Home Care Cost
in Sri Lanka.
Home care in Sri Lanka starts at LKR 4,500/day for a caregiver and rises to LKR 9,000/day for a PHSRC-registered nurse. Those are the real numbers, published rather than quoted on request — across Colombo, Gampaha and Kalutara alike.
Transparent pricing
Membership first, then simple daily rates.
One annual membership covers coordination, payroll, and unlimited caregiver replacements. After that you pay a flat daily rate for the level of care you need.
BetterHands Annual Membership
LKR 20,000
One-time annual registration fee
- Unlimited caregiver replacements at no additional cost if you are not satisfied
- Payroll management and caregiver administration
- Ongoing coordination and support from the BetterHands team
- Access to all services covered under the BetterHands membership
Step two — daily service rates
Duties below are what each role normally provides — your care plan is tailored during the free assessment.
Caregiver
Daily living support and companionship
LKR 4,500/day
Most families start here — a parent who is managing, but should not be alone all day.
- Friendly conversation and companionship
- Bathing and personal care assistance (if required)
- Medication reminders and general supervision
- Simple meals and refreshments
- Short walks and light activities (if appropriate)
- Day-to-day assistance and emotional support
Nursing Assistant
Personal care plus basic clinical support
LKR 6,000/day
Common where diabetes, blood pressure or early-stage dementia needs daily monitoring.
- Everything in the caregiver role
- Vital signs monitoring (BP, blood sugar, SpO₂)
- Medication reminders and administration support
- Basic wound and continence care
Professional Nurse
Complex medical and post-operative needs
LKR 9,000/day
Usually after a hospital discharge, a stroke, or where wounds and IV care are involved.
- Everything in the nursing assistant role
- PHSRC-registered clinical nursing
- Wound care, injections, and IV therapy
- Catheter, NG tube, and post-operative care
Daily rates are charged in addition to the one-time annual registration fee of LKR 20,000. The same daily rates apply to day care, night care and live-in support — no shift premiums, no travel supplements for any district. Hospital bystander cover is priced by shift length instead — see that service page for its packages. A free care assessment is provided before any commitment.
What moves the number
Four things change what you pay.
None of them is your postcode. Understanding these four is usually enough to work out your own figure before you speak to anyone.
The role, not the town
A caregiver, a nursing assistant and a professional nurse are three different rates. Where you live does not change them — a placement in Negombo costs what a placement in Colombo 7 costs.
Days actually used
Weekday-only cover costs less than seven days. Families recovering from surgery often taper from daily to twice-weekly over a month, and the cost tapers with it.
Whether nights are covered
Overnight and live-in arrangements are quoted separately from daytime cover, because they need a second caregiver on rotation rather than longer hours from one.
Standalone nurse visits
A one-off nurse visit carries transport — LKR 1,000 within Colombo, LKR 2,000 – 3,000 outside. Ongoing placements do not.
A straight answer
Why we do not quote a monthly figure.
It is the most common question we are asked, and the honest answer is that a monthly price would mislead most of the families who ask for it. Care needs are rarely flat for thirty days. A father home from surgery may need a nurse daily for a fortnight, then twice a week, then not at all.
A published monthly figure would therefore either overstate what most families pay, or quietly assume a level of cover they do not need. Because the daily rate is fixed and visible, you can build the figure yourself — days needed, multiplied by the role required.
For example, a family needing weekday daytime support works from LKR 4,500/day across five days. A post-surgical fortnight works from LKR 9,000/day across the days the wound needs a nurse. As a result, nobody pays for cover they are not using.
If a provider quotes you a flat monthly price, ask how many hours and how many days it assumes. That single question makes two quotations comparable.
The full picture
What the rate covers — and what it does not.
Included in every placement
- A free home assessment before anything is quoted
- Caregiver matching across 50+ compatibility factors
- Unlimited replacements if the match is not right
- Payroll and caregiver administration handled by BetterHands
- Ongoing coordination and a named point of contact
- No travel supplement on any placement, in any district
Billed separately, or not by us
- Medical consumables — dressings, catheters, test strips
- Prescription medication and pharmacy costs
- Hospital or laboratory fees arranged separately
- Equipment hire such as hospital beds or oxygen concentrators
Nurse transport is charged in addition to the fees above — LKR 1,000 within Colombo, LKR 2,000 – 3,000 outside Colombo depending on distance. Placements and shift-based care carry no transport charge.
