KareShift vs Birdie
Birdie's per-hour pricing starts from £200/month and scales with your care volume. KareShift charges a flat £69–£349/month regardless of how many visits you deliver. At consistent weekly volumes, KareShift costs less — and the gap widens as your agency grows.
Try KareShift Free — 90 DaysNo credit card · No lock-in · 90-day free trial
Birdie is a well-established UK home care platform with strong care planning and family communication features. KareShift offers flat-tier pricing starting at £69/month — predictable costs regardless of visit volume. For growing agencies where care hours fluctuate, flat-tier pricing removes the anxiety of your software bill tracking your revenue. (Source: birdie.care/blog, Aug 2026)
Pricing comparison
Last verified: 28-Aug-2026
✗ indicates not present in publicly accessible documentation at time of verification. Verify directly with each vendor before making a purchasing decision.
Birdie
Per-hour-of-care pricing — scales with your care volume
| Monthly care hours | Approximate monthly cost |
|---|---|
| Entry level | From £200/mo + VAT |
| Growing agency | Scales with care volume |
| Large agency | Contact sales |
Birdie pricing based on publicly available information from birdie.care/blog/price-of-care-management-software, Aug 2026. Per-hour model means costs vary with your schedule volume. Contact Birdie directly for exact current rates.
KareShift
Flat-tier pricing — same price regardless of visit volume
| Plan | Monthly + VAT |
|---|---|
| Starter (up to 5 carers) | £69/mo |
| Growth (up to 20 carers) | £149/mo |
| Scale (50 included, +£7/carer) | £349/mo |
KareShift pricing is fixed regardless of visit volume. Annual billing saves 20%: Starter £662/yr, Growth £1,430/yr, Scale £3,350/yr.
Why flat-tier pricing matters for home care
Home care agencies have variable visit volumes — bank holidays, winter illness, seasonal fluctuations. With per-hour pricing, your software bill goes up when you're busiest (and your admin pressure is highest). With flat-tier pricing, you know exactly what you'll pay each month regardless of volume.
Birdie pricing from birdie.care/blog/price-of-care-management-software (Aug 2026). KareShift prices exclude VAT (20%). Savings vary based on your actual care volume — calculate using your actual weekly hours.
Feature comparison
✗ indicates not present in publicly accessible documentation at time of verification — Aug 2026. Verify directly with each vendor.
| Feature | Birdie | KareShift |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Per-hour-of-care (from £200/mo) | Per-tier £69–£349/mo + VAT |
| Free trial | Not publicly documented as of Aug 2026 | 90 days (no credit card) |
| GPS clock-in/out | ✓ Electronic Visit Monitoring | ✓ GPS + geofencing, plus NFC/QR tag check-in |
| Care plans | ✓ Strong (core feature) | ✓ All plans |
| CQC compliance | ✓ Built in | ✓ KLOE evidence tracking |
| Family app | ✓ Birdie Family App | Family update feed: staff post text and photo updates; relatives read them in a private portal (care homes). One-way, not a live care timeline. |
| Travel & mileage | Not publicly documented as of Aug 2026 | ✓ Mileage logging at a configurable rate (45p per mile by default) |
| Custom forms | Not publicly documented as of Aug 2026 | ✓ Growth, Scale and Aged Care plans (conditional logic, PDF export, signature pad) |
| eMAR / Medication management | ✓ Medication management (birdie.care, Aug 2026) | ✓ Full eMAR — orders, rounds, PRN, controlled drugs, MAR chart, allergy alerts, error reports |
| Xero Payroll integration | Not publicly documented as of Aug 2026 | ✓ Direct timesheet sync, employee mapping, earnings rate mapping (Scale and Aged Care plans) |
| Invoicing | ✓ Built-in invoicing (birdie.care, Aug 2026) | ✓ Invoicing with credit notes, receipts, PDF export |
| Travel time visuals on roster | ✓ Travel time estimates between visits (birdie.care, Aug 2026) | ✓ Gap severity indicators between consecutive visits (green/amber/red) |
| Two-factor authentication | Not publicly documented as of Aug 2026 | ✓ TOTP + trusted devices + admin reset + audit trail |
| Countries supported | UK only (as of Aug 2026) | AU, NZ, UK, CA — country-specific compliance, payroll, pricing |
| In-app messaging | Not publicly documented as of Aug 2026 | ✓ All plans (push notifications) |
| Shift offers | Not publicly documented as of Aug 2026 | ✓ Broadcast to available carers |
| NLW tracking | Not publicly documented as of Aug 2026 | ✓ Pay band management |
| Residential care | Not primary focus (home care) | ✓ Full residential module |
| Data location | Not publicly documented as of Aug 2026 | AWS Sydney, Australia (all KareShift data is hosted there; see the privacy policy) |
Honest assessment
Where Birdie is stronger
- Established UK home care platform with a large customer base
- Birdie Family App — relatives get real-time updates on care delivered
- Mature care planning refined over years of UK home care use
- Invoicing linked directly to visit delivery
- Electronic Visit Monitoring (EVM) integrated from day one
- Longer track record and more customer references in UK home care
- Dedicated integrations with UK payroll and finance systems
Where KareShift is stronger
- Flat-tier pricing — costs don't scale with your care volume or team size
- 90-day free trial — evaluate fully before committing
- eMAR — full medication management with orders, rounds, PRN, controlled drugs, MAR chart, allergy alerts
- Xero Payroll integration (Scale and Aged Care plans) — direct timesheet sync, employee mapping, earnings rate mapping
- Multi-country payroll export (AU/NZ/GB/CA with country-specific fields) on the Scale and Aged Care plans
- Two-factor authentication (TOTP + trusted devices + admin reset + audit trail)
- Mileage logging at a configurable rate (45p per mile by default) — essential for domiciliary care
- Custom forms with conditional logic, PDF export, and signature pad on Growth, Scale and Aged Care plans
- In-app messaging with push notifications on every plan
- Shift Offers — broadcast open shifts, carers accept from their phone
- Open Shift Board — post unfilled visits, eligible carers self-claim
- Structured care plans + service user goals & outcome tracking
- Cancellation policy automation — calculates the fee for late cancels / no-shows and adds it to the invoice
- Visit confirmation — GPS + clock evidence and anomaly flags on every visit
- Carer availability self-service — carers update their own availability
- Residential care module on the same platform (home care + care home)
- NLW pay band management built in
- Voice dictation for care notes — carers speak, not type
- 4 countries supported (AU, NZ, UK, CA) — not UK-only
Signs it's time to switch
- Your software bill spikes when your care volume increases — you want predictable costs
- You want mileage logging at a configurable rate (45p per mile by default), built in rather than an add-on
- You also run a residential home and want one platform for both
- You need shift offers and carer availability self-service without extra tools
- No publicly documented free trial for Birdie as of Aug 2026 — 90 days gives you proper evaluation time
When to stay with Birdie
Family communication is critical
Birdie's Family App lets relatives receive updates on care delivered. If family visibility is a core selling point for your agency, Birdie has this built in today.
Deep care outcome tracking
If your service model revolves around formal outcome measurement and care quality reporting beyond CQC compliance, Birdie's care planning depth may suit complex packages better.
Existing integrations you depend on
If you're already connected to specific payroll or finance systems through Birdie's integration ecosystem, switching has a migration cost worth weighing carefully.
Try KareShift free for 90 days
See for yourself how flat-tier pricing and purpose-built UK home care features compare. No credit card, no sales call, no lock-in.
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