Founded in 2006, Care.com is best known as an online marketplace for connecting families with caregivers across various categories, including childcare, pet care, housekeeping, and eldercare. While it’s widely recognized, Care.com is not a specialized assisted living locator. Instead, its senior care services focus more on in-home caregivers than on placements in assisted living communities. Families can search profiles, read reviews, and hire directly through the platform.
Strengths
- Large nationwide caregiver marketplace
- User profiles with reviews and background checks available
- Flexibility to hire in-home caregivers directly
- Useful for families considering home care as an alternative to assisted living
Weaknesses
- Not a dedicated assisted living placement service
- No advisor network to guide families through community selection
- Limited transparency around costs for assisted living facilities
- Some users report inconsistency in caregiver quality.
Process
Families create a free account on Care.com, post a job, or search available caregivers. For senior care, this typically means finding in-home help such as companionship, transportation, or personal care. While the platform lists some senior living resources, it lacks the structured community search and advisor model offered by competitors like A Place for Mom or Seniorly. Many families use Care.com in addition to a locator service when they want both assisted living options and the possibility of in-home care.
Costs and Fees
Care.com is free to browse, but families must purchase a paid membership to contact caregivers. Memberships typically range from $12 to $39/month, depending on the plan. Caregivers set their own hourly rates, which vary widely by region and service type. Unlike dedicated locator services, there are no referral fees tied to assisted living placements.
Customer Experience
Care.com holds a B rating with the BBB and mixed reviews. Many families appreciate the platform’s convenience and wide range of caregivers, but some raise concerns about vetting, cancellations, or unreliable responses. Its usefulness for assisted living searches is limited compared to dedicated platforms.
Comparison to Competitors
Compared to A Place for Mom or Caring.com, Care.com is less helpful for finding assisted living facilities since it lacks an advisor-driven or directory-based model. It is better suited for families exploring home care as an alternative.
Compared to Seniorly or FamilyAssets, Care.com falls short in transparency and data, as it isn’t designed for community comparisons. However, its marketplace is broader, covering multiple types of care services.
When compared to Assisted Living Locators or CarePatrol, Care.com offers flexibility in hiring individual caregivers but doesn’t provide the same level of hands-on guidance for senior housing placement.
Ratings Breakdown
We compared Care.com to the best assisted living services, and here’s where it ranked:
- Customer Experience (30%): 7 / 10
- Fees & Costs (25%): 8 / 10
- Service Options (20%): 7.5 / 10
- Speed of Process (15%): 8 / 10
- Overall Score: 7.6 / 10
AssistedKin’s Top 5 Assisted Living Locator Services
| Recommended For | Company | Starting Cost | Advisor Support | Editor's Rating (Out of 10) | Next Steps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best for Modern Tools and Transparency | Seniorly | Free | Optional | 8.8 | Find Senior Care |
| Best for Large Referral Network | A Place for Mom | Free | Yes | 8.4 | Find Senior Care |
| Best for Certified Advisors and Local Help | Assisted Living Locators | Free | Yes | 8.8 | Find Senior Care |
| Best for In-Home Caregiver Marketplace | Care.com | $12–$39/mo | None | 8.0 | Find Senior Care |
| Best for Reviews & Caregiver Resources | Caring.com | Free | Limited | 8.5 | Find Senior Care |
Final Thoughts
Care.com is best viewed as a complementary tool rather than a direct competitor to assisted living locator services. Its strength lies in helping families hire in-home caregivers, not in guiding them through assisted living placement. Families exploring multiple care paths may find value in using Care.com in conjunction with more specialized platforms, such as Seniorly or Assisted Living Locators.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Care.com.
Browsing is free, but contacting caregivers requires a paid membership.
Not directly. It is primarily a marketplace for hiring in-home caregivers.
How much does Care.com cost?
Families considering in-home care or supplemental support, rather than those focused solely on assisted living placements.
