Breakfast, routines, errands, and a watchful eye — the most common way families begin.
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An honest guide · updated August 2026
What home care actually costs on O'ahu.
Real numbers, the fees agencies bury, and what families like yours typically spend — useful whether or not you choose Kai. No email required to read it.
How pricing works
- Hourly rates
- Kai's published rates run from $46 to $53 per hour for one client and $54 to $61 for a couple. The rate depends on the care level and whether a shift is 4–7 hours or 8 hours or longer.
- Four-hour blocks
- Care is scheduled with a four-hour visit minimum and a 12-hour weekly minimum. Common blocks are 8am–12pm, 12pm–4pm, and 4pm–8pm; continuous daytime visits of 8+ hours receive the extended-shift rate. Separate visits are priced separately.
- Overnights
- Nights run as a single staffed 12-hour block, 8pm to 8am. Live-in caregiving is not legal in Hawai'i — a staffed overnight is how nights are covered, legally and safely.
- Holidays and extras
- Major holidays are billed at 1.5× the regular rate. Couples rates apply when one caregiver can safely serve two clients in the same household. Rates exclude Hawaiʻi General Excise Tax.
| Care level | Schedule | One client | Couples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal Care | 4–7 hours | $48/hr | $56/hr |
| 8+ hours | $46/hr | $54/hr | |
| Enhanced Personal Care | 4–7 hours | $53/hr | $61/hr |
| 8+ hours | $51/hr | $59/hr |
Kai confirms the appropriate care level after the home assessment based on the assistance required. The online estimator shows a range from Personal Care to Enhanced Personal Care. The assessment determines the final service level; diagnosis, hospice enrollment, or hospital discharge alone does not determine the rate.
When Enhanced Personal Care applies
Personal Care includes reminders, standby assistance, and limited hands-on help. Enhanced Personal Care applies when any one of these is needed:
- The caregiver does most or all bathing, dressing, toileting, or incontinence care.
- The client needs body-weight support to stand, pivot, or walk.
- The client needs hands-on repositioning in bed.
- The caregiver must stay within direct sight and repeatedly intervene to prevent unsafe actions.
If none applies, the Personal Care rate is used. Services are non-medical; no medication administration, mechanical lifts, or two-person transfers.
What families actually spend
Examples for one client, from Personal Care to Enhanced Personal Care, using 4.33 weeks per month. These approximate ranges exclude Hawaiʻi GET, holiday premiums, and other charges. Your assessment confirms the final care level and schedule.
A dependable weekday rhythm — meals, personal care, and real relief for a family caregiver.
8am to 4pm, five days a week — eight continuous hours of support each day.
Get your own number — about three minutes →
A written care plan with an honest monthly range. No account, no obligation.
The costs agencies bury
An attractive hourly rate can hide the rest of the bill. Before you sign with anyone — us included — get these five in writing:
- —Visit minimums, and what happens if you cancel a shift
- —Overnight, weekend, and holiday multipliers
- —Mileage and transportation add-ons
- —Annual rate increases, and how much notice you get
- —Deposits, contracts, and what it takes to pause or stop
Kai puts all five in writing before care begins, so there are no surprises later.
Compared to the alternatives
| Home care, a few mornings a week | $2,500–2,800/mo |
| Assisted living on O'ahu, typical published rates | $5,500–7,000/mo |
| Nursing facility in Hawai'i, typical published rates | $12,000+/mo |
Facility figures are typical published ranges for comparison only, not quotes. Home care is priced by the hour, so it scales with actual need — facilities bill the full month regardless.
How families cover it
Long-term care insurance often applies — Kai can work from the policy's terms. Hawai'i's Kupuna Care program supports qualifying kupuna through the county Elderly Affairs Division. And in many island households, siblings share the cost — a care plan with a written monthly number makes that conversation far easier.
Stop guessing. Get your number.
Eight plain questions, a written care plan, and an honest monthly range — yours to keep, compare, or bring to the family conversation.