The Cost of Home Care in Hertfordshire
The direct answer
In Hertfordshire in 2026, regulated home care from Starling Homecare costs from £34 for a 30-minute weekday visit, from £42 for an hour, from £357 for an overnight sit, and from £255 a day for live-in care for one person, with a couple from £295 a day. Weekend visits are £2 more, public holidays are double the weekday rate, and regulated home care is exempt from VAT. Those are our own published fees, stated here in full so you can plan, and they are the same on every page of this site. The national picture, what drives the price and the routes to help with the cost follow below.
The cost at a glance
- Visits: £34 (30 minutes), £39 (45 minutes), £42 (1 hour) on weekdays; £2 more at weekends.
- Overnight sit: £357 weekday, £378 weekend.
- Live-in care: £255 a day (medium needs), £275 (high needs), couples from £295, plus £50 a week food allowance for the carer.
- Public holidays double the weekday rate; mileage 55p a mile where a carer drives the client.
- No VAT, no fixed term, no charge for assessments or reviews; a written quote before anything starts.
- Invoiced every two weeks in arrears, paid by direct debit as a general rule.
Starling Homecare’s 2026 fee sheet
Rates checked on 24 October 2026. Our Terms of Business are available on request and the same figures appear on every page of this site.
| Visiting and overnight care | Weekday | Weekend |
|---|---|---|
| 30-minute visit | £34 | £36 |
| 45-minute visit | £39 | £41 |
| 1-hour visit | £42 | £44 |
| Overnight sit (night) | £357 | £378 |
| 2-hour live-in break cover | £84 | £88 |
| Live-in care and extras | Rate |
|---|---|
| Live-in care, one person, medium needs | £255 per day |
| Live-in care, one person, high needs | £275 per day |
| Live-in care, a couple | from £295 per day |
| Live-in carer food allowance | £50 per week |
| Mileage, where a carer drives the client | 55p per mile |
| Public holidays | double the weekday rate |
Two 30-minute visits a day, morning and evening, seven days a week, comes to £484 a week on weekday and weekend rates. One hour-long morning visit a day comes to £298 a week. Three 45-minute visits a week for a shower and some housekeeping comes to £117. Live-in care for one person with medium needs comes to £1,785 a week plus the £50 food allowance, and for a couple from £2,065 a week, which is why families with two people needing care usually find live-in care cheaper than two care home places. These are worked examples, not quotes: every package follows an assessment and comes with a written quote before anything begins.
What drives the price
Care is a people business, so most of the fee is the carer’s pay, travel and employment costs, with training, supervision, insurance, the registered manager, the digital care system and the office on top. Weekend and bank holiday rates are higher because carers are paid more then. Shorter visits cost more per hour than longer ones because the travel between visits is the same. A provider charging well below the local norm is paying less, training less or visiting for less time, and that shows up later.
The Homecare Association, the sector body, publishes an annual Minimum Price for Homecare, its calculation of the hourly rate a provider needs to cover carers’ pay at the National Living Wage, travel, training, management and a small margin. For 2026 to 2027 that figure is £34.42 an hour in England, up from £32.14 the year before. It is a sector calculation rather than a regulatory figure, but it is a useful benchmark: a provider charging materially less than it for regulated care is unlikely to be paying and training its carers properly. The same body’s October 2026 survey of council fee rates found the average rate councils in England pay for homecare in 2026 to 2027 is £25.37 an hour, £9.05 below its minimum price. Council-commissioned rates in Hertfordshire are set by Hertfordshire County Council and vary by contract; families paying privately should expect to pay more than the council rate, because the council buys in volume and, on the sector’s own figures, often below cost.
Three routes exist and they can combine. Hertfordshire County Council may pay some or all of the cost following a care needs assessment and a financial assessment under the Care Act 2014; in 2026 the upper capital limit in England is £23,250, above which a person pays the full cost. Our care means test and deferred payment guides explain the rules. Attendance Allowance is not means tested and is paid to people over State Pension age who need help with personal care; it can be spent on home care. NHS Continuing Healthcare pays the full cost where someone has a primary health need. Where the council funds care, Direct Payments let the person choose the provider. The care funding guide brings all of this together.
Common questions about the cost of home care
Is there VAT on home care?
No. Regulated home care, meaning personal care from a CQC-registered provider, is exempt from VAT, so the fees above are the full price. Starling Homecare cannot recover VAT on its own costs for the same reason.
Are assessments, reviews or cancellations charged?
Assessments and care plan reviews are free. A visit cancelled with less than two days’ notice is charged in full because the carer is paid for that time; visits cancelled with more notice are charged less or not at all, as set out in our Client Terms and Conditions.
Why does home care cost more than the council rate?
Councils buy care in volume under contract and set rates accordingly; a privately arranged package is bespoke, usually with longer visits and more choice of times and carers. The Homecare Association’s 2026 to 2027 minimum price of £34.42 an hour is a fair guide to what sustainable regulated care costs to provide.
Where to go next
- Read types of home care compared to match the need to the type before pricing it.
- Read the care funding guide to see which route to help applies.
- For a written quote in Hertfordshire, call Starling Homecare on 01727 324 127 or request a callback.
Arranging Care Is Simple
Starting care can feel like a big step. We keep it calm and straightforward, and we are here from your very first call to help you explore what might feel right, whether that is with us or simply pointing you in the right direction.
1. Talk to us
Get in touch by phone or request a callback. We will listen, answer your questions and help you understand the options, so you can decide in your own time.
2. A home visit and initial consultation
We arrange a visit to understand your routines, your home and what matters most to you. Together we agree an initial consultation and shape the support that feels right.
3. Your care begins
A small, familiar team starts your care, arriving at the agreed times and staying involved as your needs change. We remain your trusted adviser throughout.
Whenever you are ready, we are here to help.