UK Home Care

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.

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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: 10-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 hoursApproximate monthly cost
Entry levelFrom £200/mo + VAT
Growing agencyScales with care volume
Large agencyContact 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

PlanMonthly + 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.

5 carers Birdie: from £200/mo KareShift: £69/mo + VAT
20 carers Birdie: scales with volume KareShift: £149/mo + VAT — fixed
50 carers Birdie: scales with volume KareShift: £349/mo + VAT — fixed

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 modelPer-hour-of-care (from £200/mo)Per-tier £69–£349/mo + VAT
Free trialNot publicly documented as of Aug 202690 days (no credit card)
GPS clock-in/out✓ Electronic Visit Monitoring✓ + geofencing
Care plans✓ Strong (core feature)✓ All plans
CQC compliance✓ Built in✓ KLOE evidence tracking
Family app✓ Birdie Family AppNot publicly documented as of Aug 2026
Travel & mileageNot publicly documented as of Aug 2026✓ HMRC rates built in
Custom formsNot publicly documented as of Aug 2026✓ All plans (conditional logic)
In-app messagingNot publicly documented as of Aug 2026✓ All plans (push notifications)
Shift offersNot publicly documented as of Aug 2026✓ Broadcast to available carers
NLW trackingNot publicly documented as of Aug 2026✓ Pay band management
Residential careNot primary focus (home care)✓ Full residential module
Data locationNot publicly documented as of Aug 2026AWS Sydney (London region planned)

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
  • Strong care planning and outcome tracking features
  • 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
  • Travel & Mileage with HMRC rates built in — essential for domiciliary care
  • Custom forms with conditional logic on all plans
  • In-app messaging with push notifications on all plans
  • Shift Offers — broadcast open shifts, carers accept from their phone
  • 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

Signs it's time to switch

  • Your software bill spikes when your care volume increases — you want predictable costs
  • You want travel and mileage tracking with HMRC rates built in (not 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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Questions? Email hello@kareshift.com