Hiring through Care.com vs an agency: what it really costs in Massachusetts
A marketplace shows you a lower hourly rate. What it does not show is the second bill — payroll taxes, workers' compensation, and the Tuesday nobody turns up. Here is the arithmetic, and the cases where hiring directly is still the right answer.
Care.com is a marketplace, not an agency: it introduces you to a caregiver and you become their employer. In Massachusetts that can mean workers' compensation insurance (required at 16 hours a week or more), Social Security and Medicare taxes once you pay $3,000 in a year, and finding your own cover when someone is ill. The advertised hourly rate is real; it is just not the whole cost.
What you are actually buying in each case
Through a marketplace, you pay a membership to browse and contact caregivers, then pay the caregiver directly at a rate they set. You interview, check references, agree terms, run payroll, handle taxes, carry insurance, supervise the work, and arrange cover when it falls through.
Through an agency, the caregiver is our employee. One hourly rate covers their pay, employment taxes, workers' compensation, liability insurance, screening, supervision, and a replacement when someone is ill. You are a customer, not an employer.
The cost stack
Take 20 hours a week of personal care as an example.
| Hiring directly through a marketplace | Cost |
|---|---|
| Caregiver's hourly rate (they set it) | varies |
| Your share of Social Security and Medicare, once wages pass $3,000 in the year | +7.65% |
| Workers' compensation insurance, required at 16+ hrs/week | premium varies |
| State unemployment insurance registration, if it applies to you | varies |
| Marketplace membership | monthly fee |
| Cover when your caregiver is ill or on holiday | you, or nobody |
| Your time: screening, scheduling, payroll, filings | unpaid |
| Westmark's rate for the same care is $38/hour, all in — taxes, workers' compensation, liability insurance, screening, supervision and cover for missed shifts are inside that number. Our full rate card is published. | |
The obligations families underestimate
Workers' compensation. Massachusetts requires it for a domestic employee working at least 16 hours a week. An employer without it can be issued a stop work order and fined a minimum of $100 a day until coverage is in place. If a caregiver is hurt lifting someone in your parent's bathroom, this is the difference between an insurance claim and a lawsuit against the family.
Payroll taxes. Pay a household worker $3,000 or more in cash wages during 2026 and Social Security and Medicare taxes apply — 7.65% from you, 7.65% withheld from them — reported on Schedule H with your own tax return. Twenty hours a week passes $3,000 in about two months.
Employment rules. Massachusetts has a Domestic Workers Bill of Rights with additional duties for households employing caregivers. If you hire directly, read it before you start, not after a dispute.
Paying cash avoids none of this. It just moves the risk onto the family and leaves the caregiver without a record of earnings.
When hiring directly is genuinely the better choice
We are not going to pretend it never is.
- You already know the person — a neighbour, a former aide, someone the family trusts.
- The hours are few — a few hours a week, below the thresholds that trigger most obligations.
- Someone in the family has the time to interview, supervise, run payroll and cover gaps.
- The need is stable — no fast-changing care requirements, no overnight risk.
Where it goes wrong is the unplanned bit: a fall at 2am, a caregiver quitting with no notice, a back injury in your parent's bathroom. Our post on the real difference between hiring privately and using an agency goes deeper, and what happens when a caregiver calls out sick covers the single most common failure.
Common questions
Is hiring through Care.com cheaper than an agency?
The hourly rate is lower; the total often is not. Being the employer brings workers' compensation, payroll taxes and cover for missed shifts. Once those are counted the gap narrows, and for some families it closes entirely.
Do I need workers' compensation insurance for a caregiver in Massachusetts?
Yes, for a domestic employee working 16 hours a week or more. Mass.gov states that employers without coverage can be issued a stop work order and fined a minimum of $100 a day until insured.
Do I have to pay taxes for a caregiver I hire directly?
If you pay $3,000 or more in cash wages in 2026, Social Security and Medicare taxes apply — 7.65% employer share — reported on Schedule H, per IRS Publication 926.
What happens if a privately hired caregiver calls out sick?
You cover the shift. This is the difference families feel most: an agency sends someone else, a marketplace does not.
Is Care.com an agency?
No. It introduces families to caregivers. The caregiver is not their employee, and they do not supervise care, arrange cover or carry liability insurance for the work unless you buy a separate service from them.
When is hiring privately the better choice?
When you already know the person, the hours are few, or you are comfortable being an employer and doing the admin. It is a poor fit when hours are high, needs change quickly, or nobody can cover a missed shift.
Compare it properly before you decide
Take the hourly rate you have been quoted, add 7.65%, add a workers' compensation premium, and add the value of your own time each week. Then ask what happens on a Tuesday when nobody turns up. If the honest answer is still "hire directly", do it — and if you want a number to compare against, ours is free and in writing.
Sources
Household employment taxes and the $3,000 cash wage threshold for 2026: IRS Publication 926, Household Employer's Tax Guide. Workers' compensation for domestic employees at 16+ hours a week, and the stop work order and minimum $100/day penalty: Mass.gov, Workers' Compensation Insurance Requirements. Massachusetts duties toward domestic workers: Mass.gov, Domestic Workers. Care.com's membership pricing is set by them and changes; see their own pricing page for the current figure. Westmark rates are our published weekday rates as of September 2026. This page is general information, not legal or tax advice.