Care Friends
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2019
- HeadquartersPetersfield, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Care Friends does
Care Friends is a UK-based B2B SaaS company that operates a mobile application and web-based management portal purpose-built for employee referral programmes in the social care and foster care sectors. The platform enables care workers, foster carers, and support staff to submit referrals in three taps from a phone, while recruiters and care organisations track candidates, monitor referral activity, and administer a points and cash reward system through a dedicated management dashboard. The product includes gamification mechanics — leaderboards, discretionary bonus points, and step-by-step rewards — designed to sustain engagement beyond successful-hire events. The company also operates a companion product, Work Friends, targeted at non-care organisations.
The business model is a per-seat subscription priced at £13.50+VAT per employee per month, with a minimum order and set-up fee, structured for organisations of up to 500 staff. The go-to-market is sales-led, targeting UK social care organisations (care agencies, home care providers, foster care networks) and UK Local Authorities, supported by endorsements from Skills for Care, Social Care Providers (SCA), and the Care Association Hub (CAHSC). Care Friends Ltd is a privately held UK company, headquartered in Petersfield, with a team of 11–50 employees and no disclosed external funding rounds, suggesting founder-funded or bootstrapped operations. Customer outcomes cited by named accounts include 42% of new starters coming via the app within three months at Blue Angel Care and 79 new starters in under a year at Majesticare, alongside a reported 50% reduction in year-one attrition versus the sector average.
Care Friends firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Care Friends
- Legal name
- Care Friends Limited
- Website
- https://carefriends.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2019
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Care Friends industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Social Care Recruitment Software
- NAICS
- Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (624120), Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (62412)
- SIC
- Services-Health Services (8000)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Live-In Caregiver Placement & Matching (HSABAMAD)
Keywords
Where Care Friends is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Petersfield
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Care Friends business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Subscription SaaS: Monthly or annual subscription charged per employee per month at £13.50+VAT. Minimum order requirements and set-up fees apply. Tiered for organizations with up to 500 staff.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Per seat | Monthly | Standard Organization Plan |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels3 records
Care Friends product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Care Friends provides a SaaS-based word-of-mouth employee referral platform purpose-built for the social care and foster care sector. The offering centers on a mobile app that enables care workers and foster carers to refer candidates in three taps from their phones and earn automated rewards, paired with a web-based management portal that allows recruiters to track referrals, manage candidates, and administer the scheme. It is sold as a subscription to care organisations, home care providers, and local authorities at £13.50+VAT per employee per month.
Product overview
Care Friends is a word-of-mouth employee referral platform designed for the social care and foster care sector. The product portfolio consists of the Care Friends App (mobile application for care workers and foster carers to make referrals in 3 taps and earn rewards), the Care Friends Management Portal (admin dashboard for organisations to manage referrals and track candidates), and the related Work Friends App (an adaptation of the platform for non-care organisations). The system connects employees with hiring organisations through a trusted referral mechanism, featuring reward points, cash incentives, and leaderboards.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Work Friends: A companion app for non-care organisations launched as a separate product offering at workfriendsapp.com, distinct from the original Care Friends platform focused on the care sector.
Products and services
- Care Friends App
Quantifiable outcome
- 42% of new starters came via the app in first 3 months for Blue Angel Care
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Care Friends
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Care Friends technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Care Friends partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Skills for CarecoreSkills for Care is the Chief Executive body for adult social care in England. Oonagh Smyth, Chief Executive, stated: 'We are very pleased to be partnering with such an innovative company as Care Friends. It is, quite simply, exactly what the care sector needs.'
- Social Care Providers (SCA)coreOfficial supporter of Care Friends, representing social care providers in the UK.
- CAHSC (Care Association Hub)coreOfficial supporter of Care Friends, representing care associations.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Care Friends competitors and assessment
Company assessmentRegional players
- Personio: European HRIS and recruiting platform for SMBs, headquartered in Germany with strong UK presence. Comparable on European SMB HRIS + referral overlap, but targets office-based rather than frontline care workforces.
- Quinyx: Nordic-headquartered frontline workforce management platform serving retail, hospitality, and healthcare with scheduling and engagement features. Comparable on shift-based, multi-site workforce focus, though not UK-centric.
Direct peers
- ERIN: Dedicated employee referral platform with mobile-first referral workflows, rewards, and analytics. Closest pure-play functional peer on the employee referral mechanic, though Care Friends is more vertical-specialised to social care.
- Deputy: Workforce management software purpose-built for shift-based care and healthcare employers, including employee scheduling and shift-fill features that overlap with referral-driven recruitment outcomes. Comparable on care-vertical customer base and per-seat SaaS pricing.
- WorkJam: Frontline workforce engagement platform with employee referral, scheduling, and communication tools for shift-based workforces including healthcare and social care. Most directly comparable on frontline worker focus and referral mechanic within care-sector customers.
Broad incumbents
- SmartRecruiters: Global talent acquisition suite that includes referral functionality alongside ATS, CRM, and onboarding. Overlaps with Care Friends on referral + analytics but serves a much broader customer base across all industries.
- Greenhouse: Enterprise ATS with a structured employee referral module. Comparable on referral workflow and analytics, but skewed to corporate/tech hiring rather than frontline care workers.
- BambooHR: HRIS for SMB and mid-market employers that includes an employee referral tool as part of its hiring suite. Overlaps with Care Friends on per-employee pricing and target account size, but bundles a much broader HR feature set.
- Jobvite: Talent acquisition platform with a dedicated employee referral product (Jobvite Refer). Comparable on the referral mechanic and enterprise GTM, but operates as a horizontal platform rather than a care-specialised product.
- Workable: General-purpose ATS with built-in employee referral module and broad SMB/mid-market reach. Comparable on the referral feature but operates across all verticals rather than specialising in social care.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Care Friends social profiles
Digital presenceCare Friends financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Care Friends leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Care Friends funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Care Friends M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Care Friends
What does Care Friends do?
Care Friends provides a SaaS-based word-of-mouth employee referral platform purpose-built for the social care and foster care sector. The offering centers on a mobile app that enables care workers and foster carers to refer candidates in three taps from their phones and earn automated rewards, paired with a web-based management portal that allows recruiters to track referrals, manage candidates, and administer the scheme. It is sold as a subscription to care organisations, home care providers, and local authorities at £13.50+VAT per employee per month.
Is Care Friends a public or private company?
Care Friends is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Care Friends founded?
Care Friends was founded in 2019. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Care Friends based?
Care Friends is headquartered in Petersfield, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Care Friends make money?
One revenue line is on record: subscription SaaS.
Who are Care Friends's main competitors?
Regional players on record are Personio and Quinyx. Direct peers are ERIN, Deputy and WorkJam. Broad incumbents are SmartRecruiters, Greenhouse, BambooHR, Jobvite and Workable.
Does Care Friends have an API?
No public API is recorded for Care Friends.
What industry is Care Friends in?
Care Friends's product category is Social Care Recruitment Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HSABAMAD, Live-In Caregiver Placement & Matching. Its NAICS code is 624120 and its SIC code is 8000.