Home Nurses in Bangalore 2026: Costs, Providers, and How to Choose Carefully
Health & Wellness · By L K Monu Borkala · April 2026 · 12 min read
QUICK ANSWER
How much does a home nurse cost in Bangalore in 2026?
A 12-hour daytime shift costs ₹800–₹1,800. A 24-hour shift runs ₹1,500–₹3,500 depending on care complexity. Hourly care starts at ₹150–₹300 per hour. Established providers like Portea Medical, Nightingales, HCAH, and Aayan Global publish transparent rate cards — ask for these upfront and compare against what the agency quotes verbally.
What Home Nursing Actually Covers
The term 'home nurse' covers a wide range of services, and the distinction matters for both care quality and cost. At one end: a trained caregiver who provides assistance with mobility, hygiene, and medication reminders. At the other: a licensed Registered Nurse (RN) who can administer injections, manage IV lines, conduct wound debridement, and monitor vitals for ICU-level post-operative care at home.
Most families searching for home nursing in Bangalore need something in the middle: someone with medical training who can handle wound care, catheter management, physiotherapy assistance, and basic vital sign monitoring, while also being trustworthy enough to be in the home unsupervised. This is the category that Portea, Nightingales, HCAH, and similar agencies specialise in.
Before contacting any agency, be specific about the medical tasks required. This determines the grade of nurse you need, which directly affects the cost and the agency's ability to fill the position on short notice.
How to Choose a Home Nursing Agency in Bangalore
1. Verify that nurses are background-checked and licensed
Reputable agencies in Bangalore conduct police verification, nursing council registration checks, and in some cases, reference checks from previous placements. Ask the agency directly: Do you verify nursing council registration? What's your background check process? A provider that can't answer these questions clearly is one to avoid when you're placing a stranger in your home.
Minimum to verify: Nursing Council of India registration for any nurse performing clinical procedures (injections, wound care, catheter management). For caregiving-only roles, a government-issued ID and police verification is the floor.
2. Confirm the replacement policy
A nurse who doesn't show up — due to illness, personal reasons, or agency scheduling issues — is a crisis when you're managing a dependent family member. Ask before you sign: What's your replacement policy if the assigned nurse can't come? How quickly can you provide a replacement? What happens on public holidays? The answer to this question tells you a lot about how operationally capable the agency is.
3. Get the full fee structure in writing
Verbal quotes frequently differ from actual invoices. Ask for a written breakdown that includes: daily rate, any registration or onboarding fees, overtime or night-shift differentials, public holiday rates, and what happens if care requirements change. Transparent providers — Portea, Nightingales, Helpee — publish rate cards; less established agencies sometimes charge 'convenience fees' that weren't mentioned in the initial quote.
4. Assess cultural and communication fit
For elderly patients in particular, the relationship between patient and caregiver matters as much as clinical competence. A technically skilled nurse who doesn't communicate well with the patient or family, or who creates tension in the household, creates a different kind of problem. Most reputable agencies offer a trial period of a few days before commitment to a longer engagement — use it.
Established Providers in Bangalore
The following agencies have verifiable operational histories in Bangalore. Costs below are indicative for 2026 and should be confirmed directly with each provider.
Portea Medical
One of India's largest home healthcare companies, Portea operates across 25+ cities with a Bangalore base. Their model is structured around medically supervised home care: nurses are trained and credentialed, care plans are developed with a physician, and follow-up is systematic. They handle post-operative recovery, chronic disease management (diabetes, COPD, stroke rehabilitation), and palliative care.
Best for: Complex post-operative care, chronic disease management, situations where physician oversight is needed. Cost range: ₹1,800–₹3,500/24 hours depending on care complexity. Contact: portea.com / 1800 121 2323.
Nightingales Home Health Services
Founded in Bangalore in 1996, Nightingales is one of the oldest home healthcare providers in the city and has a strong institutional reputation. Their nurses are trained in-house through their own nursing school, which provides quality consistency that agencies relying solely on external recruitment can't match. They also offer physiotherapy, speech therapy, and occupational therapy as part of home care packages.
Best for: Long-term care engagements, elderly care, rehabilitation. Cost range: ₹1,600–₹3,200/24 hours. Contact: nightingaleshomehealth.com.
HCAH (HealthCare atHome)
HCAH is a joint venture between Max Healthcare and an Australian home health company, which gives it a different profile from most Indian providers: more corporate in structure, more expensive on average, and with stronger documentation and clinical governance. They specialise in post-hospitalisation care, where patients are discharged from hospitals earlier than previously but still need skilled nursing at home.
Best for: Post-ICU and post-surgical care, patients discharged from Max or other private hospitals. Cost range: ₹2,200–₹4,500/24 hours. Contact: hcah.in.
Aayan Global
Aayan Global operates in Bangalore with a focus on transparent pricing and gender preference accommodation. They're a practical choice for families who need home nursing at shorter notice, have a specific gender requirement for the nurse, or are looking for a provider at the mid-range price point. Their nurses handle standard home nursing tasks: wound care, medication administration, vital sign monitoring, mobility assistance.
