Rosemark Starter is the clearest low-cost start for a new private-pay agency, at $49 a month for clients, caregivers, and schedules. If you bill Medicaid and need EVV, demo AxisCare, Aaniie Care, CareSmartz360, or ShiftCare against your actual contracts.

Each of those owns the back office: roster, visits, billing. For the family side of each client, Caring Village gives relatives one shared place for the care plan, calendar, and updates, and runs beside whichever platform you pick.

Not Sure Where to Start?

Jump to the platform that matches the first job your agency has to get right.

🌱 New private-pay agency 🧱 EVV and billing in one suite 💰 Price published up front 📈 Several payers, growing fast 📅 Self-serve trial first 👪 Bring families into care

The Best Home Care Software at a Glance

Tap a platform to jump to its full write-up. Caring Village sits on top, unranked, because it is the family coordination layer for each client and runs beside whichever platform you choose.

Five home care agency software platforms ranked for small agencies, with what each is best for, the platform type, whether a family portal is offered, and the public starting price. Caring Village appears first as an unranked client-level family coordination layer that runs beside the ranked platforms.
PlatformBest ForFamily PortalStarting Price
Caring Village Family Coordination Layer

Gives each client’s family one shared calendar, care plan, and message thread beside your agency platform, which keeps the roster, EVV, billing, and payroll. Used by over 75,000 families.
01Rosemark StarterBest for new private-pay agencies
Clients, caregivers, and schedules on a low monthly planPrivate-pay starter
Confirm in a demo
$49/month, billed monthly
02AxisCareBest all-in-one suite
Scheduling, EVV, billing, and family visibility in one systemFull agency suite
Yes
Personalized quote
03Aaniie CareBest for published all-in pricing
Back office plus secure family messagingAll-inclusive suite
Yes
$195/month, up to 15 clients
04CareSmartz360Best for mixed payers
Scheduling, EVV, billing, and payroll priced by active clientsPayer-depth suite
Yes
Quote by active clients
05ShiftCare USBest for a self-serve trial
Scheduling and EVV first, family access on the top tierTiered self-serve
Intelligence tier
$9/user/month, 5-staff minimum

Prices and plan gates come from each vendor’s own pricing or product page. They change often, so confirm the quote in writing.

A “family portal” rarely means relatives can edit the agency schedule. In a demo, open the exact family view for your quoted tier and ask what a relative can see, send, and pay.

If you bill services covered by Medicaid’s electronic visit verification requirement, EVV that works with your state’s system belongs at the top of the demo. A purely private-pay agency may not need it on day one.

Three Questions That Decide Your Shortlist

Answer these before booking a single demo. They sort you into an agency platform, a family coordination layer, or both.

  1. Do you bill a program that requires EVV?Yes: shortlist AxisCare, Aaniie Care, CareSmartz360, or ShiftCare, and confirm your state aggregator.
  2. Do you need agency-wide scheduling, billing, or payroll?Yes: you need an agency platform. Rosemark Starter is the clearest published entry point for private pay.
  3. Do families need to see and add to each client’s care plan and updates?Yes: check what the portal allows, or give each client a Caring Village village alongside it.

A yes to both question 2 and question 3 points to a two-layer setup: an agency platform for operations and a family coordination layer for each client.

How These Platforms Were Reviewed

These picks were researched and evaluated, not tested hands-on. Each vendor’s own product, portal, and pricing pages were checked for small-agency fit, family access, EVV, billing, and public price.

Weight went to what a 1 to 50 client agency actually feels in the first year:

  • Built for small agencies. A published small-agency lane or starter plan, sized for an agency with a handful of clients.
  • Family participation. What a relative can see, send, or pay, and on which tier.
  • Payer fit. Whether EVV and billing match private pay, Medicaid, or both.
  • Price you can find. A public starting price beats a quote form when budgets are tight.
  • Room to grow. A clear upgrade path when the client count doubles.

The 5 Best Home Care Software Platforms of 2026

Ranked for owners of non-medical and private-duty agencies with roughly 1 to 50 clients.

