HomeMade vs Five Good Friends: fees and models compared
Last updated 20 August 2026
Provider fees verified from published pricing, August 2026. Budget figures current as at 1 July 2026.
The short version
- Both are tech-led providers, but they sit at different points on the “how much management do you buy” scale: HomeMade is a self-managed specialist (10% care management allocation plus a 10% service loading - 20% all up); Five Good Friends is a hybrid, offering both a full-service membership and a self-managed membership, run through its Lookout app.
- Five Good Friends publishes hourly rates - full service $117/hr personal care and $105/hr cleaning, self-managed “from $89/hour”. HomeMade publishes none on its pricing page; your costs depend on rates agreed with workers on its network.
- Five Good Friends’ full-service membership adds a weekly package management fee ($25.80-$164.50 depending on funding level) on top of the 10% care management allocation.
- Coverage differs: HomeMade is Australia-wide; Five Good Friends covers metro and regional areas in multiple states - check your postcode on its site.
Side by side
| HomeMade | Five Good Friends | |
|---|---|---|
| Model | Self-managed (fully managed option added) | Hybrid - self-managed membership and full-service membership, tech-enabled with the Lookout app |
| Ownership | Private (subsidiary of Mable Technologies) | Private (Brisbane-founded) |
| Care management fee | Self-managed: 10% care management allocation plus 10% service loading - described on its pricing page as “HomeMade fees: 20%”. Fully managed: 10% care management fee with “cheaper set rates” for services | Full-service membership: “10% of your budget is set aside for care management”, at $150/hr. Self-managed membership page shows combined “Care Management & Package Management: 15-17% of package” - still worded in old Home Care Package terms as at August 2026 |
| Other admin / loading fees | 10% service loading on services received through HomeMade (self-managed option) | Package management shown as $25.80-$164.50 weekly depending on funding level (full-service page) |
| Personal care, weekday | Not published | $117/hr (full service, Helper independence/personal care); self-managed “from $89/hour” |
| Cleaning, weekday | Not published | $105/hr (full service, everyday living); self-managed “from $89/hour” |
| Coverage | Australia-wide (“more than 3,500 service providers across Australia”) | Metro and regional areas across multiple states; postcode checker on its site |
| Distinctive features | Built on the Mable marketplace; fully managed rates sit in a separate pricing list (available on request) | Lookout app for scheduling, budget tracking and reporting; “you decide who visits you and when”; RN $200/hr, telehealth nursing $160/hr (self-managed rates); no basic daily fee |
“Not published” means the figure does not appear on the provider’s published pricing pages as at August 2026 - ask for it in writing before you sign.
As at August 2026, Five Good Friends’ self-managed membership page still describes its fees in old Home Care Package terms - “Care Management & Package Management: 15-17% of package”. Under Support at Home, care management for every registered provider is a 10% allocation from your quarterly budget. Before signing, ask Five Good Friends to set out in writing exactly how its self-managed fees map to the Support at Home structure.
What the fee structures mean in practice
Take Classification 5, with a quarterly budget of $10,182.38 in 2026-27. With either provider, the government’s 10% care management allocation comes off first - $1,018.24 - leaving a service pool of $9,164.14. Care management is clinical care, so it costs you nothing personally.
HomeMade (self-managed)
- Classification 5 · $10,182.38/qtr
- 10% care management = $1,018.24, leaving $9,164.14
- Then
- 10% service loading on services through HomeMade - roughly $8,331 of worker charges fit in the pool
- In hours
- Depends on agreed rates - HomeMade doesn’t publish hourly rates, so hours turn on what your chosen workers charge
Five Good Friends (full service)
- Classification 5 · $10,182.38/qtr
- 10% care management = $1,018.24, leaving $9,164.14
- Then
- A weekly package management fee also applies - published as $25.80-$164.50 depending on funding level; confirm the figure for your level
- In hours
- ≈ 78 hrs/qtr of personal care at the published $117/hr rate, before the package management fee - around 6 hours a week
This is the classic self-managed-versus-full-service trade. HomeMade’s structure keeps overheads to the loading, but you (or family) find and coordinate workers, and hours depend on the rates you agree. Five Good Friends’ full service costs more per hour and adds a weekly package management fee, but the finding, scheduling and oversight is done for you, with the Lookout app tracking it all. Its own self-managed membership sits in between, with rates “from $89/hour”. Your means-tested contribution applies per service in the same way with either provider - see what you’ll pay.
Every figure on this page was verified from HomeMade’s and Five Good Friends’ published pricing in August 2026. Providers adjust prices often, and the government publishes a quarterly National Summary of Support at Home Prices for benchmarking. Ask each provider for its current price list in writing before signing a service agreement.
Which suits you?
Choose HomeMade if…
- You’re confident self-managing and want overheads kept to the 10% loading, with workers sourced through the Mable marketplace.
- You live somewhere Five Good Friends doesn’t cover - HomeMade operates Australia-wide.
- You’re happy to gather worker quotes yourself, since no rate card is published.
Choose Five Good Friends if…
- You want published hourly rates and the option to slide between self-managed and full-service as needs change, without switching provider.
- An app that lets you (and family, wherever they live) see schedules, budgets and visit notes is a genuine drawcard.
- You want a provider-vetted Helper rather than sourcing workers yourself - and its postcode checker confirms your area.
Neither is the “winner”. The honest question is how much management you want to buy with your budget: more hours and more legwork with HomeMade, fewer hours with more done for you at Five Good Friends.
Not sure which fits your situation?
Tell us your classification, postcode and how much coordination you want handled, and we can help you compare these two - and any others servicing your area - for your situation.
Common questions
What is the Lookout app, and do I have to use it?
Lookout is Five Good Friends’ app for scheduling, budget tracking and reporting - it’s how members and their families see who is visiting and what’s being spent. If apps aren’t your thing, ask how the service works for members who prefer the phone before you join.
Is HomeMade just Mable under another name?
Not quite. Mable is a support-worker marketplace; HomeMade is its subsidiary and a registered provider that manages Support at Home budgets, citing more than 3,500 service providers across Australia. In practice the two are designed to work together - HomeMade handles the provider role while you find workers through the marketplace.
What does Five Good Friends’ “from $89/hour” actually mean?
That’s the published starting rate for personal care and cleaning under its self-managed membership (Helper independence visits are “from $99/hour”). “From” pricing means your actual rate could be higher - ask for the rate that would apply to your services and area in writing before comparing.
How does the 10% care management allocation work with these two?
The 10% allocation is set by government and applies to every registered provider - see the care management fee, explained. Five Good Friends books full-service care management at $150/hr within it; HomeMade’s self-managed offer pairs it with a 10% service loading. Our care management fees comparison shows how other providers’ rates stack up.
Sources
- HomeMade - pricing, homemadesupport.com.au/pricing/, accessed August 2026.
- HomeMade - Support at Home, homemadesupport.com.au/support-at-home, accessed August 2026.
- HomeMade - self-managed home care, homemadesupport.com.au/self-managed/, accessed August 2026.
- Five Good Friends - self-managed membership, fivegoodfriends.com.au/aged-care/self-managed-membership, accessed August 2026.
- Five Good Friends - full-service membership, fivegoodfriends.com.au/aged-care/full-service-membership, accessed August 2026.