Companion care
For seniors who are independent but should not be alone all day — company, meals, errands and reminders.
What it is
Companion care is help with living, not help with illness. The person can bathe, dress and use the toilet on their own, but the day is long and empty: nobody to talk to at lunch, nobody to fetch medicines, nobody to notice that the fridge has not been opened in two days.
A companion covers exactly that gap. They arrive at a fixed time, cook or heat a meal, remind about medicines that are already prescribed, run small errands, and stay for conversation. Some families use a companion four hours a day, three days a week; others use one only for doctor visits.
The most common mistake is to hire a companion and then quietly hand them clinical work — checking blood sugar and reporting the number, for example, or deciding to skip a tablet because it was not taken on time. Those are decisions, not reminders, and they belong with the family and the doctor.
Who it is for
- A senior who lives alone while the children are in another city or country.
- Someone recovering confidence after an illness, who is physically independent but unsteady.
- A widowed parent whose meals and medicines have started slipping.
- A household where the spouse works full-time and cannot be at home during the day.
What the caregiver does and does not do
Should be able to
- Company, conversation and shared activities through the visit.
- Cooking, tea, and making sure the senior actually eats.
- Medicine reminders against a written list the family provides.
- Errands: groceries, bill payments, collecting reports, accompanied walks.
- A short written note or message to the family each day.
Must not
- Bathing or toilet assistance — that is attendant care and needs training.
- Injections, drips, wound care or any clinical task.
- Deciding whether to give, hold or change a medicine.
- Lifting a fallen senior without a plan.
Typical qualifications and training to ask for
- No statutory licence is required for companionship work in India, which is exactly why personal verification matters more here than in regulated markets.
- Ask about first aid training, experience with seniors, cooking ability if meals are included, and whether the person can read the medicine list in the household language.
- For evening or night shifts, insist on police verification and two previous employer references.
Typical cost range
Companion care is the least expensive level. Indicative placeholder bands run from about ₹6,000–₹16,000 a month for a few hours a day to ₹25,000–₹55,000 for a 24x7 live-in arrangement, depending on city size.
| Hours | Smaller town | Tier-2 city | Tier-1 city | Metro city |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| a few hours a day | ₹6,000–₹10,000 | ₹7,000–₹12,000 | ₹8,000–₹14,000 | ₹9,000–₹16,000 |
| 8–12 hours a day | ₹12,000–₹18,000 | ₹14,000–₹22,000 | ₹16,000–₹26,000 | ₹18,000–₹30,000 |
| 24x7 live-in | ₹25,000–₹38,000 | ₹30,000–₹44,000 | ₹35,000–₹50,000 | ₹38,000–₹55,000 |
Indicative price. Placeholder bands pending a provider survey. Prices vary by agency, experience, language and urgency. Last updated 10 October 2026.
Warning signs that a higher level of care is needed
- The senior has started missing medicines more than twice a week.
- Meals are being skipped, or the kitchen shows nobody has cooked for days.
- There has been one fall, or two near-falls, even if nobody was hurt.
- The senior has stopped going out entirely, or calls the same relative repeatedly at odd hours.
- Money handling has become confusing — unpaid bills, duplicate payments, unfamiliar withdrawals.
- When you see these, the need has moved past companionship into attendant care.
If several of these appear together, the need has usually moved to Trained attendant. The matcher will confirm it from your answers.
How to hire safely
- Agree fixed hours, weekly off and the exact tasks in one written page.
- Give a printed medicine list; never rely on verbal instructions.
- Set a one-to-two-week trial with clear pass or exit criteria.
- Keep one family member as the single point of contact.
- Never give the caregiver ATM cards, PINs or passwords.
The full hiring checklist and the questions to ask an agency go deeper on verification, references and replacement terms.
FAQ
Common questions about companion care
Is companion care enough if my parent has a chronic condition?
Often yes, if the condition is stable and the daily activities are managed independently. The condition itself does not change the level; what changes it is whether help is needed with bathing, toilet, mobility or clinical tasks.
How many hours a day should I book?
Most families start with the two blocks they cannot cover themselves — usually late morning and evening. Four hours a day, five days a week is a common starting point, reviewed after a month.
Can a companion accompany to a doctor’s appointment?
Yes, and it is one of the most valuable things they do — they hear the instructions directly instead of the family relaying them by phone. Ask them to write down what the doctor said.
Next step
Is this the level your family needs?
Six questions, about two minutes. You will see the care level, a fair price range for your city, and what the caregiver may and may not do.