Where Caring Village Fits for Home Care Agencies

Caring Village is the client-level care circle for a home care agency. Caregivers and invited family share each client’s calendar, care plan, medications, and messages.

Your agency platform keeps the roster, EVV, billing, and payroll. Role-based permissions decide which relative sees what.

  • One village per client, with family and caregivers invited to the same space
  • Visit notes and care plan tasks the family can read and reply to
  • Runs beside the scheduling, EVV, and billing system you already use
See Caring Village for Agencies
01

Rosemark Starter

★ Best for new private-pay agencies

The most concrete entry price on this list, built for a small agency moving off paper and spreadsheets.

Rosemark Starter page headed Your First Step Into Home Care Software, with a Starting at $49 per month banner and the line Built for Small Home Care Agencies
  • Best forA new private-pay agency that needs clients, caregivers, and schedules in one place
  • Pricing$49/month billed monthly, or $240 for a six-month plan
  • Available onWeb software; Rosemark lists a GPS-enabled caregiver app
  • Family accessNot verified for Starter; confirm in a demo
  • EVV and billingStarter comes without Medicaid integrations; higher Rosemark tiers cover more payers

Plan, price, and payer limits verified on the Rosemark Starter page.

Check Out Rosemark Starter

Rosemark built Starter for the agency still running on paper files and spreadsheets. It covers the core records: clients, caregivers, and the schedule that connects them.

The month-to-month price means there is no long commitment to test it. When the agency outgrows Starter, Rosemark’s wider platform serves private pay, Medicaid, VA, long-term care insurance, and workers’ comp clients.

What works well: a real published price, a month-to-month option, and a clear upgrade path inside the same vendor.

Rosemark Starter Considerations

  • Rosemark says Starter does not come with Medicaid integrations. If a Medicaid contract is on this year’s roadmap, quote a higher tier now.
  • Family portal access on Starter was not confirmed, so ask to see the family view before you buy.
  • Confirm onboarding and training options at checkout, since those are priced separately from the plan.
02

AxisCare

★ Best all-in-one suite

A dedicated small-agency lane for up to 15 clients, with a client and family portal built into the same system.

AxisCare Client and Family Portal page, with two phone screens showing a client's unpaid balance, upcoming visits with caregiver names and times, and saved payment methods
  • Best forA growing agency that wants scheduling, EVV, billing, and family visibility in one system
  • PricingPersonalized quote based on agency size and clients served
  • Available onWeb platform with caregiver and admin apps
  • Family accessClient and family portals: visits, care notes, documents, and invoice payment
  • EVV and billingEVV, billing, payroll, and in-system payment processing listed

Features and pricing model verified on AxisCare solutions by agency size, the client and family portal page, and AxisCare pricing.

Check Out AxisCare

AxisCare runs a small-agency lane for up to 15 clients, so a young agency is not buying a plan designed for 500. Scheduling, EVV, billing, and payroll sit in the same system.

Its portal lets clients and families review past and upcoming visits, care notes, planned ADLs, and care plans. They can also pay open invoices, and office staff decide which relatives see shared documents.

What works well: one vendor for the back office and the family view, with document access controlled by the office.

AxisCare Considerations

  • There is no public price. Ask for implementation and payment-processing terms in writing with the quote.
  • The portal is built for seeing visits and paying invoices. If you need relatives to take a task or reply to a note, test that exact action in the demo.
03

Aaniie Care

★ Best for published all-in pricing

Back office and a two-way family portal from one vendor, with a starting price printed on the pricing page.

Aaniie Care Client and Family Portal page, with a photo of an older family looking at a phone together and the promise of real-time updates for clients and families
  • Best forAn agency that wants workforce tools and a family portal under one license
  • PricingFrom $195/month for up to 15 clients at signing; from $13/client/month at 16 or more
  • Available onWeb platform with a caregiver mobile app
  • Family accessSecure messaging, schedules, care notes, invoices, and payments
  • EVV and billingEVV integrations, eBilling, billing, and payroll listed

Pricing and features verified on Aaniie pricing, Aaniie Care, and the family portal page.

