Best domiciliary care software for UK agencies
For most UK domiciliary agencies in 2026, CareOS is the best all-round choice — it is the only platform of the nine compared here that includes recruitment, AI rostering, eMAR, care planning, compliance and finance on one all-inclusive subscription, with a free managed migration from your current system. The honest picture has nuance: everyLIFE PASS matches CareOS on AI rostering and NHS integration, CareLineLive leads on accreditations and domiciliary finance, Birdie leads on financial reporting at scale, Log my Care is a strong pick for the smallest agencies and for consent and controlled-drug depth, and OnCare is the budget option. The ranked comparison and full capability table are below.
How we compared — and an honest disclosure
CareOS publishes this page and ranks itself first, so read it critically. Every capability below was rated from publicly available vendor documentation — Birdie, Nourish, PASS and Log my Care in July 2026, Nursebuddy in August, and Access Care, CareLineLive and OnCare in September — and we name the rows where competitors match or beat us rather than pretending they don't exist. Where a vendor doesn't publicly document a feature it is shown as "not documented" — they may still support it via configuration. The capability table is the same fact-checked comparison CareOS publishes on its home care page, extended to all nine systems here.
New to choosing care software? Start with the 2026 domiciliary care software buyer's guide.
The nine systems at a glance
Best all-in-one for agencies that want everything in one platform
The only system of the nine with recruitment, AI rostering, eMAR, compliance and finance included, plus a free managed migration.
Best for AI rostering and NHS integration
The one rival that matches CareOS on AI rota generation, with full finance; recruitment and the inspector portal are not documented.
Best for accreditations and domiciliary finance depth
NHS DSCR assured with GP Connect, strong contract-level finance and a PRN-aware eMAR; no AI rota and no recruitment or HR workflows documented.
Best for financial reporting and scale
The best-known name, strong on finance and reporting; rostering automation is more limited and recruitment is not documented.
Best for broad, multi-setting care planning
A well-regarded care-recording platform across settings; lighter on domiciliary finance, with no AI rota or inspector portal documented.
Best for large groups already in the Access ecosystem
Breadth and incumbency across care planning, rostering and compliance; two products to run, thin HR inside them, and a basic home-care eMAR.
Best for small or new agencies, and for consent and controlled-drug depth
A free starter tier and the deepest consent, controlled-drug and incident workflows here; no AI rota by design.
Best for domiciliary-only agencies wanting a focused visit-management tool
Does the visits-only core well, with AI rotas and flexible pay rules; no HR, multi-service or inspector features documented.
Best for the tightest budgets and a rolling monthly contract
Simple and inexpensive with a free trial and no set-up fee; rostering is availability-only and the eMAR and HR layers are basic.
| # | System | Best for | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CareOS | Best all-in-one for agencies that want everything in one platform | The only system of the nine with recruitment, AI rostering, eMAR, compliance and finance included, plus a free managed migration. |
| 2 | everyLIFE PASS | Best for AI rostering and NHS integration | The one rival that matches CareOS on AI rota generation, with full finance; recruitment and the inspector portal are not documented. |
| 3 | CareLineLive | Best for accreditations and domiciliary finance depth | NHS DSCR assured with GP Connect, strong contract-level finance and a PRN-aware eMAR; no AI rota and no recruitment or HR workflows documented. |
| 4 | Birdie | Best for financial reporting and scale | The best-known name, strong on finance and reporting; rostering automation is more limited and recruitment is not documented. |
| 5 | Nourish | Best for broad, multi-setting care planning | A well-regarded care-recording platform across settings; lighter on domiciliary finance, with no AI rota or inspector portal documented. |
| 6 | Access Care | Best for large groups already in the Access ecosystem | Breadth and incumbency across care planning, rostering and compliance; two products to run, thin HR inside them, and a basic home-care eMAR. |
| 7 | Log my Care | Best for small or new agencies, and for consent and controlled-drug depth | A free starter tier and the deepest consent, controlled-drug and incident workflows here; no AI rota by design. |
| 8 | Nursebuddy | Best for domiciliary-only agencies wanting a focused visit-management tool | Does the visits-only core well, with AI rotas and flexible pay rules; no HR, multi-service or inspector features documented. |
| 9 | OnCare | Best for the tightest budgets and a rolling monthly contract | Simple and inexpensive with a free trial and no set-up fee; rostering is availability-only and the eMAR and HR layers are basic. |
CareOS vs home care software
See how CareOS compares with Birdie, Nourish, PASS, Log my Care and Nursebuddy across every capability that matters to a domiciliary care agency.
