Best care home software (2026)
Liam Jones
Founder of Pilla
Date Modified
17 September 2026
I wrote this because I keep getting asked what to use for care homes. I ran restaurants for years. I know the job: you want the floor to do the work without you chasing every check.
This page is for care homes. People on a phone, not a laptop. Handover, cleaning, kitchen, laundry, maintenance, or a process you already know. I left out care planning, medication records, rotas and visiting care. Those are different jobs.
I built Pilla so you can turn a process you already know into a workflow on a canvas. Your team runs it on a phone, tablet or the web app. Pilla can fetch, decide and act while the work is happening. You keep the judgement calls.
If you want to try it on a process you already run, open the canvas.
I would pick Pilla when I want AI to act inside the work. I would pick SafetyCulture when I want inspections, issues, training and sensors from one vendor. I would pick Xenia when I want checklists, audits and work orders in one suite. I would pick MaintainX when the job is a CMMS.
How did we compare them?
I ask the same twelve questions I use on every vs page. For this shortlist I stayed with ops tools a home can run on a phone. I put Pilla first because that is the product I built, not because it wins every job. SafetyCulture is inspections, issues, training and sensors. Xenia is checklists, audits and work orders. MaintainX is the CMMS. I left out care planning, medication records, rotas and visiting care. I read their public docs on 17 September 2026. Where they stay quiet, I stay quiet.
I am Liam Jones. I founded Pilla after more than ten years running hospitality operations, food safety and frontline teams. On 17 September 2026 I sat with Mitti pricing, template response types, Heads Up and the rename kit, Xenia pricing, checklists and SOPs and the assisted living industry page, and MaintainX procedure fields, pricing and the Autodesk acquisition note. I have not lived in a paid SafetyCulture, Xenia or MaintainX account for this write-up. I am telling you what their docs say.
What should you take away?
- I would pick Pilla if I wanted a process I already know drawn on a canvas, with branching, not another list, inspection template or form builder
- I would pick Pilla if I wanted AI to fetch, decide and act inside the run, not photo flags, scores or an assistant around the report
- I would pick SafetyCulture if I needed inspections, issues, training and sensors from one vendor
- I would pick Xenia if I needed checklists, audits and work orders in one suite
How do they compare at a glance?
| Tool | Best for | What you pay for | Honest limitation | Price from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pilla | Operators who want AI to act inside the work | Unlimited users, usage based on workflows | No care plans, medication records, rota or sensors | Starter £49 / 500 workflows. Pro £99 / 1,000. |
| SafetyCulture | Homes that want inspections, issues, training and sensors | Per-seat plans plus AI credits | You pay per seat. I could not find DMs or group chats | Free $0 (up to 10 users). Premium $24 per seat per month annual. |
| Xenia | Homes that want checklists, audits and work orders in one suite | Quote per user or per location | No public software price. Sensors and labels are add-ons | No public software price. Sales quote. |
| MaintainX | Homes that need a CMMS with assets, parts and PMs | Per paid user; free Basic; Assist on Enterprise | Not a care planning product. Assist sits on Enterprise | Basic $0. Essential $20/user/month annual. |
I built Pilla for AI work management on the floor. SafetyCulture, Xenia and MaintainX are better when the remaining job is inspections plus training, a checklist-plus-work-order suite, or a CMMS. None of them is a clone of the others.
Which tool is best for which job?
1. Pilla: Best for Operators who want AI to act inside the work
No care plans, medication records, rota or sensors
I built Pilla so you can turn a process you already know into a workflow on a canvas. Your team runs it on a phone, tablet or the web app. Pilla checks the work as it comes in and follows up when something needs you. You keep the judgement calls. I did not build shift scheduling, payroll, HR, care plans, medication records or sensors. If you need those, put them on SafetyCulture, MaintainX or another vendor. You can open it the same day. Starter is £49 a month with 500 processed workflows. Pro is £99 with 1,000, and adds AI automations inside Pilla. Every new account gets a 14-day trial of every Pro feature, with no card. People are unlimited.
“Pilla helps me have a day off knowing that procedures will be followed”
Charles, owner of 11 hospitality sites
Pros
- Visual canvas with branching
- Written, photo and video guidance beside each step
- DMs and group chats next to the work
- MCP server, API and integrations
- Unlimited people, billed on processed workflows
Cons
- No care plans or medication records
- No rota or time clock
- You rebuild lists on the canvas
Price: Starter £49 / 500 workflows. Pro £99 / 1,000. 14-day Pro trial, no card.
