How home care pricing works, and what it costs to use SoftCare

Cost is usually one of the first questions families ask about home care, and it is a fair one. Care is an ongoing commitment, and it helps to understand what you are paying for before you book anything.

This guide explains the two things that shape what home care costs: the hourly rate set by an independent CareGiver, and the small set of optional features SoftCare offers. SoftCare is a marketplace that connects patients and families with ID and licence-verified CareGivers. It is not a care provider and does not give medical advice, so for any medical decision please consult a qualified clinician. What follows is about how the pricing works, in plain terms, without invented numbers.

What drives a CareGiver's hourly rate

On SoftCare, each CareGiver is independent and sets their own hourly rate. There is no single national price for home care, and rates vary from one CareGiver to another. Rather than quote figures that would not apply to your situation, it helps to understand the factors that tend to move a rate up or down so you can read a listing with a clear eye.

When you compare CareGivers, look at the rate alongside the scope of work. A higher rate from someone with the right specialty can be better value than a lower rate from someone who is not the right fit for the care you need.

• Specialty and complexity: care such as ICU support, wound care, oncology, palliative, or post-surgery typically involves more specialised skill than general companionship or basic daily support.
• Experience and credentials: a CareGiver's background and verified professional licence inform how they price their time.
• Session length and frequency: a one-off short visit, regular weekly sessions, or longer blocks of care can each be priced differently by the CareGiver.
• Timing: early mornings, evenings, weekends, or holidays may be priced differently than standard daytime hours.
• Tasks involved: medication management, vital signs monitoring, mobility help, or more hands-on clinical care each carry their own demands.

What SoftCare costs patients: nothing to search or book

Searching for a CareGiver and booking a session on SoftCare is free. There is a 0% platform fee for patients, which means SoftCare does not add a service charge, booking fee, or markup on top of the rate. What you pay is the CareGiver's hourly rate for the time you book.

This keeps the maths simple. If you book three hours, you pay the CareGiver's hourly rate times three. You can also chat with a CareGiver for free before you book, which is the right moment to confirm their rate, the scope of the visit, and whether they are a good match for the care you need. Remember that a booking is not confirmed until a CareGiver accepts it.

Optional extras: Patient Premium and CareGiver plans

The core experience is free for patients, and most people will not need anything beyond it. There are a few optional paid features for those who want them, and they are clearly separate from what you pay a CareGiver.

Patient Premium is $7.99 per month and is aimed at families who want more from the live care sheet, the shared record kept during a session. Premium lets you export that record as a PDF or JSON file, which can be useful for keeping your own records or sharing with a clinician. The live care sheet itself, where a CareGiver logs items like vitals, pain, medications, intake and output, wound care, mood, sleep, and observations, is part of the regular experience, and family in another city can follow a session as it happens.

On the other side of the marketplace, CareGivers can choose a plan to support how they work: Basic at $9.99 per month or Max at $24.99 per month. These are tools for CareGivers and do not change the 0% platform fee for patients.

• Patient Premium: $7.99 per month, optional, adds PDF and JSON export of the live care sheet.
• CareGiver Basic: $9.99 per month, an optional plan for CareGivers.
• CareGiver Max: $24.99 per month, an optional plan for CareGivers.

Billing discounts for longer commitments

If you do choose a paid plan and expect to use it for a while, two billing options reduce the cost. Choosing six-month billing saves 15%, and annual billing saves 20%, compared with paying month to month. The discount applies to how often you are billed, not to what a CareGiver charges per hour.

A sensible approach is to start on monthly billing, see whether the feature earns its place in your routine, and switch to a longer billing cycle only once you are confident you will keep using it.

How to budget for home care

Because rates vary, the most reliable way to build a budget is to estimate your own care pattern and then confirm rates directly with CareGivers through the free pre-booking chat. A few features of SoftCare make planning easier and lower the risk of paying for time you do not use.

Think in terms of a weekly or monthly rhythm rather than a single visit. Estimate how many sessions you expect and how long each will run, confirm the hourly rate with the CareGiver in chat, and you will have a realistic figure to work from.

• Minimum session is 1 hour, so you can start small and scale up only if you need to.
• You need a minimum of 2 hours lead time to book, and can schedule up to 30 days ahead, which helps you plan around a week or a month.
• Free cancellation up to 24 hours before a session means a changed plan does not have to cost you.
• Use the free chat to confirm the rate and scope before booking, so there are no surprises.
• Add the optional Patient Premium only if exporting the care sheet is genuinely useful to you.

What pricing does not change: safety and scope

It is worth being clear about what your money does and does not buy. SoftCare's verification checks a CareGiver's government photo ID, professional licence number and expiry, and a live selfie, reviewed within 24 to 48 hours. The shield badge confirms identity, not clinical skill, so you should still assess whether a CareGiver's specialty fits your needs.

During sessions, the SOS button alerts your designated contact and the safety team, but in an emergency you should always call your local emergency number first. SoftCare does not provide medical care or advice, and no plan or payment changes that. For any clinical decision, speak with a qualified clinician.

Searching and booking are free, and patients pay no platform fee, so what you budget for is simply the CareGiver's hourly rate.

Frequently asked questions