Live-in, live-out or hourly:which housekeeper suits your home
Live-in if you need someone at home by day and by night; live-out if one person coming in every day at set hours is enough; hourly if a few hours a week keep your home in order. Below you will find the 2026 costs, what the law says and four typical cases.
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The three options side by side:hours, overnight stays, 2026 cost, Social Security, tasks, families and what to watch
Criterion
Lives inLive-in
Comes in dailyLive-out
Some days a weekHourly
Right for you if…
You need someone at home by day and by night, or help spread across the whole day.
You want the same person every day at set hours and would rather not share your home.
A few hours a week are enough to keep your home in order.
Hours
Up to 40 hours a week of actual work, spread across the day, plus any on-call time you agree.
A fixed daytime schedule: full time (40 hours a week) or part time.
Fixed days and hours. We recruit from 15 hours a week; for example, three mornings of 5 hours.
Overnight stays
Yes: she lives in your home. The overnight arrangements are agreed and must be set out in writing.
No: she goes home when her working day ends.
No.
Monthly cost in 2026
Market salary of €1,500–2,500/month over 12 payments; with the employer's Social Security, around €1,835–3,060/month. Board and lodging on top.
Full time: from €1,424.50 a month (the minimum wage over 12 payments); with Social Security, about €1,742. Part time (20 hours a week): about €887 with Social Security (€712.25 in salary).
€10–15/h (legal minimum: €9.55/h). At 15 hours a week, about €785–1,190/month with Social Security.
Social Security
Compulsory. The family, as the employer, registers her in the Special System for Domestic Employees.
Compulsory, just as for a live-in, whatever the hours.
Compulsory from the first hour. Since 2023 the family always handles it, even under 60 hours a month.
Typical tasks
The whole home: cleaning, cooking, laundry, errands and often looking after children or an elderly relative.
Cleaning, cooking, ironing, the shopping and the school run or the afternoon with the children.
Deep cleaning, ironing, tidying and, if agreed, cooking for several days.
Families who choose it
Babies or young children with parents who work long hours, elderly relatives who should not spend the night alone, large homes.
Working couples, school-age children, flats and medium-sized houses.
Small flats, people who live alone and second homes that need to be kept ready.
What to watch
Rest periods: 12 hours between working days (10 if made up), 2 hours a day for meals and 36 hours in a row each week. It does not cover 24 hours.
Overtime: paid at least at the ordinary rate or given back as time off and, full time, no more than 80 hours a year. Agree what happens in the school holidays.
A written contract with the agreed hours: without one, the law presumes a full-time, open-ended contract unless the contrary is proved. And that the hours fit if she also works in other homes.
Choosing between a live-in, a live-out or an hourly housekeeper comes down to three things: whether someone needs to be at home at night, how many hours of help you really need, and whether there is room for someone to live with you. Budget matters, but the schedule almost always decides it.
All three have more in common than you might think: the ceiling is the same, 40 hours a week of actual work, and all three need a contract and Social Security registration from the very first hour. What changes is how those hours are spread, whether she sleeps in and what it costs each month.
In this guide you will find the table of differences, what Spanish law says about each option (Royal Decree 1620/2011), five questions to help you decide and four typical cases: a family with a baby, an elderly parent who should not be alone, a working couple and a second home.
LIVE-IN
Live-in housekeeper: available, within limits
Lives inLive-in
Hours
Up to 40 hours a week of actual work, spread across the day, plus any on-call time you agree.
Overnight stays
Yes: she lives in your home. The overnight arrangements are agreed and must be set out in writing.
Monthly cost in 2026
Market salary of €1,500–2,500/month over 12 payments; with the employer's Social Security, around €1,835–3,060/month. Board and lodging on top.
A live-in housekeeper lives and works in your home, but she is not available around the clock.The law sets the same ceiling as for any other domestic worker: 40 hours a week of actual work. On top of that there can only be overtime (voluntary and capped at 80 hours a year) and on-call time, when she is at the family's disposal without working: it is agreed, paid at least at the ordinary hourly rate and cannot exceed an average of 20 hours a week over a month, unless it is given back as paid time off.
