Best live-in care agencies in Guildford (CQC-checked, October 2026)

Key Takeaways

This is a scored list of live-in care agencies covering Guildford, CQC-checked on 26 October 2026. Outstanding beats Good, inspections older than four years lose 15 points, and a website-checked published price or live-in offer adds 5 each. Live-in is not a CQC specialism, so that bonus is zero. We run Match With Care. We are not CQC-registered as a care provider, so we sit in a labelled box outside this list. Method: how we rank agencies.

Helen had three quotes on the kitchen table in Burpham by Sunday night. Dad had come home from Royal Surrey on Thursday. Unique: from £265 a day. Helping Hands: £1,675 a week. Trinity: from £1,694 a week. She texted her brother that Unique was the expensive one. She had not multiplied by seven.

The weekly numbers look comparable until you do the sum.

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, Age UK says the council will not help with care costs. The NHS puts help at home from a paid carer at about £15 to £30 an hour, and is plain that you might need a live-in carer. Age UK's cost page (updated 19 August 2026) puts privately arranged care at home around £25 an hour, and a residential care home around £1,100 a week. Attendance Allowance is still £76.70 a week, or £114.60 if help is needed through both day and night.

Unique's Guildford page, citing Census 2021, says 2,657 people in Guildford borough provide unpaid care for at least 50 hours a week.

Unique Senior Care's own Surrey comparison (checked August 2026) mixes local franchises with national live-in firms and puts Unique first. This page scores CQC locations on one method and shows the drawbacks.

The cobbles on the High Street photograph well. That is not a care fact. I am leaving it there.

What are the best live-in care agencies in Guildford?

On this 26 October 2026 check we scored nine CQC-registered locations that publish live-in care and operate in, or into, Guildford. Trinity Homecare (Worcester Park) leads on published facts, at 110.

How we scored these live-in care agencies

The CQC (updated 1 July 2025) registers people who carry on regulated activity. Homecare agencies that provide personal care have to be on that register. Introductory platforms do not, which is why Elder, Curam and Care.com UK are not in this table.

Each location starts at 100 for Outstanding, 60 for Good, or 20 for Requires improvement. An inspection older than four years, or missing, loses 15. A listed live-in specialism would add 10; none of these CQC pages had one. A website-checked published hourly or weekly from-price adds 5. A website-checked live-in offer adds 5. Ties break on the more recent inspection, then the name. Full rules: agency ranking methodology. Pages opened for this round are named under each agency. Checked 26 October 2026.

We also opened Consultus's Guildford live-in page and its Tonbridge CQC record (Good, report published 20 February 2019). Managed live-in from £1,603 a week on the costs page. That inspection is more than four years old, so it scored 55 and sits outside this table. Cera's provider registration we opened has no live Surrey location. Elder is an introductory platform, not a CQC agency.

Comparison table

Rank	Agency	Score	CQC rating	Last inspection	Website-checked fact	Drawback
1	Trinity Homecare (Worcester Park)	110	Outstanding	Assessment 11 to 27 Aug 2025	Live-in from £1,694 a week; Guildford coverage page	CQC location is Worcester Park
2	Radfield Home Care Guildford & Woking	105	Outstanding	Assessment 30 Jun to 14 Jul 2026	Live-in listed on the local site	No from-price on the pages we opened
3	Home Counties Carers	105	Outstanding	Report published 6 Sep 2023	Live-in listed; covers Guildford	No from-price on the pages we opened
4	Unique Senior Care	95	Outstanding	Report published 27 Aug 2021	Live-in from £265 a day / £1,855 a week	Inspection more than four years old
5	The Good Care Group	95	Outstanding	Report published 12 Apr 2019	From £40 an hour; live-in from £256 a day	Inspection more than four years old
6	Right at Home GF (Guildford & Farnham)	90	Outstanding	Report published 23 May 2020	Live-in listed on the local site	Inspection more than four years old; costs "vary"
7	Home Instead Guildford and Woking	90	Outstanding	Report published 7 Dec 2017	Live-in listed on the local site	Inspection more than four years old; no from-price
8	Helping Hands Godalming	70	Good	Assessment 9 to 12 Oct 2026	Guildford live-in from £1,675 a week	Guildford CQC location is archived
9	Alina Homecare Guildford	65	Good	Assessment 30 Apr to 1 May 2026	Live-in listed on the Guildford page	No from-price; separate live-in CQC location was archived

Checked 26 October 2026. Scores follow how we rank agencies. Match With Care is not in this table.

1. Trinity Homecare (Worcester Park) · 110

Why it ranks here. CQC location 1-1864053896 at 1-15 Central Road, Worcester Park, is Outstanding, report published 9 October 2025, after an assessment from 11 to 27 August 2025. Dementia is listed. The inspector's report says the service provides visiting and live-in care, and was supporting 246 people with personal care. The live-in page (reviewed 19 October 2026) publishes live-in from £1,694 a week for lower support needs. The Guildford coverage page names live-in around Guildford, including Godalming and Fairlands.

Where it falls short. The registered office is in Worcester Park, not Guildford. The from-price is a national starting figure, not a Guildford quote.

Sources: CQC, live-in, Guildford coverage.

2. Radfield Home Care Guildford & Woking · 105

Why it ranks here. CQC location 1-14858595356 at 105 High Street, Godalming, is Outstanding, report published 11 September 2026, after an assessment from 30 June to 14 July 2026. Dementia is listed. Sixteen people were receiving personal care at the time. The local about page lists live-in care packages and coverage across Guildford, Woking and Godalming, including Burpham and Merrow. This is the most recently inspected Outstanding location in the set.

Where it falls short. No hourly or weekly from-price sat on the local pages we opened, including the national live-in cost guide, so the price bonus is zero. It trails Trinity by those five points.

