Best overnight care platforms in the UK (scored, October 2026)

Key Takeaways

This is a scored list of the best overnight 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. Checked 22 October 2026.

The live table on home care platforms uses the same checklist.

The landing light was already on when Tom got to his mum's in Woking. Third time this week. Twenty past two, kettle on, both of them pretending this was still a one-off. He had three overnight tabs open on his phone. One sold a week of live-in. One sold a Tuesday night. Same search result.

The NHS is plain that a paid carer can come for an hour a week, several hours a day, or at night, and puts help at home at about £15 to £30 an hour. Age UK (updated 18 February 2026) still points families at registered homecare agencies, or at arranging a private carer themselves, and says if savings sit above £23,250 the council will not help with care costs. Night needs are also how a lot of Attendance Allowance claims move up a band: £76.70 a week, or £114.60 if help is needed through both day and night.

What are the best overnight care platforms in the UK?

On this 22 October 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 overnight care platforms

The CQC (updated 1 July 2025) 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 22 October 2026.

If you want the difference between a sleeping night and a waking night in more detail, we already wrote overnight care at home: sleeping vs waking nights. This page is the platforms.

Comparison table

Rank	Platform	Score	Overnight from	Family fee	Reviews
1	Elder	95/100	Live-in from £1,150 a week; not a one-off night	One agreed weekly rate	4.8/5 from 905, Trustpilot
2	Match With Care	89/100	Around £150–£200 a night	15% platform fee on the invoice	5.0 on Google, fewer than 100 reviews (12/20 review points)
3	Curam	88/100	Sleeping £120–£180; waking £160–£240+ a night	12% on the carer's rate	4.5/5 from 588, Trustpilot
4	Live-in Care Direct	75/100	Call for a night quote; specialist live-in from £1,300	One fixed weekly fee	4.9/5 from 111 Google reviews, as stated on their homepage
5	PrimeCarers	66/100	Sleeping from £130; waking from £165	Platform fee inside the quote	4.1/5 from 43, Trustpilot
6	Country Cousins	55/100	Not published; call for a quote	One-off lifetime registration fee, then weekly packages	3.8/5 from 108, Trustpilot
7	Gladys	47/100	Not published	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 22 October 2026. Elder's Trustpilot figure is the 12 October check; that listing failed verification again today. Curam, PrimeCarers and Country Cousins review pages were last opened 13 October. Care.com UK's Trustpilot listing returned 500 today, so the 3.6/5 from 6,405 stays on the 21 October check.

Elder still leads this set. Its overnight page still sells the week.

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 pricing page publishes live-in from £1,150 a week, a two-week trial for full-time care, no joining or exit fee, two weeks' notice, and two nightly wake-ups included. Families choose the carer. Elder says it helps source a replacement. MyElder handles schedules and payments. The overnight page describes sleeping nights, waking nights and a sitting service. 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. Hourly visiting prices and insurance cover were not on the pages we opened, so those points are zero. The same introductory-agency page says Elder cannot mandate training for self-employed carers. The overnight page is blunt: overnight care is arranged through a live-in carer, priced weekly rather than per night, "rather than a one-off night booking".

Sources: pricing, introductory agency, overnight care.

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 pricing puts live-in around £1,050 to £1,400 a week and overnight at around £150 to £200 a night. The overnight page and overnight cost guide describe sleeping or waking nights, including a few nights after hospital or regular nights each week. 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 22 October 2026.

Where it falls short. We are not CQC-registered as a provider. 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 for ending or pausing. We publish a £150 to £200 nightly range. We do not split a from-price for sleeping nights versus waking nights. Twelve review points against Elder's 18 is most of the six-point gap.

Sources: FAQ, London, overnight care, overnight cost.

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. The 12% client fee is added to invoices. Insurance through CFC is described on the FAQ. Care advisers are described as available seven days a week for replacements. No minimum contract length; a trial shift is charged. The overnight service page puts sleeping nights at £15 to £20 an hour and waking nights at £26 to £34. The overnight cost guide publishes £120 to £180 a sleeping night and £160 to £240+ a waking night. 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. Taking a carer off the platform after 90 days attracts a £750 plus VAT recruitment fee, as stated in the same client FAQ. Overnight prices are a guide; the family total is the carer's rate plus 12%. No free trial or free carer swap was stated.

Sources: client information, overnight care, overnight costs, live-in costs.

A family in St Albans after a hip fracture wanted three waking nights, not a carer moving in. Curam would sell them the nights. Elder would sell them the week.

