Searching for ClearCare alternatives does not necessarily mean ClearCare is a poor system. It often means a provider is reviewing a renewal, opening new services, reconsidering contract length, looking for a different workflow, or simply doing proper market testing. ClearCare is one of the longest-established platforms in UK children’s residential care, with published pricing, formal security certifications and a large customer base. Any alternative therefore needs to be judged against real operational requirements, not a generic feature checklist. The seven options below are worth comparing because each targets Children’s Homes, Supported Accommodation, or both, but they take noticeably different approaches to pricing, scope and implementation.
At a glance
| Platform | Best-fit / public positioning | Public pricing approach |
|---|---|---|
| CareSync | Children’s Homes, Supported Accommodation, Residential Family Centres | Published: from £23/month solo placement; £61–£91 monthly by bed band |
| Mentor Software | Children’s Homes, Supported Accommodation, 18+ | From £208 CH / £175 SA monthly |
| OVcare | Children’s Homes, Supported Accommodation, Family Assessment | From £185 CH / £89 SA monthly |
| Sue Solutions | Children’s residential care | Pricing not clearly published on reviewed pages |
| Hearth | Children’s Homes, Supported Accommodation | £149–£249/home; £25/place SA |
| Hande | Children’s Homes, Supported Accommodation | £49.99 intro then £89.99/home |
| CRIS | Children’s residential care; SA pricing separate | Per-home quote; no public figure |
1. CareSync: specialist records and operational clarity
CareSync is positioned around digital care records, incidents, safeguarding, team collaboration, compliance workflows and evidence generation. The public website focuses on reducing fragmented admin and creating a clearer operating picture for Supported Accommodation and Residential Children’s Homes. It publishes its prices: £23 a month for a solo placement and £61, £73 or £91 a month for homes with 1–5, 6–8 or 9–12 beds, with a three-month free trial and no setup fees or long-term lock-in. CareSync is worth comparing if you want a focused system and you care more about frontline usability and connected evidence than about choosing the longest-established brand.
2. Mentor Software: broad children’s-services functionality
Mentor supports Children’s Homes, Supported Accommodation and 18+ services. Its website publishes starting prices, with Children’s Homes from £208 per month and Supported Accommodation from £175 per month on the displayed one-year option, excluding VAT. It advertises £0 setup, free onboarding and training, pre-registration access free until inspection, dashboards, custom permissions and multi-service oversight. Mentor is a strong shortlist candidate for groups that want care, staffing, compliance and management information in one environment and value a supplier that publishes sector resources alongside the product.
3. OVcare: flat-rate, operationally broad software
OVcare publishes pricing from £185 per Children’s Home per month and £89 per Supported Accommodation setting, excluding VAT, with exact prices affected by contract length and portfolio size. It includes HR and workforce tools, an inspector portal, AI reporting and unlimited young people or beds within the stated setting model. OVcare is worth comparing if predictable per-setting pricing, workforce tools and fast implementation are priorities.
4. Sue Solutions: long-standing children’s residential specialism
Sue Solutions says it is used by more than 1,000 UK homes and has been embedded in children’s residential care for over a decade. Its public content strongly emphasises careworker usability, management oversight, incidents, safeguarding, staffing and inspection evidence. Sue is especially relevant for organisations that want a platform focused narrowly on children’s residential care rather than a multi-sector care system. Pricing was not clearly published on the pages reviewed, so request a written quote and implementation scope.
5. Hearth: unusually transparent pricing
Hearth is a newer specialist product for Ofsted-regulated Children’s Homes and Supported Accommodation. It publishes full prices: £149, £199 or £249 per Children’s Home per month depending on registered beds, with annual discounts; Supported Accommodation is £25 per place per month with a minimum charge. Every plan includes the complete product, unlimited staff and no contract requirement. Hearth openly states that it is early in its market journey, which some buyers may value for transparency while others may prefer a longer track record.
6. Hande: whole-home operations at a low published rate
Hande combines care records, safeguarding, HR, property, finance, governance, rotas and evidence. Its pricing page says the full product costs £49.99 per home per month for the first two months and £89.99 thereafter, with unlimited users and no setup fee. For providers that want operational functions beyond care records without moving into enterprise pricing, Hande is an interesting comparison. As with any newer product, ask for customer references and a detailed migration plan.
7. CRIS: mobile-first and multi-agency
CRIS differentiates itself through mobile-first recording and bringing social workers and guardians into governed workflows. It publishes a per-home model with unlimited beds, staff and external users, a free first month, no required contract and separate Supported Accommodation pricing, but not a standard numeric monthly price. CRIS deserves attention where external professional participation and acknowledgement tracking are important parts of the service model.
How to compare alternatives fairly
Do not start with a giant spreadsheet of features. Start with five real journeys: a new placement, a safeguarding concern, an incident with follow-up, a manager quality review and an inspection request. Ask every supplier to demonstrate those journeys live. Then compare total three-year cost, data migration, support, training, permissions, audit trails, exports and exit arrangements. ClearCare remains a credible option; the purpose of an alternatives search is to establish whether another product fits your organisation better today.
Questions to ask before you sign
Whichever supplier you prefer, put the commercial and operational assumptions in writing. Ask what the quoted price includes, whether it changes with beds, young people, homes or users, what happens at renewal, and whether any core feature is an add-on. Confirm who migrates historic data, what format you receive if you leave, where data is hosted, whether multi-factor authentication is available, how backups are tested and how support is escalated. Ask for a reference from a provider that resembles your organisation in size and service type. Finally, involve frontline staff in the decision. A system bought only by directors can look excellent in a boardroom and still fail on a night shift.
Editorial note
This comparison is based on information published by the suppliers on their own websites and public materials checked in October 2026. Products, pricing, certifications and contract terms can change. Where a supplier does not publish a figure or feature, this article says so rather than assuming it is absent. CareSync is the publisher of this article, so readers should treat it as a buyer’s guide rather than independent market research and verify all material claims directly with shortlisted suppliers before purchasing.
Frequently asked questions
What are the main ClearCare alternatives in 2026?
Relevant UK alternatives include CareSync, Mentor Software, OVcare, Sue Solutions, Hearth, Hande and CRIS. CHARMS can also be relevant for broader multi-service social care organisations.
Which ClearCare alternative publishes the clearest pricing?
Among the suppliers reviewed, CareSync, Hearth, Hande, Mentor and OVcare publish numeric pricing on their websites. Sue Solutions and CRIS require a sales conversation or do not show a standard figure on the reviewed pages.
Should I switch away from ClearCare?
Not automatically. If ClearCare fits your workflows, contract, reporting and security needs, staying may be sensible. Compare alternatives when your operational or commercial requirements change.
What should I test in a demo?
Test real workflows: daily recording, incidents, safeguarding follow-up, permissions, manager oversight, inspection evidence, data export and migration.
Sources checked
ClearCare pricing: https://www.clearcaresolutions.co.uk/price-setup/
CareSync: https://www.caresync.co.uk/
CareSync pricing: https://caresync.co.uk/pricing
Mentor pricing: https://mentorsoftware.co.uk/pricing/
OVcare pricing: https://www.ovcare.co.uk/pricing
Hearth pricing: https://carehearth.co.uk/pricing
Hande pricing: https://handeapp.co.uk/pricing/index.html
CRIS pricing: https://www.criscare.uk/pricing.html
Sue Solutions: https://www.suesolutions.co.uk/