Comparison based on publicly available product information and published feature documentation at the time of writing. Products evolve — always verify current capabilities with each vendor.
The leading domiciliary care systems, reviewed
CareOS
Best all-in-one for agencies that want everything in one platform
CareOS is built as a complete operating system for a home care business. On one all-inclusive subscription you get built-in recruitment (an area none of the rivals compared here publicly document as a full applicant-tracking system), onboarding and training matrices, SmartRota AI scheduling that weighs continuity, skills, availability and travel time and explains each match, a full eMAR with PRN, variable-dose and controlled-drug workflows and overdue alerts, care plans and risk assessments, finance, and a real-time family portal. Its no-login, time-limited inspector portal for CQC is the one capability no compared competitor documents. Migration is free and handled by the CareOS team, with purpose-built importers for Birdie, Nursebuddy, OnCare and RoundSys plus AI document extraction for anything else — most providers are live in days. Data is UK-hosted, with Cyber Essentials Plus and NHS DSPT Standards Exceeded for 2025-26 (ODS code L8N6V, published on the DSPT portal) — a DSPT status, and not a place on the NHS Assured Solutions List. Where rivals lead: Log my Care matches or beats CareOS on consent, controlled-drug and incident workflows, Birdie matches it on margin-per-client reporting, and CareLineLive and Access Care both hold a place on that list.
Explore CareOS for home careeveryLIFE PASS
Best for AI rostering and NHS integration
PASS is the one rival that matches CareOS on AI rota generation — its PASSgenius engine optimises rotas and flags medication patterns — and it runs full payroll, invoicing, holiday pay and travel and mileage through PASS finance. It is a strong, established domiciliary platform. CareOS pulls ahead on built-in recruitment, explainable multi-factor matching, the live map, the training and compliance matrices, and the no-login inspector portal, none of which are documented for PASS.
CareLineLive
Best for accreditations and domiciliary finance depth
CareLineLive (MAS Networks Ltd, West Sussex, part of the Evaran group since 2026) is used by more than 650 home care providers and carries the fullest published accreditation stack in this comparison: NHS DSCR assured, GP Connect, DSPT, Cyber Essentials Plus, ISO 27001 and G-Cloud. Finance is a genuine strength — contract-level rates including unsocial hours and mileage, split billing, automated holiday pay and travel, Sage and Xero exports — and it matches or beats CareOS on rate rules, the training matrix and the family portal. Its interactive eMAR supports PRN dosing intervals and maximum doses, and since 2026 every subscription bundles MOA Benchmarking audit and compliance tools. Rostering is deliberately not AI-driven: matching on proximity, compatibility and travel time with one-click clash resolution, but no rota generation, no explainable matching and no sick-cover engine. Recruitment, references, right-to-work, onboarding and supervision workflows are not documented, nor are controlled-drug and witness workflows, a live map or an inspector portal. Priced per carer with unlimited office users.
Birdie
Best for financial reporting and scale
Birdie is the best-known name in the segment and genuinely strong on finance: full payroll and invoicing, holiday-pay management, a margin-per-client profit-and-loss report and a custom report builder — it matches CareOS on margin-per-client, a row CareOS does not claim as unique. Its AI and auto-assign rostering is more limited than CareOS's or PASS's, and recruitment, training matrices and an inspector portal are not publicly documented. Moving off it is straightforward.