Sources: CQC, local site, live-in costs.

3. Home Counties Carers · 105

Why it ranks here. CQC location 1-2325711270 at Webb House, Portsmouth Road, Ripley, is Outstanding, report published 6 September 2023. Dementia is listed. The inspector's summary says the agency provides live-in care and domiciliary visits; 48 people were receiving personal care. The homepage names Guildford, Woking and Leatherhead. The care-service page restates live-in care.

Where it falls short. No from-price on the pages we opened. Unique's Surrey comparison quotes about £1,222 a week from homecare.co.uk. That is not a figure Home Counties printed itself, so we did not score it. It ties Radfield on 105 and loses the tie-break on inspection date.

Sources: CQC, homepage, care service.

4. Unique Senior Care · 95

Why it ranks here. Unique Care, for this list, is Unique Senior Care. CQC location 1-7601685405 in Knowle, Solihull, is Outstanding, report published 27 August 2021. Dementia is listed. The Guildford live-in page (updated 13 October 2026) publishes live-in from £265 a day for one person, or £330 a day for a couple, and names Abbotswood, Burpham and Bellfields. The costs page (updated 7 October 2026) restates £1,855 a week for one person.

Where it falls short. The inspection is more than four years old, so it loses 15 points. The registered office is in Solihull.

Sources: CQC, Guildford live-in, costs.

5. The Good Care Group · 95

Why it ranks here. CQC location 1-1489174477 at Portsoken House, Minories, is Outstanding, report published 12 April 2019. Dementia is listed. CQC last reviewed the information on 6 July 2023 and did not reassess. The Guildford live-in page describes live-in across Guildford, including Burpham and Godalming. The costs page publishes hourly care from £40 and live-in from £256 a day.

Where it falls short. The inspection is more than four years old. Unique's 2021 report is newer, so Unique takes the 95 tie.

Sources: CQC, Guildford live-in, costs.

6. Right at Home GF (Guildford & Farnham) · 90

Why it ranks here. CQC location 1-435743704 at White Barn, Runfold St George, Farnham, is Outstanding, report published 23 May 2020. Dementia is listed. CQC last reviewed the information on 6 July 2023 and did not reassess. The 2020 report says the service provided care visits and live-in care, with 54 people receiving personal care. The local site lists live-in care and coverage of Guildford, Godalming and Shalford.

Where it falls short. The inspection is more than four years old. The same local FAQ says costs vary and asks you to request a quote. No from-price, so the price bonus is zero.

Sources: CQC, local site.

7. Home Instead Guildford and Woking · 90

Why it ranks here. CQC location 1-2781285055 at Lansbury Estate, Knaphill, is Outstanding, report published 7 December 2017. Dementia is listed. CQC last reviewed the information on 6 July 2023 and did not reassess. The local live-in page describes a Care Professional living in the home and names Merrow, Byfleet and Ockham. The office page lists live-in among local services.

Where it falls short. The inspection is more than eight years old. No from-price on the local pages we opened. The national live-in cost page talks in ranges, not a Guildford quote.

Sources: CQC, local live-in, office.

8. Helping Hands Godalming · 70

Why it ranks here. The old Helping Hands Guildford registration at Guildford Business Park was archived on 15 November 2022. The live CQC location we opened is Helping Hands Godalming at 6B Queen Street: Good, assessment 9 to 12 October 2026, report published 20 October 2026. Dementia is listed. Forty-one people were receiving regulated support. The Guildford live-in page says care is coordinated from Godalming, and publishes live-in at £1,675 a week for one person, or £2,125 for a couple.

Where it falls short. The rating is Good, so it starts 40 points behind Outstanding. The same Guildford page prints the Queen Street address as "Guildford, GU7 1BD". GU7 1BD is Godalming. CQC registers it there.

Sources: CQC Godalming, archived Guildford, Guildford live-in.

9. Alina Homecare Guildford · 65

Why it ranks here. CQC location 1-2853842074 at 1 Beaufort Parklands, Railton Road, is Good, report published 21 May 2026, after an assessment on 30 April and 1 May 2026. Dementia is listed. Thirty-three people were receiving personal care. The Guildford live-in page still sells live-in care from that office and says the weekly rate is the same across the South of England.

Where it falls short. No from-price on the Guildford live-in page or the national cost page. A separate Alina Homecare Live In Care registration in Guildford was archived on 13 August 2020. We scored the live visiting location, plus the marketing page.

Sources: CQC, Guildford live-in, archived live-in location.

Best-for picks from the same scores

• Highest score in this Guildford live-in set: Trinity Homecare (Worcester Park), 110, because it also published a weekly from-price.
• Most recently inspected Outstanding: Radfield Home Care Guildford & Woking, assessment ended 14 July 2026.
• Lowest website-checked live-in from-price: Helping Hands, £1,675 a week on the Guildford live-in page. Trinity publishes from £1,694 a week. Unique publishes from £1,855 a week, or £265 a day. The Good Care Group publishes from £256 a day.

Remember Helen's £265 Unique figure? That is £1,855 if the carer stays seven days. Helping Hands already printed the weekly number.

The NHS homecare page still prints £15 to £30 an hour. A Guildford live-in week at £1,675 is a different product.

If you want an introductory platform instead of a CQC-inspected agency, that is a different list: best live-in care platforms in the UK. Related: how much live-in care costs and what live-in care consists of.

Match With Care. Our service. Not CQC-registered, different model. Best for choosing and paying your carer directly. We introduce self-employed carers, including live-in; you pick the person and you direct day-to-day care. See home care platforms.

Helping Hands and Trinity both print a 24-hour start, subject to a free assessment. That is a marketing line. It is not a named carer in Onslow Village.

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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 live-in carer, see who is available. We will tell you the 15% fee before you choose.