A live-in arrangement and an hourly schedule can cover the same household, but their quotes are built on different units. A live-in quote usually sets a daily or full-day rate, while an hourly quote counts clock time. Put the two side by side in one unit, or the comparison tells you nothing.
Local option: New Plan Care gives families in the St. Louis area in-home help so a parent can stay home: companionship, help with bathing and dressing, meals, and overnight care. Call (314) 405-0887.
Start with the definition of a day
Ask each agency to state in writing when its day begins and ends. Some count a day from morning to morning, and others count from the start of an overnight block. That definition decides how many billed days fall in a given month and how a partial day is treated when the arrangement starts or stops midweek. Check whether the quote assumes coverage on every calendar day or only on the days the household has agreed to.
What it costs: The Missouri median for non-medical in-home care is $33 an hour, per the CareScout (Genworth) Cost of Care Survey 2025 state data tables, released March 2026. New Plan Care's standard rate is $34 an hour with a four-hour minimum, so a visit starts at $136 (newplancare.com/services).
Separate rest time from working time
A live-in aide is often on site through the night without being on active duty every hour. Find out which hours the quote treats as rest, which hours count as on call, and which hours are billed in full. Ask what happens when a night interruption ends a rest period early, and whether that interruption changes the line on the invoice. Write the answer next to the quoted line rather than relying on memory of a phone call.
Name the days off and who fills them
Every live-in arrangement needs relief for the days the aide is away. Ask whether the agency supplies a relief worker, whether that worker is quoted at the same daily rate, and how much notice the household must give to change the schedule. The answer to these questions can move the total more than the base rate does.
Room, board, and supplies are their own lines
Some agencies bundle food and lodging into the daily rate. Others list them as separate charges, or they expect the household to supply the room, meals, and utilities. Confirm which of these applies before you compare totals. The household should also settle in writing the shared use of the home, including guest rules and where the aide keeps personal belongings, because a live-in arrangement changes how the house is used every day.
Convert both quotes to the same unit
Take the hourly quote and the daily quote and write each one as coverage hours across a full week. Add the relief days, any rest periods that the agency does not count as coverage, and any added line for supplies or travel. Compare the two weekly totals only after every line sits in the same column. A short hourly block may cost less in a quiet week and more in a week when visits stack up, so test both models against the household's actual hours rather than an average.
Questions to put to each agency
Ask how a day is defined in the quote. Ask which hours are rest and which are on call. Ask who covers the days off, and whether that relief is quoted separately. Ask what the daily rate includes and what gets added on top. Ask what notice is required to change the schedule, what a change costs, and how the bill is handled if the arrangement ends early. Keep the signed quote and the signed agreement together, and make sure the two match line for line.
When live-in is the wrong unit
If the household needs help at fixed times and family covers the rest of the day, an hourly schedule usually matches the work better. A live-in arrangement suits households that need coverage across most of a day and have the room and the agreement to host an aide. Choosing live-in does not remove the need to count hours. Count them anyway, because the daily rate still has to be checked against the calendar.
Local starting points
For help sorting quotes, the county aging services office and the regional area agency on aging can describe the general types of home help available in the St. Louis area. Non-medical help is the subject of this comparison. Health questions go to the family's doctor, and questions about what a contract allows belong in the contract itself, read line by line before anyone signs.