Check Out Aaniie Care

Aaniie Care describes itself as an EVV-compliant platform for single-site and multi-location home care providers. Recruitment, onboarding, scheduling, billing, and payroll sit inside one all-in-one license.

The family portal goes further than most: relatives can message the care team securely, see who provided care on each visit, and view spending history and approved hours.

What works well: a published entry price, annual or monthly plans, and two-way family messaging without a second vendor.

Aaniie Care Considerations

  • The published figures are starting amounts. Confirm the portal, onboarding, and billing basis in writing.
  • The portal mixes care updates with financial details. Walk through one client’s access settings so each relative sees only what they should.
04

CareSmartz360

★ Best for mixed payers

A deeper operational platform, priced by active clients, for agencies juggling several payers or locations.

CareSmartz360 client and family page headed Empowering clients and families, promising schedules, visit notes, completed tasks, and invoice payment in one place, above a portal calendar video
  • Best forAn agency that needs payer depth: scheduling, EVV, billing, and payroll together
  • PricingQuote by active clients, with a Growing Agencies lane for 0 to 100 clients
  • Available onWeb platform with caregiver and staff mobile apps
  • Family accessSchedules, visit notes, completed tasks, agency contact, and invoice payment
  • EVV and billingEVV with time tracking, billing, and payroll in the standard package

Pricing model and features verified on CareSmartz360 pricing and the client and family portal page.

Check Out CareSmartz360

CareSmartz360 prices on active clients, not per-user licenses, so adding caregivers does not raise the bill on its own. Its standard package lists EVV, scheduling, billing and payroll, care plans, payer management, and integrated portals.

Families can see each visit’s date, caregiver, planned tasks, and status, including cancellations. They can also send the agency new care needs and supporting documents from the portal.

What works well: the widest back-office coverage here, with a portal that lets families flag changing needs.

CareSmartz360 Considerations

  • No fixed price is published. Ask what counts as an active client and what changes the monthly bill.
  • For a simple private-pay agency, check that setup and daily admin feel proportionate to your current size.
05

ShiftCare US

★ Best for a self-serve trial

Transparent per-user tiers and a free trial, with the family portal on the top tier.

ShiftCare Family Portal page with the line Keep loved ones involved in care, beside laptop and phone views of a client's schedule and activity timeline
  • Best forAn agency that wants to start with scheduling and EVV, then add family access later
  • PricingMonthly: Essentials $9, Growth $15, Intelligence $25 per user, 5-staff minimum
  • Available onWeb platform with a caregiver mobile app that works offline
  • Family accessFamily Access Portal on Intelligence: schedules, visit records, service requests
  • EVV and billingEVV on Essentials; bulk invoicing on Growth

Tiers and prices verified on ShiftCare US pricing and the ShiftCare Family Portal page.

Check Out ShiftCare

ShiftCare shows every US tier on its pricing page and offers a 7-day free trial. Essentials covers scheduling, GPS clock-in and out, and Medicaid-compliant EVV through Sandata.

Its Family Portal shows families the upcoming schedule and completed visit records. They can also request extra support or care plan changes, which land with your team to review.

What works well: pricing you can model without a sales call, and a portal that turns family requests into a queue.

ShiftCare Considerations

  • The family portal sits on Intelligence at $25 per user, so with the 5-staff minimum the entry point for family access is $125 a month, not $45.
  • Annual billing lowers the per-user rate. Price out both before you commit.

How to Choose by the First Job You Must Get Right

New, private pay, watching every dollar: Rosemark Starter is the most explicit small-agency entry point. Check that its payer and family limits fit next year, not only this month’s clients.

EVV and family payments in one suite: demo AxisCare, Aaniie Care, and CareSmartz360 on your real visit-to-invoice path. Enter a sample schedule change, ask a test family user to find it, then trace the visit to the invoice.

A self-serve start matters: ShiftCare makes pricing visible. Budget against the tier that holds the feature you need, not the teaser rate.

Your operations system already works: keep it. If the friction is families asking what happened today, the fix may sit beside it.