Rest periods are what families overlook most. There must be 12 hours between the end of one working day and the start of the next; for a live-in housekeeper this can drop to 10, as long as the difference is made up within periods of up to four weeks. She also has 2 hours a day for the main meals, which do not count as work, and 36 hours off in a row each week, usually the whole of Sunday plus Saturday afternoon or Monday morning.
The overnight arrangements, any on-call time and any payment in kind are agreed and must be set out in writing. If agreed, board and lodging can be deducted from her salary, up to 30% of the total, as long as she is paid at least the minimum wage in cash. Once her working day and any agreed on-call time are over, she does not have to stay in the house, and during her 30 calendar days of holiday she does not have to live in or travel with the family.
LIVE-OUT
Live-out housekeeper: the same person, every day, on time
Comes in dailyLive-out
Hours
A fixed daytime schedule: full time (40 hours a week) or part time.
Overnight stays
No: she goes home when her working day ends.
Monthly cost in 2026
Full time: from €1,424.50 a month (the minimum wage over 12 payments); with Social Security, about €1,742. Part time (20 hours a week): about €887 with Social Security (€712.25 in salary).
A live-out housekeeper works in your home on a fixed schedule and goes back to her own at the end of the day.The law applies the same working-time rules as for a live-in, without the exceptions for someone who lives in: at most 40 hours a week of actual work, 12 hours' rest between working days and 36 hours off in a row each week.
The schedule is set by mutual agreement. If you need her to stay longer one day, those hours are overtime: paid at least at the ordinary rate or given back as paid time off, voluntary unless agreed in advance and, on a full-time contract, no more than 80 a year. On a part-time contract there can be no overtime, except to prevent or repair urgent damage: if you regularly need more hours, extend the agreed hours in writing. If she works fewer than 40 hours, the minimum wage is calculated in proportion to her hours.
It is the option that best suits families who work outside the home: the house looked after every day, no one living in and a cost that starts at the minimum wage. What is most worth putting in writing is the schedule, which tasks are included and what happens during the school holidays or when the family travels.
HOURLY
Hourly housekeeper: fewer hours, the same obligations
Some days a weekHourly
Hours
Fixed days and hours. We recruit from 15 hours a week; for example, three mornings of 5 hours.
Overnight stays
No.
Monthly cost in 2026
€10–15/h (legal minimum: €9.55/h). At 15 hours a week, about €785–1,190/month with Social Security.
An hourly housekeeper comes in on a few days a week and is paid for each hour worked.For her, the minimum wage is an hourly rate (€9.55 in 2026) that already includes every pay item, such as her share of the extra payments and holidays, and it is paid in full in cash. On the market, an hour usually costs between €10 and €15.
Working few hours does not take her out of Social Security: registration is compulsory from the very first hour and, since 1 January 2023, the employing family always handles it and pays in the contributions, even if she works fewer than 60 hours a month. Before then, below that threshold, she could do it herself if both sides agreed; Royal Decree-Law 16/2022 removed that option.
Put the contract in writing with the agreed hours: without a written agreement, the law presumes the contract is open-ended and full time unless the contrary is proved. We recruit from 15 hours a week; below that we do not find stable profiles, but we will still advise you.
BEFORE YOU SEARCH
How to decide in five questions
01
Does someone need to be at home at night?
If you need someone there every night, because there is a baby who wakes up or an elderly relative who should not be left alone, go for a live-in. If it is only the odd night, a live-out plus someone to help on those nights is usually enough.
02
How many hours of help do you really need, and at what time of day?
Map out a normal week. If it is a few hours on set days, hourly; if it is a daily block, every morning or every afternoon, live-out part time or full time; if the help is spread from breakfast to dinner, live-in. Remember that all three share the same limit of 40 hours of actual work.
03
Is there a room for her, and are you comfortable sharing your home?
