trustpilot
7	Gladys	47/100	Live-in from £1,400 a week (£200 a day); 24-hour not priced	Carer-set rates	No third-party score with 10+ reviews opened
8	Care.com UK	14/100	Not published	Paid Premium to message carers	3.6/5 from 6,405, Trustpilot UK

Checked 15 November 2026. Elder's Trustpilot figure is the 12 October check; that listing returned 403 today. Curam, PrimeCarers and Country Cousins review pages were last opened 13 October. Care.com UK's Trustpilot listing, last opened 21 October 2026, returned 403 today, so the 3.6/5 from 6,405 stays on that check.

1. Elder · 95/100

Why it ranks here. Elder's introductory-agency page states enhanced DBS or PVG, right-to-work, and that it aims to verify at least two professional references before introduction, plus a situational assessment. The 24-hour-care page, opened 15 November 2026, arranges this through live-in care or a two-carer plan. The pricing page the same day starts live-in from £1,195 a week, with two nightly wake-ups included, a two-week trial, no joining or exit fee, and two weeks' notice. Families choose the carer. Elder says it helps source a replacement. MyElder handles schedules and payments. Family Support is described as available seven days a week. Trustpilot, last opened 12 October 2026, showed 4.8 out of 5 from 905 reviews.

Where it falls short. Elder is not CQC-registered as a provider. The 24-hour page quotes most live-in packages at £1,200 to £1,500 a week and Elder's own start from around £1,150, which sits below the £1,195 on the pricing page. No separate two-carer from-price was published. Insurance cover was not on the pages we opened, so those points are zero. The same introductory-agency page says self-employed carers can only prompt medication.

Sources: 24-hour care at home, pricing, introductory agency.

2. Match With Care · 89/100

Why it ranks here. We run Match With Care. On the same checklist we reach 89, second in this set, one point above Curam. Our FAQ states enhanced DBS, right-to-work, references, an interview, no joining or exit fee, a 15% platform fee on the invoice, carer swaps at no extra matching cost, and replacement cover. London and the live-in page, both opened 15 November 2026, put live-in around £1,050 to £1,400 a week. The live-in page is plain that if someone must be awake all night that is a waking night, not a standard live-in day, and it costs more. Google shows a 5.0 average with fewer than 100 reviews, which earns 12 of 20 review points. The 5.0 figure was still on the London page on 15 November 2026.

Where it falls short. We are not CQC-registered as a provider. There is no dedicated 24-hour care-type page. No two-carer from-price was published. Our own platform insurance cover is not published on our site yet; carers must hold their own public liability insurance. Two weeks' notice, or fees in lieu, is the usual standard. Twelve review points against Elder's 18 is most of the six-point gap.

Sources: FAQ, London, live-in care.

3. Curam · 88/100

Why it ranks here. Curam's client FAQ says every carer is interviewed, DBS-checked, right-to-work checked, and must supply two referees. No sign-up fee, no tie-in, and a 12% client fee. Insurance through CFC is on the FAQ. Care advisers are described as available seven days a week for replacements. The 24-hour-care page, opened 15 November 2026, treats 24-hour care as two or more carers on waking shifts. Standard coverage is £1,250 to £1,400 a week, specialist £1,350 to £1,550, couples £1,450 to £1,700, typically £1,250 to £1,600 in all. The live-in cost guide still starts ongoing live-in at £950 a week. Trustpilot (NZ listing), last opened 13 October 2026, showed 4.5 out of 5 from 588 reviews.

Where it falls short. Self-managed care is not a CQC-regulated personal-care service. A trial shift is charged. Taking a carer off the platform after 90 days attracts a £750 plus VAT recruitment fee. The family total is the carer's rate plus 12%. Those waking figures sit well above the live-in guide.

Sources: 24-hour care, client information, live-in costs.

Those two nightly wake-ups on Elder's pricing page are still sleeping live-in. Curam's 24-hour page is the other product.

4. Live-in Care Direct · 75/100

Why it ranks here. The carers page states enhanced DBS, right-to-work, professional references checked, and an in-person interview before introduction. The homepage, opened 15 November 2026, publishes standard live-in from £1,200 a week as one fixed fee, you choose the carer, a named care manager, and replacement help. Google reviews are stated there as 4.9 out of 5 from 121 reviews. The 24-hour-care page the same day prices one live-in carer from £1,200, or £1,300 for more complex needs, and two carers from £2,600.

Where it falls short. Not CQC-registered as a provider. No joining fee, notice period, trial or insurance policy was spelled out on the pages we opened. Two carers at £2,600 is more than double the one-carer plan, which is the honest number if nobody can sleep. The homepage Trustpilot widget showed 4.8 from 41 reviews, which would score lower on volume than the Google figure we used.