Switch from Birdie to CareOSNourish
Best for broad, multi-setting care planning
Nourish is a well-regarded care-planning platform with strong daily logs and appraisals and supervision. For domiciliary specifically it is lighter on finance, and its native eMAR has historically relied on integrations. Recruitment, AI rota and an inspector portal are not documented. A solid care-recording choice rather than an all-in-one operations platform.
Access Care
Best for large groups already in the Access ecosystem
The Access Group's home care offer is a suite rather than one product: Access Care Planning (formerly Mobizio) for care plans, daily records and eMAR, Access Care Rostering (the successor to People Planner) for scheduling, HR records and payroll, and Access Care Compliance for audits, incidents and CQC notifications — used, Access says, by more than 5,800 registered providers. It is strong where an incumbent should be: multi-factor matching on skills, availability, continuity and travel via Google Maps, an AI assistant that surfaces cover options when a carer calls in sick (the only rival compared here with one), configurable clash checking, and payroll and invoicing with an unusually long list of council and accounting exports and a bespoke report builder. It is NHS DSCR assured and ISO 27001 certified. The trade-offs are real: two products with two help centres and a rebrand in progress; recruitment is applicant-to-employee conversion only, with referencing and right-to-work checks in a separate Access Screening product; no supervision, probation or onboarding workflows are documented in the care products; no training or compliance matrix view; and PRN, controlled-drug and witness workflows are not documented for the home care eMAR. No live map, explainable matching, per-client margin or inspector portal. Pricing is on application.
Log my Care
Best for small or new agencies, and for consent and controlled-drug depth
Log my Care is the practical pick for the smallest and newest agencies — it offers a free starter tier — and it genuinely leads on consent management, controlled-drug workflows with mandatory witness signatures, and incident workflows, rows where it matches or beats CareOS. Its deliberate trade-off is no AI rota: its own documentation states the rota manager keeps control rather than an algorithm. If algorithmic scheduling and built-in recruitment matter to you, CareOS is the fuller platform.
See how migration to CareOS worksNursebuddy
Best for domiciliary-only agencies wanting a focused visit-management tool
Nursebuddy is a Finnish-built, homecare-only platform sold in the UK and Ireland, added to this comparison in August 2026. It does the domiciliary core well — AI-optimised rotas with AutoPilot, GPS and QR visit verification, eMAR with body maps, a family portal with messaging, and payroll and invoicing with flexible rate rules and travel, mileage and waiting-time options, where it stands level with CareOS. Recruitment, HR and supervision workflows, an inspector portal and multi-service support are not publicly documented, and its usage-based plans step up with delivered care hours. A solid choice for a visits-only operation.
CareOS vs Nursebuddy in fullOnCare
Best for the tightest budgets and a rolling monthly contract
OnCare (OnCare Technologies Ltd, London, founded 2017) is the low-cost, low-friction option: a flat monthly base fee that includes the first care workers, a per-carer charge after that, unlimited office users, a rolling monthly contract, no set-up fee and a free trial. The carer app is capable — offline visit reports, GPS and geofenced check-in, voice-to-text notes, a body map — and it covers care plans, an eMAR with an audit trail, family access, mileage, payroll and invoicing, with a 170-policy library as an add-on. It is not on the NHS DSCR assured-solutions list, and its hosting region is not published. The limits follow from the price. Rostering highlights available carers only, with no matching on skills, continuity or travel, no AI rota and no cover suggestions; recruitment, references, right-to-work, supervision and compliance or training matrices are not documented; PRN, controlled-drug and witness workflows are not documented for the eMAR; and finance stops short of rate rules, holiday accrual, margin reporting and dashboards. A fair choice for a very small agency; expect to outgrow it.
Switch from OnCare to CareOSHow these systems charge
Buyers on this page ask about cost more than any other single thing, and it is the question the competing comparisons answer worst. We do not publish rivals' prices, which change and are often negotiated, but the charging model tells you what a quote will scale with. These are the models each vendor publishes.
