Care home or care at home
What a care home costs against staying at home
Three questions, then a side-by-side estimate over one year and five. We have filled in the typical residential fee in West Sussex.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Step 1 of 3
Who lives at home?
A live-in carer costs the same whether one or two of you are at home, which is where most of the difference comes from.
Before you decide
- Is live-in care really cheaper than a care home?
- For one person with everyday needs the two are close once you count the cost of running the house: live-in care from about £1,120 a week plus bills, against a typical residential fee of about £1,160. For a couple the gap opens up, because a care home charges per resident and one live-in carer costs about £1,355 a week for both.
- What does the live-in figure include?
- The carer's rate covers their care and their board. It does not cover the running costs of your house, which the estimate adds back in so the two options are compared fairly.
- What is not in the estimate?
- Council funding after a means test, NHS Continuing Healthcare, Attendance Allowance, the value of your home and the extras a care home adds on top of its headline fee. All of these can move the answer, most of them in favour of staying at home.
- Where do the figures come from?
- Care home fees are the figure the home publishes, or the typical fee for its council area from The Care Home Directory. Live-in rates are the median set by carers on PrimeCarers in August 2026.
Read more in our guides to paying for care or see care home costs across England.