Choose the role by primary responsibility
Nanny vs housekeeper
A nanny is childcare-led. A housekeeper is household-management-led. If both areas are substantial, define the split before deciding whether a combined nanny-housekeeper role is realistic.
The simplest distinction is who or what the role is primarily responsible for.
A nanny is primarily responsible for the children. The job can include child-related meals, routines, nursery or school runs, activities, homework support and keeping the children’s spaces organised.
A housekeeper is primarily responsible for the home. The job can include cleaning, laundry, ironing, household organisation, supplies, errands and agreed cooking or other home-management duties.
Secondary tasks can overlap, but the title should follow the work that dominates the schedule. If childcare and household management are both substantial recurring responsibilities, write the duty split before treating the position as a combined role. If you are also seeing older household terminology, see and how a maid differs again.
Nanny vs housekeeper at a glance.
Compare the primary responsibility first, then define hours, duties and working arrangement around it.
| Question | Nanny | Housekeeper |
|---|---|---|
| Primary focus | Children, their routines and child-related responsibilities. | The household, its upkeep, organisation and agreed domestic responsibilities. |
| Typical duties | Supervision, meals for children, nursery or school runs, activities, homework and child-related tidying or laundry where agreed. | Cleaning, laundry, ironing, organisation, supplies, errands and cooking or wardrobe care where agreed. |
| What drives the schedule? | The children’s ages, care hours, school or nursery pattern and parental cover required. | The size and complexity of the home, recurring household tasks and the standard or frequency required. |
| Live-in or live-out? | Either can work. The arrangement does not change the fact that childcare is the main job. | Either can work. The arrangement does not turn off-duty hours into working time. |
| Best fit | Your main problem is childcare cover or continuity. | Your main problem is household management, upkeep or organisation. |
When should you hire a nanny rather than a housekeeper?
Choose a nanny when childcare creates the role.
If the household needs reliable care while parents work, support around school or nursery, age-appropriate activities, children’s meals or a consistent daily childcare routine, the position is nanny-led even when some child-related household tasks are included.
Choose a housekeeper when the home creates the role.
If the recurring workload is cleaning, laundry, ironing, organisation, family cooking, shopping, stock management or other agreed home-management tasks, the position is housekeeper-led even when the person works around children in the household.
2026 London pay evidence
Does a nanny or housekeeper cost more in London?
There is no reliable title-only answer. Current public sources measure the two markets differently, so a household should compare gross pay against the actual duties, hours and working arrangement rather than treating two headline figures as interchangeable.
Nannytax’s 2026 payroll data reports this average for an Inner London live-out nanny. Its London live-in benchmark is £16.43 gross per hour.
Little Ones publishes this London guide range for full-time and part-time live-out housekeepers. A specialist private-household guide from 19 London places full-time live-in and live-out housekeepers at £45,000–£55,000 gross a year.
These are market reference points, not FDS quotes and not nationality-specific rates. The sources use different datasets and role segments, so they should not be averaged into one “nanny vs housekeeper” price.
Use the weekly schedule to test the job title.
- Identify the non-negotiable work.Write the tasks that must happen every week rather than starting with a broad job title.
- Mark the childcare hours.Show when an adult must be responsible for the children and what that responsibility includes.
- Mark the household workload.List cleaning, laundry, ironing, cooking, errands and organisation separately so the real volume is visible.
- Check for time collisions.Do not allocate the same working hour fully to active childcare and a separate substantial household task.
- Name the role last.If childcare dominates, use nanny. If home management dominates, use housekeeper. If both remain substantial, define a combined role with a realistic split.
Can one person be both nanny and housekeeper?
Yes, where the position is genuinely structured as a nanny-housekeeper role. The important point is not whether both labels appear in the title, but whether the weekly brief gives one person enough time to carry out the childcare and household responsibilities to the expected standard.
A combined role can make sense when: the childcare schedule leaves realistic time for agreed household work, the duty split is clear, and both sides understand which responsibility takes priority at different parts of the day.
A combined role becomes unrealistic when: the brief effectively asks for a full nanny workload and a full housekeeper workload to happen simultaneously.
From our work
Why Filipino Domestic Services asks for the household brief before treating the title as settled.
Our current staffing enquiry asks households to state the role required, working arrangement, normal days and hours, preferred start date, postcode and a household brief. The current client terms also require full details of the type of work and period of engagement before introductions are made.
That process keeps the comparison practical. A household can describe the work first, then test whether the recurring hours are mainly childcare or mainly household management. If both remain substantial, the brief needs a defined split rather than an open-ended request for one person to “do everything”.
Filipino Domestic Services introduces candidates against the household brief. The household remains responsible for assessing suitability and deciding whom to employ or engage.
Questions about nannies and housekeepers.
Can a nanny do housekeeping?
A nanny can complete agreed child-related household duties, such as children’s laundry, meals and keeping their rooms or play areas organised. If broader household cleaning, ironing, family cooking and home management form a substantial part of the week, define a combined nanny-housekeeper role rather than quietly expanding a nanny job.
Can a housekeeper look after children?
Occasional agreed interaction with children is different from a childcare-led position. If the household needs someone to take ongoing responsibility for children’s supervision, routines, school or nursery arrangements and development-focused activities, the role should be defined as a nanny or a genuine combined role.
Which is more expensive, a nanny or a housekeeper?
There is no reliable title-only answer. Nanny payroll data and private-housekeeper salary guides use different samples and pay structures. Compare gross pay for the actual hours and duties, then add the household’s applicable employer costs rather than assuming one role is always cheaper.
Is a nanny-housekeeper the same as a housekeeper?
No. A nanny-housekeeper has genuine childcare responsibility as well as agreed household duties. A housekeeper is household-management-led. The distinction matters because the weekly schedule, experience required and priority of tasks should match the real job rather than a convenient title.
What if I only need help choosing the right household role?
Start with the full role chooser rather than forcing the requirement into a nanny or housekeeper title. It compares the main domestic-help roles by primary responsibility and helps you identify whether childcare, household management or another type of support should lead the brief.
What information should I prepare before asking an agency to search?
Prepare the primary responsibility, recurring duties, normal days and hours, live-in or live-out preference, postcode and preferred start date. Those details make it easier to distinguish a nanny role from a housekeeper role and to assess candidates against a defined job.
Sources and evidence boundary.
Role definitions on this page follow the current Filipino Domestic Services service architecture and briefing process. Pay figures are external market benchmarks, not FDS placement averages, and are not adjusted by nationality.
Choose the service that matches the work your household needs most.
If the comparison has clarified the primary responsibility, continue to the relevant service page. If it has not, use the full role chooser before sending a staffing enquiry.