Live-In vs Live-Out Nanny in Bangkok: Which One Actually Fits Your Family?

The first question a matcher asks is not "what ages?" — it is "live-in or live-out?", because the answer changes who we shortlist, what it costs, and what your home needs to provide. Most families have an instinct and a wrong assumption about it. Here is the honest version.

The money

For the same nanny, live-in is paid ฿2,000–4,000 a month less than live-out in Bangkok in 2026, because the family provides a room and meals. CareRova's guide rates are ฿26,900 live-in and ฿29,900 live-out for full-time. The saving is real but modest — and it is eaten quickly if the household ends up feeding one more person well, which it should.

Live-out families pay a little more and also carry the commute risk: a nanny who lives in Bang Kapi and works in Sathorn is late when the city floods, and so is her replacement. We shortlist live-out nannies within a reasonable distance of the home for exactly that reason.

The hours

This is where the real difference lives.

Live-in makes early starts and late finishes disappear. A 6:30 school run, a 20:00 bedtime, a parent who lands at midnight — none of these needs a second person. It also makes travel simple: the nanny comes, or stays with the children while you go.

The failure mode is the family that treats "live-in" as "available". A live-in nanny works a defined day — ten hours maximum under Thai domestic-worker rules, six days a week, with one full day off — and outside those hours she is a person in her room, not staff on call. Families who set the hours in writing and keep them get nannies who stay for years. Families who do not get a resignation in month three.

Live-out gives you the evening. The door closes at 19:00 and the home is yours. Split shifts around a school day are possible but harder to fill, and priced accordingly; a straight 8:00–18:00 is the easiest role to staff in the city.

The room

A live-in nanny needs a private room with a lock, and it should have a window. The windowless maid's room off the kitchen in many Bangkok condos is fine for storage and not fine for a person who will look after your children for years. Good nannies turn those roles down, and they are right to.

In condos, check the juristic office's rules on resident staff before you brief — some buildings register domestic staff, some cap the number, a few require a separate access card. We handle the paperwork, but the rule is the building's.

Meals are provided as standard. Most live-in nannies eat what the family eats or cook their own Thai food in the family kitchen; agree which at the start.

Who suits which

Live-in works best for: early school runs, late working parents, frequent travel, newborns and the first year, single parents, houses with a proper staff room, families who are comfortable with another adult in the home.

Live-out works best for: families who value evening privacy, standard 8-to-6 hours, condos with no suitable room, families who want a nanny for the children only and not for the household.

The hybrid: live-in Monday to Friday and home at weekends is increasingly common in Bangkok, especially for nannies with their own families upcountry or in the outer districts. It gives the family the early-morning and late-evening cover on working days and a quiet weekend, and gives the nanny a real life. Many of our best long-term placements run this way.

The decision

If you are unsure, brief for live-out. It is easier to add a spare room and go live-in later than to unwind a live-in arrangement that has become uncomfortable. And whichever you choose, the trial day is where you find out whether the arrangement, not just the person, fits. The rates page shows both engagements side by side.