There is no single right answer here. Care at home keeps someone in familiar surroundings and can cost less for lighter needs. A care home can be safer, less isolating and better value once needs are high, especially overnight.
Because this site is independent, I can lay out the trade-offs honestly and let you decide.
- The real trade-offs between home and a care home
- How the costs compare as needs rise
- The questions that make the choice clearer
The real trade-offs
Care at home keeps familiarity, routine and independence, and it flexes from a single visit a day up to live-in support. It leaves the household to run, and overnight cover is expensive.
A care home gives 24-hour support, company, meals and no home to maintain. It means leaving a familiar place, and for a permanent move the person's home may be counted towards the cost.
How the costs compare
For a few hours of help a day, home care is usually cheaper. As needs approach round-the-clock, the gap narrows. For the home-care figures, see my home care costs guide; in short, hourly care is roughly £25 to £35 an hour and live-in care is often £1,000 to £1,600 a week.
For a care home in 2026, self-funders pay on average around £1,300 a week for residential care and around £1,500 a week for nursing care, with specialist dementia nursing higher again. Costs vary a lot by region: lower in the North, higher in London and the South East. Always get the fee in writing, and ask exactly what it includes.
When home care usually makes sense
- Needs are light to moderate, and mainly about specific tasks
- Staying in their own home matters deeply to them
- There is family or community support nearby to fill the gaps
- The home is safe, or can be made safe with a few adaptations
When a care home may be the better call
- Care is needed through the night, most nights
- Isolation or safety at home has become a real risk
- Round-the-clock home care would cost as much, or more
- The carer can no longer cope, even with help
Questions to ask before you decide
- What happens at night, and at weekends?
- How are needs likely to change over the next year?
- Is the home suitable, or what would it take to make it work?
- How is each option funded, and what would we actually pay?
- Can we try it first, with a short home-care package or a respite stay?
How the funding differs
This part catches people out. For care at home, the value of the home is never counted in the council's means test. For a permanent care-home move, it may be, though there are strong protections (a partner still living there, a 12-week disregard, a deferred payment agreement). My savings thresholds and means testing guide explains it, and when self-funding money runs out covers what happens as savings fall.
Sources
Costs are typical 2026 self-funder figures and vary widely by area and provider, so confirm the actual fee before you rely on it. Last reviewed: July 2026.
