How Much Does a Full-Time Live-In Caregiver Cost in Nigeria?

Live-in care is the arrangement families reach for when worry peaks: someone there all the time, every hour covered, no gaps. It is also the most expensive care most families will ever buy — and the most commonly mispriced, because "we'll just get someone to stay with Mama" hides a dozen line items nobody budgets. Here are the real numbers, and the honest guidance on when they are worth paying.

The 2026 market rates

These figures reflect the current Nigerian market and sit consistently alongside our general cost guide:

Untrained live-in companion / helper: ₦40,000–₦70,000 monthly. Presence, not care — no medication competence, no clinical observation. Suitable only for an essentially independent loved one.
Trained live-in professional caregiver: ₦150,000–₦300,000 monthly. The realistic band for genuine round-the-clock professional care — personal care, medication management, observation, reporting.
Specialist live-in care (dementia, stroke recovery, palliative): ₦250,000–₦400,000+ monthly, reflecting scarce skills and heavier duty of care.
Diaspora-arranged, unverified live-in: ₦300,000–₦1,000,000+. The same exploitation premium we document across the market — distance priced in, accountability left out.

The costs that don't appear in the quote

Room and board — a live-in caregiver eats and lodges in the home; budget feeding and utilities honestly.
Relief cover — nobody works 24/7. A sustainable arrangement includes paid days off and a vetted relief caregiver: add roughly 10–15% or budget a second part-timer.
Annual costs — a 13th-month or festive bonus is a strong cultural norm; leave travel may apply for caregivers from other states.
Supervision — an unsupervised live-in caregiver inside your loved one's home, 5,000 miles from your oversight, is the single riskiest unmanaged position in diaspora care. Whether through a platform or a professional supervisor, budget for the accountability layer — it is not optional at this level of access.

When live-in care is the right spend

Live-in care earns its cost when nights are the risk window (falls on the way to the bathroom, wandering, night-time confusion), when needs are continuous rather than scheduled, or during defined intensive periods like post-stroke recovery. It is frequently over-bought by anxious families whose loved one actually needs structured daily visits — at ₦80,000–₦150,000 monthly — plus honest reporting. The question is never "what is maximum coverage?" It is "what does the assessment say, and what can we verify?"

The real answer to the cost question

A verified, trained, supervised live-in caregiver at ₦250,000 a month is roughly $160–$180 — less than many families abroad spend on subscriptions they forget they have, for the round-the-clock safety of the person who raised them. The expensive version of live-in care is not the professional one. It is the unverified one: same money or more, no records, no supervision, no truth — paid to hope, at diaspora rates.

Know. Don't Guess. SabiCare365 coordinates trusted care for your loved one in Nigeria — vetted caregivers, verified visits, and a Care Summary you can read from anywhere in the world. Get started today — your first month is free.