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 publishes standard live-in from £1,200 a week as one fixed fee, you choose the carer, a named care manager, and replacement help. The overnight page (last reviewed 24 September 2026) describes sleeping and waking nights, prices specialist live-in including overnight from £1,300 a week, and two-carer cover from £2,600. Google reviews are stated on the homepage as 4.9 out of 5 from 111 reviews, still there on 22 October 2026.

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. Stand-alone overnight care is priced on the nights needed; the same page asks you to call for a quote. The homepage Trustpilot widget showed 4.8 from 41 reviews, which would earn fewer volume-weighted points than the Google figure we used.

Sources: homepage, overnight care, carers.

5. PrimeCarers · 66/100

Why it ranks here. The overnight page is the plainest of the lot on nights. A sleeping night from £130. A waking night from £165. Ten to 12 hours, fee included, from one night a week. Pay after each night. 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. They will help look for another carer if plans change; availability is not guaranteed.

Where it falls short. The same page is equally plain that they do not check qualifications, training or references. A profile can say "overnight" without anyone at PrimeCarers having called a previous employer. Trustpilot, last opened 13 October 2026, showed 4.1 out of 5 from 43 reviews. No joining fee and no free trial were stated.

Sources: primecarers.co.uk/overnight-care.

6. Country Cousins · 55/100

Why it ranks here. Country Cousins has introduced self-employed live-in carers since 1959. The jobs page requires proof of right to work, DBS or PVG, an interview, and two professional references to be shortlisted. The price comparison publishes long-term live-in from £1,155 a week. The overnight page describes sleeping nights as the daytime live-in carer, with a waking fee that can be charged, and waking nights as a separate carer. Trustpilot, last opened 13 October 2026, showed 3.8 out of 5 from 108 reviews.

Where it falls short. Not CQC-registered; managed, inspected care sits with sister company Trinity Homecare. The pages we opened do not say Country Cousins itself verifies those two references. Notice, trial, insurance and family online tools were not published. A one-off lifetime registration fee is stated elsewhere; the amount was not on the pages we opened today. The overnight cost article asks you to call for a quote. The waking fee itself has no figure next to it.

Sources: overnight at home, overnight cost, prices, carer vetting.

7. Gladys · 47/100

Why it ranks here. Gladys is an introductory platform. The client FAQ states enhanced DBS, references, interviews, and public liability insurance. Families choose from a handpicked list. Live-in is from £200 a day, which we treat as £1,400 a week. The same article says waking night support can push weekly costs to £1,600 or more. The overnight page describes sleep-in care, waking nights, and shorter sitting visits.

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 overnight page still talks about Bristol, Bath, North East Somerset, Wiltshire, Hampshire, South Gloucestershire and Dorset. The FAQ on that page says costs vary. No sleeping-night or waking-night from-price sat next to that sentence.

Sources: overnight care, client FAQ, live-in cost 2026.

8. Care.com UK · 14/100

Why it ranks here. The UK homepage is childcare, housekeeping and pets first. The first three profiles when we opened it were Sarah W., a nanny in Wrexham, Catherine F., a pet sitter in London, and Kat G., a housekeeper in Exeter. Families post a job, message, interview and hire. The family FAQ makes a paid Premium membership the gate to reading applications and sending messages. A 2023 overnight caregivers article explains sleeping and waking nights; it is a blog post, not a booking page.

Where it falls short. The hiring guide (updated 1 October 2021) tells you to request DBS and references yourself, and says carers' DBS checks have not always been verified by Care.com. No nightly or weekly from-price. No overnight service page sat next to those nanny profiles. The UK Trustpilot listing, last opened 21 October 2026, showed 3.6 out of 5 from 6,405 reviews. It returned 500 when we retried it today. Most of those reviews are about childcare, housekeeping and membership billing. A 3.6 rating at that volume earns 6 of 20 review points.

Sources: care.com/en-gb, family FAQ, hiring guide, overnight caregivers guide, 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 111).
• Published per-night sleeping from-price: PrimeCarers, from £130, fee included. Curam's overnight cost guide starts sleeping nights at £120, then adds 12%.
• One-off nights rather than a live-in week: PrimeCarers, Curam and Match With Care. Elder's own overnight page does not sell that product.

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, best respite care platforms in the UK and overnight care at home.

PrimeCarers' overnight page puts seven sleeping nights at about £910. Live-in on the same site starts at £1,050, days included. That is the comparison that actually sits in the booking, once you have counted how often anyone gets up.

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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 carer for sleeping or waking nights, see who is available. We'll tell you the 15% fee before you choose. The live scores sit on home care platforms.