Scheduling
24-Hour Home Care Shifts: Live-In vs. Two 12-Hour Shifts vs. Three 8s
Three ways to staff a 24/7 client, how many paid hours each one costs, when sleep time can legally be excluded, and which pattern fits which client.
Is live-in care cheaper than 24-hour hourly shifts?
Enter the wage and how many hours a day a live-in caregiver is paid. The calculator compares the weekly caregiver cost of both ways to staff round-the-clock care.
Last reviewed October 17, 2026
Why is live-in care cheaper for the agency?
An hourly rotation pays all 168 hours of the week. A live-in rotation can exclude sleep and meal periods if the rules are met, so fewer hours are paid. The common setup of 8 hours of sleep and 3 hours of meal breaks leaves 13 paid hours a day, or 91 a week, which the default numbers above use.
| Setup | Paid hours per week | Caregivers in rotation |
|---|---|---|
| Three 8-hour shifts | 168 | 5 to 6 |
| Two 12-hour shifts | 168 | 5 to 6 |
| Live-in, 13 paid hours a day | 91 | 2 to 3 |
When doesn't the live-in math work?
When the client needs help at night. If sleep is interrupted so often that the caregiver can't get 5 hours, the whole night is paid and the saving disappears. Check your state's rules too: some states don't allow sleep time to be excluded at all.
How Caregiver Scheduling handles this
Recurring schedules are built in, so a 24/7 rotation is set up once and the calendar fills itself. Overtime flags on timesheets are coming soon, which will matter most on live-in and 12-hour rotations. See scheduling.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
Under federal rules, up to 8 hours of sleep can be excluded on shifts of 24 hours or more if there is a written agreement, the caregiver has adequate sleeping facilities, and they usually get at least 5 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Interrupted sleep must be paid. Some states do not allow the exclusion.
Under the federal Home Care Rule, agencies cannot use the live-in overtime exemption, so paid hours over 40 a week get time-and-a-half. The Department of Labor stopped enforcing that rule against agencies in July 2025 pending a rule change, but it remains in the regulations and many states require overtime regardless.
Hourly shifts suit clients who are up at night, since a caregiver whose sleep is regularly interrupted must be paid for the whole night anyway. Shifts also mean a caregiver who is awake for the full shift.
Related guides
Compliance
Live-In Caregiver Pay: Sleep Time, Meal Breaks and the 24-Hour Rule
When an agency can exclude sleep and meal time from a live-in or 24-hour shift, what the written agreement must say, and what happens when sleep is interrupted.
Operations
Live-In Care Rates: How to Price a Daily Rate
Build a live-in daily rate from the hours you actually pay: a 24-hour shift minus excludable sleep and meals, plus burden, overtime risk, overhead and margin.
EVV
Are Live-In Caregivers Exempt from EVV?
CMS says EVV does not apply when caregiver and client live together, but states may still require it. Which states exempt, what to prove, what to keep.
From the reference library
- What is HCPCS code S5151? (Billing codes)
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