A live-in needs a bedroom of her own and a degree of privacy, for her and for the family. If your home does not allow it, or you would rather not live with anyone, a live-out gives you someone there every day without sharing your home.
04
What monthly budget do you have in mind?
Including Social Security, hourly help is about €785–1,190/month for 15 hours a week; a full-time live-out on the minimum wage, about €1,742 a month; and a live-in, around €1,835–3,060/month, plus her board and lodging. If the figure does not work, rethink the mix: fewer hours, or two options combined.
05
Is it about caring for someone, or just the home?
Looking after a baby or an elderly person calls for continuity and the same face every day: live-out or live-in. For cleaning, ironing and tidying, an hourly housekeeper is usually enough and is the most economical option.
EXAMPLES
Four typical cases and the option that usually fits
Live-in
A family with a baby
Two children, one of them a few months old, and parents who leave at eight in the morning and get home after eight in the evening. A live-in fits here: help first thing and in the evening, and someone at home at night. Her 40 hours are split into blocks with the rest periods the law requires, and it is worth agreeing in writing what happens at night: if she sees to the baby in the small hours, that time counts towards her hours and her rest. If nights are quiet, a full-time live-out may be enough.
Live-in with weekend cover
An elderly parent at home
An 85-year-old woman who lives alone and should no longer spend the night without company; her children work. The natural choice is a live-in, but one person cannot cover all seven days: she has 36 hours off in a row every week. If company is needed every day, two people share the week, for example a live-in from Monday to Friday and another for the weekend. If she also needs help with personal care or medication, ask for a profile with experience in elderly care.
Live-out
A working couple
A couple who both work outside the home, two children at school and a medium-sized flat. A live-out fits: the house and the cooking in the morning, the school run and homework in the afternoon. If the children are older and the flat is small, a few hours a week may be enough: an hourly housekeeper costs less and covers the cleaning and ironing.
Hourly
A second home
A house on the coast or in the mountains that the family uses at weekends and in summer. The usual answer is a local hourly housekeeper who opens it up, cleans it and has it ready before each visit. For longer stays you can add a local live-out, or your live-in can come with you if you agree it; during her own holidays, though, she does not have to go. If the property is large, consider a live-in domestic couple for a second home.
WE'LL HELP YOU DECIDE
Tell us about your home and we'll suggest the right option
Share your hours and what needs covering: we will suggest the right option and send the first verified profiles in under 3 hours. You only pay if you hire.
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A live-in housekeeper lives and works in your home; a live-out comes every day at set hours and goes back to her own. Both have the same ceiling of 40 hours a week of actual work and can agree on-call time. The legal difference lies in the live-in's rest periods: the break between working days can drop from 12 to 10 hours if the difference is made up within periods of up to four weeks, and she has 2 hours a day for meals that do not count as work.
No. Even though she lives in, her maximum is 40 hours a week of actual work; beyond that there can only be overtime, which is voluntary and capped each year, and any on-call time you agree: up to an average of 20 hours a week, paid, unless it is given back as paid time off. She has 12 hours' rest between working days (10 if made up), 2 hours a day for meals and 36 hours off in a row each week. Covering every day and every night takes two people.
Adding salary and Social Security, hourly help costs the least: for 15 hours a week, about €785–1,190/month. A full-time live-out on the minimum wage is around €1,742 a month, and a live-in around €1,835–3,060/month, plus her board and lodging. But each one covers different needs: the useful comparison is what you need covered and what it costs to cover it.
Yes, from the first hour. Since 1 January 2023, registration and contributions are always the employing family's responsibility, even when she works fewer than 60 hours a month: it can no longer be agreed that she does it herself. Registration is done on Import@ss, the Social Security portal.
Yes, and many families do: a live-in from Monday to Friday and someone else at the weekend, or a live-out in the mornings and an hourly housekeeper a couple of afternoons. Each person has her own contract and registration, and each contract keeps to its own working-time and rest limits.
Yes, always by agreement with her and in writing: the hours and the salary change, and the new details are reported to Social Security, which is also done on Import@ss.
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