- CareOS
- Per client, on a published sliding scale, with every module included and no add-on tiers; 12- or 24-month terms. The full table is on the pricing page.
- CareLineLive
- Per carer per month with unlimited office users, all features and support included; typically a 12-month term, then rolling.
- Access Care
- Modular: an annual cost per carer (or per bed) for each product taken, plus a one-off implementation fee; price on application.
- Nursebuddy
- Usage-based bundles of delivered care hours, unlimited users, month to month.
- Log my Care
- A free starter tier, then paid plans.
- OnCare
- A flat monthly base fee that includes the first care workers, then a per-carer charge; rolling monthly contract with a free trial.
everyLIFE PASS, Birdie and Nourish are not listed because we could not verify a published charging model for them; ask each what a quote scales with, and which of eMAR, finance and compliance are add-ons.
What to look for in domiciliary care software
Genuinely all-inclusive?
Ask specifically whether recruitment, eMAR, compliance and finance are included or charged as add-ons or higher tiers — that is where quotes balloon.
eMAR that is safe for real regimes
Scheduled, PRN and variable-dose medications, controlled drugs with witness sign-off, and alerts when a dose is overdue or no visit covers it.
Scheduling that saves time
Matching that weighs continuity, skills, availability and travel — and explains its suggestions rather than being a black box.
Inspection-ready for CQC
Audit trails, compliance and training matrices, and ideally a way to give inspectors time-limited access without creating logins.
Migration that is handled for you
Free, managed, and reviewed record by record before switchover removes the single biggest reason agencies stay on software they have outgrown.
UK data residency and assurance
For UK care records, look for UK-hosted data, Cyber Essentials Plus and an NHS DSPT self-assessment.
Switching without the pain
Migration fear keeps agencies on software they’ve outgrown. With CareOS it’s free and handled by our team: your domiciliary care management software records move across, with nothing going live until you’ve reviewed it, and most providers live in days.
On a named system? See the guides to switch from Birdie, Nursebuddy, OnCare and RoundSys — or, from anything else, see how migration works.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best domiciliary care software for UK agencies in 2026?
For most agencies, CareOS — it is the only option compared here that includes recruitment, AI rostering, eMAR, care planning, compliance and finance on one all-inclusive subscription with a free managed migration. The best fit still depends on your priorities: Log my Care suits the smallest agencies and teams that want deep consent and controlled-drug workflows, everyLIFE PASS is strong for AI rostering with NHS integration, and Birdie leads on financial reporting at scale.
How much does domiciliary care software cost in the UK?
Most UK systems are quote-based and priced per client or per carer, and several charge extra for eMAR, finance or compliance modules. CareOS publishes its pricing instead: from £9 per client per month on a 24-month price lock (£10 on a 12-month term), every module included, a £100 monthly minimum, and a sliding scale that lowers the rate as you grow — with £0 setup, £0 training and a free managed migration.
What features should domiciliary care software include for CQC?
At minimum: person-centred care plans and risk assessments, a full eMAR with controlled-drug and witness support, complete audit trails, and a fast way to give inspectors evidence. CareOS keeps compliance and training matrices inspection-ready and offers a no-login, time-limited inspector portal, which is the one item none of the compared systems publicly document.
How do I switch domiciliary care software providers?
Export or grant access to your current data, migrate and review it record by record, then pick a switchover date while your old system keeps running. With CareOS this is free and handled by our team, with most providers live in days, not weeks.
Can I migrate from Birdie, Nursebuddy, OnCare or RoundSys?
Yes — CareOS has purpose-built importers for all four, plus spreadsheet and AI document imports for any other system, with every record checked with you before go-live.
What is the difference between domiciliary and residential care home software?
Domiciliary (home care) software is built around visits in people's own homes — rostering with travel time, lone-worker safety and visit verification. Residential care home software is built around a building of residents. CareOS covers both; this page focuses on domiciliary care.
More questions? Read the full FAQ or talk to our team.