Agency vs marketplace vs Facebook: hiring care in the Philippines

It usually starts in the family group chat. Tita posts a link to an agency. Your cousin forwards a Facebook post: "Available po, stay-in or stay-out, elderly care, Cavite." Your sister in Riyadh asks if anyone has actually checked the person. Meanwhile, Lola needs someone by Monday.

All three routes can work. They just protect you in different ways, cost different amounts, and leave different gaps. This guide lays them side by side so you can choose with your eyes open.

This is practical guidance for non-clinical home care in the Philippines, with a Metro Manila focus. It is not legal or medical advice. Rates vary by caregiver, schedule and location, and the figures below come from public sources checked on 6 October 2026.

The three routes at a glance

Table 1. How agencies, marketplaces and Facebook groups compare

None of these is "the safe one" by default. Each moves risk and effort to a different place.

Route 1: Home-care agencies

What you get. Someone else handles recruitment, screening and replacement. Few Metro Manila home-care agencies publish prices, but Home Health Care Philippines does. Its rates effective 1 October 2026 list ₱2,002–₱2,142 per 12-hour shift for a basic or intermediate caregiver at regular rates, and ₱2,604–₱2,800 for ICU-level care. The agency says the price covers the caregiver's professional fee, a transport allowance, case-manager supervision and a management fee. It also says it will make every effort to send a reliever if the assigned caregiver is absent.

What you give up. Control over who comes. That same agency states that clients are not involved in the hiring process, because the caregiver is the agency's employee. For some families that's a relief. For others, especially when Lolo is particular about who bathes him, it's a dealbreaker.

Best for: families who need guaranteed backup, ICU-level or high-dependency support at home, or someone else to handle the employer side.

Ask before you sign:

• Is the caregiver your employee, and are their SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG covered?
• What exactly is in the shift rate, and what's billed extra?
• How fast is a replacement, and is there a fee?
• Can we meet the caregiver before the first shift?

Route 2: Facebook groups and referrals

What you get. Speed and a low headline price. Post at night and you can have dozens of replies by morning. Many good caregivers find work this way because they have nowhere else to show their experience.

What you give up. Proof. Families in PH parent forums describe the same patterns again and again: fare paid for a provincial hire who left after a few days, cash advances followed by silence, and "vouched" helpers who still left the family unsure. Caregivers face the other side of it: unclear scope, no written pay, and households they can't check before they arrive. (For the full checklist, see our guide to hiring a caregiver when nobody can vouch for them.)

Best for: families who have time to screen carefully and a backup person at home during the first weeks.

If you go this route, do the checks yourself:

• See a government ID (front and back) and match the face
• Ask for a recent NBI or police clearance and note the issue date
• Call at least one previous employer yourself
• Put hours, tasks, rest day and pay in writing
• Start with a short paid trial before keys or alone time with Lola
• Never send a deposit to a third party, and never share ATM PINs

Route 3: Marketplaces

What you get. You browse profiles and see each caregiver's rate, services and checks before you talk. You choose the person, agree the hours, and pay them directly.

What you give up. The agency's replacement guarantee and its role as employer. If a caregiver can't come, you book another one yourself. The terms of the arrangement sit between you and the caregiver, so you still need to write the scope down.

On Kalingap specifically:

• Named checks, not a vague tick. Every badge names the check behind it, for example NBI checked, ID matched, Interviewed or NC II. Our team reviews documents such as a government ID (front and back), and caregivers may also submit an NC II Caregiving certificate and complete a team interview. Not every badge appears on every profile, and approval can complete without a scheduled interview when policy allows. Always read the badges on the profile you're considering.
• Rates you can see. Each caregiver sets their own rate, never below the platform floor for that service: from ₱100/hr for an appointment companion, ₱110/hr for childcare or a hospital watcher, ₱120/hr for elderly care, ₱130/hr for overnight care, ₱150/hr for post-surgery support, and ₱1,200/day for live-in. These are floors, not averages.
• 0% commission. You pay the caregiver directly. Kalingap holds no money and takes no cut.
• Browse first. You can look at caregivers without creating an account.

Best for: families who want to choose the person, need flexible hours (a clinic day, a few afternoons a week, a night at the hospital), and are comfortable handling the agreement directly.