Sources: homepage, 24 hour live-in care, carers.

5. PrimeCarers · 72/100

Why it ranks here. The 24-hour-care page, opened 15 November 2026, is the plainest of this set on the split. One live-in carer from £1,050 a week, typically £1,120, fee included. A live-in week plus a waking night is about £2,156, or about £148 a night. A day-and-night rota with somebody awake every night is about £2,793 to £3,388. Two live-in carers are about £2,240. They check ID, right to work, an enhanced DBS issued within two years, and interview online. You choose the carer. Contract and payment tools sit on the platform, with insurance subject to policy terms.

Where it falls short. The same page is plain that PrimeCarers does not check qualifications, training or references. A profile can say "24-hour" without anyone at PrimeCarers having called a previous employer. The insurance they arrange does not cover clinical procedures. Trustpilot, last opened 13 October 2026, showed 4.1 out of 5 from 43 reviews. No free trial was stated.

Sources: 24-hour care, pricing, who provides 24-hour care.

6. Country Cousins · 55/100

Why it ranks here. The 24-hour-care page, opened 15 November 2026, describes two carers covering day and night. The live-in cost page (reviewed 13 October 2026), opened the same day, still starts at around £1,155 a week and states a one-off lifetime registration fee; the amount was still not published. Trustpilot, last opened 13 October 2026, showed 3.8 out of 5 from 108 reviews.

Where it falls short. Not CQC-registered as a provider. The 24-hour page does not publish a from-price. It says 24-hour care costs more than standard live-in and asks families to call for a quote. Notice, trial, insurance and family online tools were not published. The registration fee costs it the "no joining fee" points.

Sources: 24-hour care, cost of live-in care.

7. Gladys · 47/100

Why it ranks here. Gladys is an introductory platform. The homepage, opened 15 November 2026, still lists local carers across BANES, Bristol, Dorset, Hampshire, Somerset and South Gloucestershire. The client FAQ states enhanced DBS, references, interviews, and public liability insurance. Families choose from a handpicked list. Visiting from £32 an hour. Live-in from £200 a day, which we treat as £1,400 a week. The services page names 24-hour support among the services offered. The live-in cost article still puts live-in at around £1,400 a week in England.

Where it falls short. Right-to-work, joining fees, a trial or free swap, and replacement-cover help were not on the pages we opened. We did not open a third-party review listing with at least 10 reviews, so reputation points are zero. The services page publishes no waking-night or two-carer from-price.

Sources: gladys.care, client FAQ, home care services, live-in cost 2026.

8. Care.com UK · 14/100

Why it ranks here. The elderly-care listings page, opened 15 November 2026, still puts the average caregiver rate at £15.08 an hour as of November 2026. Families post a job, message, interview and hire. The family FAQ makes a paid Premium membership the gate to reading applications and sending messages. One profile snippet offered 24hr care. That is a carer's own text, not a Care.com 24-hour service page.

Where it falls short. The same listings page states Care.com does not introduce or supply carers and does not verify identity or posted information. £15.08 is a caregiver average, not a family from-price. No dedicated UK 24-hour care service page. The UK Trustpilot listing, last opened 21 October 2026, showed 3.6 out of 5 from 6,405 reviews. A 3.6 rating at that volume earns 6 of 20 review points. Most of those reviews are about childcare, housekeeping and membership billing.

Sources: elderly care listings, family FAQ, Trustpilot UK.

Best-for picks from the same scores

• Most thorough published vetting (25/25): Elder, Curam, Match With Care and Live-in Care Direct.
• Lowest published live-in starting price: Curam, from £950 a week on its cost guide. Add the 12% client fee before you treat that as the family total.
• Most flexible published terms (15/15): Elder and Match With Care, which both publish no fixed term plus a trial or a free carer swap.
• Strongest third-party review points: Live-in Care Direct, on the Google figure stated on its homepage (4.9/5 from 121).
• Published waking 24-hour from-price: Curam, from £1,250 a week plus 12%. PrimeCarers, a day-and-night rota about £2,793 to £3,388, fee included. Live-in Care Direct, two carers from £2,600.

If you want a CQC-inspected agency instead of an introductory platform, that is a different list: how we rank agencies. Related scored lists: best live-in care platforms in the UK and best overnight care platforms in the UK.

Jo still has both tabs open. The £1,195 week with two wake-ups is not the £2,600 two-carer plan. I am not going to tell her which night her mum is having.

---

We run Match With Care as an introductory care marketplace, not a CQC-registered agency. If you want us to introduce a vetted self-employed carer, see who is available. We'll tell you the 15% fee before you choose. The live scores sit on home care platforms.