Getwello vs Lottie: not competitors, different steps
Lottie is genuinely good at what it does. They help UK families find a care home or retirement community, with useful filters, real photos and a calmer interface than most of the older directory sites. If you have decided care is the answer, start there. The reason we have written this page is that quite a lot of families end up on Lottie before they really need to. A daily check-in and a tidier family rota can sometimes give Mum or Dad another twelve to eighteen months at home. Here is when each one is the right step.
Which step are you actually at
The thing that matters in this decision is honest about where you are in the journey. Most families pass through three rough stages.
Stage 1: still managing at home
Mum is mostly fine. There are small worries (a forgotten appointment, a missed phone call, a couple of small falls without injury) but the picture is that she is still herself. The family is asking each other "how is she actually doing" and not always agreeing. This is the stage Getwello was built for. A daily check-in, a shared calendar, a gentle picture across the weeks. Lottie is three or four steps ahead.
Stage 2: managing at home with more support
The same as stage 1, plus: a paid carer comes a few times a week, the family has a rota, maybe a pendant alarm has been added. The conversation about "at what point do we look at a home" has been mentioned. Both apps can be useful here. Getwello is what runs day-to-day. Lottie is what you open when the GP says something that worries you.
Stage 3: the decision has been made
The family has agreed (often after a fall, a hospital discharge, or a dementia diagnosis) that a care home or a retirement community is the right next step. Lottie is now the tool. Getwello is no longer doing useful work. The honest thing is to say so.
Getwello vs Lottie, side by side
Not really competing for the same family-month. Here is what each one does, plainly.
| For… | Lottie | Getwello |
|---|---|---|
| Built to answer | Where can Mum live next | Is Mum alright today, where she lives now |
| When you would use it | After you have decided to move | While you are still figuring out if you need to |
| Daily check-in | No | Yes, one tap from your parent each morning |
| Shared family calendar for visits | No | Yes |
| Helps find a care home or retirement flat | Yes, this is the whole point | No, not what we do |
| Helps delay the conversation | Not designed to | Often, by twelve to eighteen months |
| Pricing model | Free to search. Care homes pay them. | £4.99 a month, paid by the family |
| Where the company is based | United Kingdom | United Kingdom, UK-hosted |
When Lottie is the right next step
We genuinely think Lottie is one of the best UK care-home-search services available. If any of these are true for your family, do not let us send you sideways.
- The GP, social worker, or hospital discharge team has said in plain terms that residential care is what is needed next.
- Your parent has had a fall that has changed what they can do, and going back home is no longer realistic.
- Dementia has progressed to the point where staying at home is unsafe at night.
- The family has had the honest conversation and agreed. Nobody is hiding from the next step.
You can search their listings directly on the Lottie site. They are UK-based and well-regarded.
When to try Getwello first
If you are reading Lottie pages out of worry rather than out of a clear decision, it is worth trying a daily check-in first. A few signs.
- You are not sure if anything is actually wrong. You just feel like you do not have a good picture of how Mum is doing.
- The family is asking each other "has anyone heard from Mum today" on WhatsApp, and the answer is always "not me".
- Your parent is still themselves, still wants to live at home, still says "I am fine" on the phone.
- A care home conversation has been raised but it feels premature, and you would like to test that hunch with real information.
Six weeks of Getwello running across the family will either calm the worry (most often), or it will give you actual evidence to take to a GP and a social worker (sometimes). Either way the decision is then a more informed one, not a panicked one.
One thing we will not pretend
We are not a substitute for a good care home when a good care home is what is needed. A daily check-in app does not turn back the clock on dementia, fix mobility, or replace twenty-four-hour care. If you are at the stage where a home is the right answer, please do go to Lottie and find a good one. The peace it brings the family is real and we have seen it from the families who have gone there from us.
What Getwello does well is the bit before that. The year or two where Mum is mostly fine and the family is mostly worried, and a calmer daily picture might be enough.
Not ready for a care home yet?
Try the daily check-in first.
One quiet tap from them, a shared family calendar, a gentle alert if a day goes by. £4.99 a month, first month free, cancel any time.
Related reading
- For families with an ageing parentthe main use-case page
- When weekly visits stop being enoughon how to tell which step you are at
- Paying for care for an older parent in the UKrelevant once the decision has been made