Home Care, Day Care or Nursing Home? A Simple Comparison
Home nursing, a live-in helper, day care, or a nursing home? Here's an honest side-by-side of what each is, what it costs, and when it fits.
homenurse.sgGeneral care information, not personal medical advice. Draft — pending clinical review.
There's no single 'best' — only the best fit
When someone needs more care than the family can manage alone, the choice isn't really about which option is best — it's about which fits the actual need, at home or away from it. The two questions that decide most of it: is the need clinical or everyday, and can the person stay safely at home? Everything below flows from those two answers.
The main options, side by side
Rough, typical costs before any subsidy, as published in August 2026. Real figures vary with the level of care, and government support can reduce them a lot — see the note below the table.
| Option | What it is | Typical cost (before subsidy) | Best when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home nursing | A nurse visits for clinical tasks — wounds, catheters, injections, tube care | From S$55 a visit | The need is clinical, but the person lives at home |
| Home care (hourly) | Personal care and help with daily activities at home | Around S$35 an hour | Help with washing, mobility or company, by the hour |
| Live-in helper | A domestic worker living in, for daily support | Roughly S$800–1,200 a month, all-in | Long hours of daily help are needed on a tighter budget |
| Day care centre | Daytime care and activities at a centre | Around S$900–1,400 a month | Days need covering; nights are managed at home |
| Nursing home | Round-the-clock residential care | Roughly S$1,200–4,500+ a month | Care is needed 24/7 and can't be managed at home |
Home nursing and a helper aren't rivals
A common, sensible setup combines them: a live-in helper (or the family) handles the daily living — meals, washing, company — while a home nurse visits for the clinical tasks a helper shouldn't be doing alone, like insulin, catheter changes or wound care. You don't have to pick one lane.
Where subsidies change the maths
The figures above are before support. The Home Caregiving Grant pays eligible families a monthly cash sum, means-tested subsidies cut the cost of AIC-arranged home nursing, and nursing-home and day-care fees are subsidised for those who qualify. Before ruling anything out on price, it's worth checking what you'd actually pay after support — see our guides to the Home Caregiving Grant and how means-testing works.
A quick way to decide
- Clinical tasks needed (wounds, catheter, injections, tube)? — home nursing, on top of whatever daily care is in place.
- Mainly daily-living help, and the person is safe at home? — home care by the hour, or a live-in helper.
- The days are the problem, nights are fine? — a day care centre.
- Round-the-clock care that home can't safely provide? — a nursing home.