Best for: Standard home nursing, gender-specific requirements, mid-range budget. Cost range: ₹1,500–₹2,800/24 hours. Contact: aayanglobal.com.
Helpee
Helpee is a tech-platform model: you book and manage care through their app, which makes scheduling and payment more convenient than traditional agency models. There's a one-time registration fee (₹1,500–₹2,000) plus daily charges. The app-based model works well for organised families managing care from a distance; it works less well when the care situation is medically complex or rapidly changing.
Best for: Tech-comfortable families managing care logistics, standard caregiving needs. Cost range: ₹1,200–₹2,500/24 hours + registration fee. Contact: helpee.in.
WeCare Home Health Services
WeCare is a Bangalore-based provider with a focus on elder care and dementia care specifically — a niche that requires different training from general home nursing. Their caregivers are trained in dementia communication techniques and fall prevention protocols, which are genuinely different skills from wound care or post-surgical nursing. If the care need is cognitive rather than clinical, WeCare is worth considering specifically.
Best for: Elderly care, dementia care, long-term companionship-based care. Cost range: ₹1,400–₹2,800/24 hours. Contact: wecarehomehealth.com.
2026 Cost Reference Table
Service Type | Daily Rate (12hr) | Daily Rate (24hr) | Hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
Basic caregiver (non-clinical) | ₹700–₹1,200 | ₹1,200–₹2,000 | ₹120–₹200/hr |
Trained nursing (wound care, vitals) | ₹900–₹1,600 | ₹1,500–₹2,800 | ₹150–₹280/hr |
Registered nurse (injections, IV) | ₹1,200–₹1,800 | ₹2,000–₹3,500 | ₹200–₹350/hr |
ICU-level home care | ₹1,800–₹2,500 | ₹3,000–₹4,500 | ₹300–₹450/hr |
Physiotherapy (separate) | ₹600–₹1,200 per session | — | — |
Rates are indicative as of April 2026. Actual quotes from agencies may vary by 15–20% based on location within Bangalore, nurse availability, and duration of engagement. Always confirm in writing before the nurse begins.
What to Have Ready Before Calling an Agency
Agencies ask the same set of questions for every inquiry. Having answers ready speeds up the process significantly and helps you get accurate quotes:
The patient's diagnosis or medical condition. The specific nursing tasks required (wound care, catheter, injections, physiotherapy, mobility assistance). Shift duration needed (12 hours / 24 hours / hourly). Start date and estimated duration of care. Any gender preference for the nurse. Location and access notes (lift available? Ground floor?). Whether the patient is ambulatory or bedridden.
For families managing care from outside Bangalore, all major providers have phone and WhatsApp-based inquiry systems. Portea and Helpee offer app-based booking; the others operate primarily through phone inquiry.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find a home nurse in Bangalore quickly?
Portea Medical and Nightingales can typically place nurses within 24–48 hours for standard care requirements. For same-day placement, Helpee's app-based model sometimes has faster response. For medically complex cases (post-ICU, ventilator-dependent patients), expect 48–72 hours for a qualified nurse to be identified and verified.
Can I hire a home nurse directly without an agency?
Yes — many nurses in Bangalore take direct placements through word of mouth, hospital contacts, or platforms like NurseConnect and Sulekha. Direct hiring is typically 20–30% cheaper than agency rates but shifts all responsibility for verification, replacement, and legal compliance to you. For short-term or medically routine care, direct hiring can make sense; for complex or long-term care, the agency's infrastructure and replacement guarantees are usually worth the premium.
What is the difference between a caregiver and a home nurse?
A caregiver provides non-clinical support: mobility assistance, hygiene, meal support, companionship, and medication reminders. They don't perform clinical procedures. A home nurse is medically trained and can administer medications, perform wound care, handle catheters, take and interpret vitals, and — if they're a Registered Nurse — administer injections and manage IV lines. The right choice depends on the specific care required; using an RN for caregiving needs is an unnecessary cost; using a caregiver for clinical needs is a safety issue.
Are female home nurses available in Bangalore?
Yes — all major agencies including Portea, Nightingales, Aayan Global, and WeCare accommodate gender preferences. Request this specifically at the time of inquiry and confirm in writing. The availability of female nurses for specific care requirements (post-surgical, intimate care, elderly women patients) is generally good with 48–72 hours' notice through established agencies.
What should I do if the assigned home nurse isn't working out?
Contact the agency immediately — don't wait for the care situation to deteriorate. Reputable agencies have replacement policies and will work with you to address the issue, whether that means addressing a specific concern with the nurse, providing a replacement, or adjusting the care plan. Document specific issues clearly (missed tasks, communication problems, punctuality) when you call — this helps the agency respond appropriately rather than treating the complaint as a vague dissatisfaction.