The real cost comparison

Headline rates mislead when they measure different things. Compare the same shift length and ask what's inside the number.

Table 2. A 12-hour day shift, compared like-for-like (public figures, 6 Oct 2026)

Some caregivers on Kalingap charge well above the floor, and agencies give senior/PWD rates. Treat Table 2 as a way to ask better questions, not as a quote.

If you're directly employing someone full-time, the legal floors matter too. In Metro Manila in 2026, the kasambahay minimum is ₱7,800/month (Wage Order NCR-DW-06, effective 7 February 2026), and the non-agriculture daily minimum is ₱755/day (Wage Order NCR-28, effective 26 September 2026). TESDA-certified caregivers covered by the Caregivers' Welfare Act (RA 11965) can't be paid below the regional minimum wage. Our cost guide walks through the full numbers.

How to choose: a quick decision guide

• Need ICU-level support, oxygen or a ventilator at home? Start with an agency or a licensed nurse, and talk to the doctor first.
• Need guaranteed cover every single day, with no gaps? An agency's reliever system is worth paying for.
• Want to pick the person and book by the hour or day? A marketplace fits.
• Tight budget and a family member at home to supervise? A referral or Facebook hire can work, if you do every check on the list above.
• Not sure yet? Book a few on-demand shifts first. It's a low-commitment way to learn what Lola actually needs before you commit to live-in.

Whatever route you choose, write the scope down: hours, tasks, rest, pay, and what's not included. "All-around" quietly growing into cook, cleaner and nurse is the most common reason arrangements fall apart.

Red flags on any route

• A price far below the legal floors, which often hides fees or unpaid overtime
• A "verified" claim with no explanation of what was checked
• Pressure to pay a deposit before you've met or confirmed the caregiver
• Refusal to put hours and tasks in writing
• Anyone offering to adjust medicines or do clinical procedures outside their training

---

Kalingap is a marketplace that connects families with independent caregivers. It is not an employment agency or a medical provider. Rates vary by caregiver, schedule and location, and third-party figures above may change. Named badges show completed checks; they are not a guarantee of future conduct. Agency details are quoted from the agency's own public page. Check current wage orders with DOLE/NWPC before making employment decisions. Last reviewed 6 October 2026.

Sources (accessed 6 October 2026)

1. Home Health Care Philippines, Caregiver Services – 12-Hour Shifts (rates effective 1 Oct 2026; inclusions; reliever and assignment policy): https://homehealthcare.com.ph/services/private-duty-caregivers
2. NWPC, NCR current daily minimum wage rates & domestic worker minimum wage (Wage Orders NCR-28, NCR-DW-06): https://nwpc.dole.gov.ph/ncr/
3. NWPC, Kasambahays in NCR to receive P800 monthly minimum wage increase (27 Jan 2026): https://nwpc.dole.gov.ph/kasambahays-in-ncr-to-receive-p800-monthly-minimum-wage-increase/
4. Republic Act No. 11965, Caregivers' Welfare Act (Lawphil): https://www.lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2023/ra_11965_2023.html
5. Republic Act No. 10361, Batas Kasambahay (Lawphil): https://lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2013/ra_10361_2013.html
6. Helpers.ph, Caregiver salary Philippines 2026 (agency package vs wage): https://helpers.ph/guides/caregiver-salary-philippines
7. Patterns families discuss in PH parent and hiring forums (paraphrased themes; re-open before citing as dated evidence): https://www.reddit.com/r/nanayconfessions/comments/1v1bbd0/ · https://www.reddit.com/r/Philippines/comments/1mpy9wv/
8. NBI Clearance (official portal): https://clearance.nbi.gov.ph/
9. Kalingap, How it works (named verification checks, direct payment): https://www.kalingap.app/how-it-works
10. Kalingap service pages (platform rate floors): https://www.kalingap.app/services/elderly_care · https://www.kalingap.app/services/hospital_watcher · https://www.kalingap.app/services/childcare · https://www.kalingap.app/services/live_in · https://www.kalingap.app/services/overnight_care · https://www.kalingap.app/services/post_surgery · https://www.kalingap.app/services/appointment_companion