The guide to family and professional caregivers working together shows how mixed teams split the work, and a simple caregiving plan sets what each family needs to see.

Whatever you pick, ask every vendor who configures family access, how you export data if you leave, and who handles after-hours coverage issues.

Common Questions

What is the best home care software for a small agency?

It depends on your payers. For a new private-pay agency, Rosemark Starter has the clearest published entry price at $49 a month. If you bill Medicaid and need EVV, AxisCare, Aaniie Care, CareSmartz360, and ShiftCare all list EVV, so demo them on your real visit-to-invoice workflow.

Does a private-pay home care agency need EVV?

Not always. Medicaid’s EVV requirement covers Medicaid-funded personal care and home health services. A purely private-pay agency may not need it on day one, but check each payer’s rules before adding Medicaid, VA, or long-term care insurance work.

How much does home care software cost for a small agency?

Published starting points run from $49 a month for Rosemark Starter to $195 a month for Aaniie Care, up to 15 clients. ShiftCare Essentials is $9 per user a month, 5-staff minimum. AxisCare and CareSmartz360 quote by agency size or active clients.

Can families use the agency’s portal instead of a separate app?

Often, yes. AxisCare, Aaniie Care, CareSmartz360, and ShiftCare (Intelligence tier) offer family portals for schedules and visit records, and the first three also handle invoices. Test what a relative can do: some portals are built for viewing and paying, others for messages and requests.

How does Caring Village work alongside home care software?

Each client gets a village where caregivers and invited family share the calendar, care plan, medications, documents, and messages. Your agency platform keeps the roster, EVV, and billing. Caring Village is used by over 75,000 families and has 4.6 stars on the App Store.

The Bottom Line

Buy the back-office system your payers require, then decide how each family takes part.

Rosemark Starter ranks first for a new private-pay agency because it publishes a real $49 entry price.

AxisCare and Aaniie Care fit agencies that want EVV, billing, and a family portal from one vendor. CareSmartz360 adds payer depth, and ShiftCare lets you trial before you talk to sales.

For the family side of each client, Caring Village for home care agencies gives relatives one shared place for the plan, calendar, and updates. If a family is still weighing paid help, the guide to hiring a nurse for home care covers their side of the decision.

Run the Agency in Your System, Share Care in the Village

Each client gets one village with a shared calendar, care plan, medications, and messages. Caregivers post once, and every invited relative reads it.

See Caring Village for Agencies
  • One village per client
  • Family and caregivers invited
  • Role-based permissions
4.6 stars on the App Store
“As a professional caregiver managing multiple clients, this app keeps me organized. The daily log feature is incredibly easy to use.”
Maria L.
Professional caregiver, from the Caring Village app page
Lynda Menegotti
Lynda Menegotti
Chief Operating Officer, Caring Village Updated September 26, 2026

Lynda Menegotti brings a deeply personal understanding of caregiving, shaped by years of supporting loved ones through ALS, cancer, and long-distance family care challenges. Through her work with Caring Village, she is passionate about helping families navigate the caregiving journey with compassion, support, and practical resources.

This comparison is general information for agency owners. It does not establish any agency’s legal, payer, or EVV obligations. Verify features, contracts, and pricing directly with each vendor before buying.

Sources

  1. Rosemark Starter plan
  2. AxisCare solutions by agency size, client and family portals, and pricing
  3. Aaniie Care, family portal, and pricing
  4. CareSmartz360 home care software, client and family portal, and pricing
  5. ShiftCare US pricing and ShiftCare Family Portal
  6. Medicaid.gov: electronic visit verification
  7. Caring Village app page and Caring Village pricing

Related Reading

A daughter and a nurse reviewing a care board together beside her father in his armchair Care coordinationFamilies and Professional Caregivers Working Side-by-Side A daughter and her mother adding tasks to a shared caregiving plan board Care coordinationHow to Formulate Your Caregiving Plan An older woman interviewing a home care nurse at a table with a checklist Family caregivingHow to Hire a Nurse for Home Care