2. SafetyCulture: Best for Homes that want inspections, issues, training and sensors
You pay per seat. I could not find DMs or group chats
I would pick SafetyCulture when I want inspections, issues, training and sensors from one vendor. They renamed to Mitti on 11 August 2026. You still search for SafetyCulture. You run inspection templates, collect evidence and scores, and raise issues. Checking is logic, scoring and AI around the work. Free is capped at 10 users. Premium is $24 per seat per month on annual billing.
Pros
- Inspections, issues and actions in one place
- Training sits in the same product
- Sensors and hardware if you buy those modules
- Public Free and Premium prices
Cons
- You pay per seat, plus AI credits
- I could not find DMs or group chats
- Sensors and hardware cost extra
- Enterprise is a quote
Price: Free $0 (up to 10 users). Premium $24 per seat per month annual. Enterprise quote.
3. Xenia: Best for Homes that want checklists, audits and work orders in one suite
No public software price. Sensors and labels are add-ons
I would pick Xenia when I want checklists, audits and work orders in one suite. They publish an assisted living page for housekeeping, inspections and resident requests. A failed step can open a work order. DMs, group chats and announcement feeds sit in the same app. AI Photo Rollouts scores photos while someone is still on the list. Sensors and food-prep labels are add-ons. They quote you per user or per location.
Pros
- Checklists, audits and work orders together
- DMs, group chats and announcement feeds
- Live AI photo flags on the list
- 14-day Starter trial
Cons
- No public software price
- Sensors and labels are add-ons
- I could not find an MCP server
Price: No public software price. Sales quote. 14-day Starter trial.
4. MaintainX: Best for Homes that need a CMMS with assets, parts and PMs
Not a care planning product. Assist sits on Enterprise
I would pick MaintainX when I need a CMMS with assets, parts and preventive maintenance. Autodesk completed the acquisition on 3 August 2026. You still log into MaintainX. Technicians run work orders and procedures. Managers plan PMs and track parts. I did not build Pilla to take over that CMMS job. Essential is $20 per user per month on annual billing.
Pros
- Work orders, assets, parts and PMs
- Technician chat on the job
- Free Basic plan
- Public Essential and Premium prices
Cons
- You pay per user who logs in
- Assist, sensors and Report Builder sit on Enterprise
- Not built as a care planning product
Price: Basic $0. Essential $20/user/month annual. Premium $65 annual. Enterprise custom.
How should you choose?
If you need inspections, issues, training and sensors from one vendor, pick SafetyCulture. If you want checklists, audits and work orders in one suite, pick Xenia. If the job is assets, parts and PMs, pick MaintainX. If you want the work drawn on a canvas and AI acting inside the run, with DMs and MCP, I would use Pilla, and I would keep rotas, sensors, care plans and a CMMS somewhere else.
Which should you pick?
Care homes do not need one winner. They need the tool that matches the remaining job. I would pick Pilla when I want the floor to follow the process without me chasing every check. I would pick the others when inspections, a checklist-plus-work-order suite or a CMMS is the job.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best care home software?
I would pick Pilla if I wanted the floor to follow a process, with the work checked as it comes in. I would pick SafetyCulture if I needed inspections, issues, training and sensors. I would pick Xenia for checklists plus work orders, and MaintainX for a CMMS.
Is this the same as care planning or medication records software?
No. I left those off this shortlist. Pilla, SafetyCulture, Xenia and MaintainX run checks, inspections and kit. They do not hold the resident care plan or the medication record.
Is this for visiting care?
No. This page is for care homes. I left visiting care off this shortlist.
How much do these tools cost?
Pilla is Starter at £49 a month with 500 processed workflows, and Pro at £99 with 1,000. People are unlimited. SafetyCulture publishes Free and Premium per seat. MaintainX publishes Basic, Essential and Premium per user. Xenia quotes you.
How did you pick this shortlist?
I stayed with ops tools a home can run on a phone and used the same twelve questions I use on every vs page. I read public docs on 17 September 2026. I left out care planning, medication records, rotas and visiting care. The deep tables live on the vs pages linked from each name.
Does Pilla replace SafetyCulture training or a MaintainX CMMS?
No. I did not build Pilla for sensors, a training LMS or a CMMS. If you need those, pick SafetyCulture or MaintainX for that job.
Where did these facts come from?
Vendor claims on this page come from their own public docs. Pilla claims come from the current product.
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