Insurance is worth checking before you assume it does not apply. The Sri Lanka Ministry of Health recognises domiciliary care within long-term treatment, and several local insurers reimburse skilled home nursing care under that heading. Personal care and companionship are less commonly covered.
Comparing providers
Five questions that make two quotations comparable.
Home care quotations in Sri Lanka are rarely written the same way twice, which makes a straight price comparison misleading. Use these five whether or not you ever speak to us — they turn two different-looking numbers into the same number.
Ask what role the price buys
A caregiver, a nursing assistant and a registered nurse are not interchangeable, and a quotation that does not name the role is not a quotation. Wound care by someone unqualified to give it is the most expensive saving a family can make.
Ask how many hours a day it assumes
A daily figure covering eight hours and one covering twelve are not comparable. Establish the shift length before you compare two numbers, because the cheaper one is frequently the shorter one.
Ask what happens when the match is wrong
Roughly one placement in twenty needs changing, for reasons nobody could have predicted. Ask whether a replacement costs anything. With BetterHands it does not, at any point in the arrangement.
Ask what is billed on top
Transport, festival allowances, overtime, meals and accommodation for live-in staff are all common additions. Ask for the complete list in writing, and ask which of them recur monthly.
Ask who employs the caregiver
If the provider is an introduction agency rather than an employer, payroll, EPF and cover for sick days become your responsibility. That is a real cost, and it rarely appears on the quotation.
For example, a quotation that looks cheaper per day but assumes a six-hour shift, charges for replacements and leaves payroll with the family is usually the more expensive of the two by the end of a month. Our answers to all five are on this page, and a coordinator will repeat them on a free assessment visit.
Same rate, every district
No district surcharge.
A placement in Horana is priced exactly as a placement in Colombo 7. Coverage is strongest across the Western Province.
Colombo
Colombo 1–15, Cinnamon Gardens, Nugegoda, Wellawatte, Dehiwala
Gampaha
Negombo, Ja-Ela, Wattala, Ragama, Kadawatha
Kalutara
Panadura, Wadduwa, Waskaduwa, Horana
Kotte
Rajagiriya, Battaramulla, Nawala, Maharagama
Cost questions
What families ask about price.
BetterHands publishes three daily rates by caregiver role: Caregiver at LKR 4,500/day, Nursing Assistant at LKR 6,000/day, Professional Nurse at LKR 9,000/day. Which one applies depends on the level of care needed, not on the town — there is no separate district pricing for placements. A free home assessment establishes the right role before anything is quoted.
Because families almost never need the same amount of care every day of a month. Some need five days a week, some need weekday cover only, and many step care up or down as recovery progresses. A daily rate lets you pay for the days actually used and change the arrangement without renegotiating a contract. Multiply the daily rate by the days you genuinely need and you have your own figure — one that stays honest when the need changes.
The membership is a one-time annual registration fee of LKR 20,000. It covers unlimited caregiver replacements at no extra cost if a match is not right, payroll and caregiver administration, and ongoing coordination from the BetterHands team. It is charged once, not per placement.
Nurse transport is charged in addition to the fees above — LKR 1,000 within Colombo, LKR 2,000 – 3,000 outside Colombo depending on distance. Placements and shift-based care carry no transport charge.
Several Sri Lankan insurers offer partial or full coverage for skilled home nursing under domiciliary treatment or home health care clauses. Coverage varies by policy and generally applies to clinical nursing rather than companionship or personal care. BetterHands can provide the documentation needed for a pre-authorisation or reimbursement claim.
No. The daily rate, the one-time membership fee and — for standalone nurse visits only — transport are the whole picture. Placements carry no travel supplement in any district. If a quotation you receive anywhere contains a line you do not recognise, ask what triggers it and whether it recurs.
Want a figure for
your situation?
A free assessment establishes the role and the days actually needed — then the cost follows from the published rates above. No obligation, no pressure.
1,000+
Caregiver profiles
96%
First-match success
Trained
Caregiver training
72
Hours to placement