Ready when you are.
Book a free call →Thinking about a nanny agency?
A nanny agency finds you a nanny. We find you someone who runs the house.
A house manager, not a nanny, is what most families comparing agencies end up needing. Same vetting, same interviews, same background checks. Two differences: our fee is flat, not a cut of what you pay your hire. And a house manager can do everything a nanny does, plus the half of the week a nanny was never hired for.
Bring the agency quote; we'll walk through it honestly.
The whole week
Everything a nanny does, and then dinner, the laundry and the calendar.
One flat fee. It never goes up because you pay your house manager more.
- 10,000+ families supported
- 90-day guarantee
- Flat fee, never a % of salary
What people are saying
Families who had tried the other routes first.
“After nearly a year of exhausting searching, scrolling Facebook groups, Care.com, asking everyone we knew, and working with another placement agency, I had started to wonder if something was wrong with us. … Then I found Sage Haus, and everything changed.”
Flat fee
Not a percentage of salary. Paying your house manager more never costs you more with us, which is the opposite of how most nanny agencies are paid.
Nanny + more
Childcare can sit inside the role. So can meals, laundry, the calendar, errands and the house itself. You write one job description for the family you actually have.
90 days
If the fit isn't right in the first 90 days, a one-time re-match at no extra fee, with an onboarding call and a six-week check-in along the way.
The comparison
A nanny agency and Sage Haus, side by side.
Most nanny agencies charge a percentage of your hire's first-year salary and recruit for childcare roles, which is exactly right when a nanny is what you need. When the house needs running too, these are the differences that matter. Nothing here is a knock on agencies; they're built for a different job.
| A typical agency | House Manager  | |
|---|---|---|
| What the fee is tied to | A percentage of the nanny's first-year pay. Pay more, pay the agency more. | One flat fee in two payments. Pay your house manager what the role deserves; our fee doesn't move. |
| Who they recruit | Candidates for childcare roles. | People who want to run a household: house managers, family assistants and nannies ready for a wider role. Certified through our own training. |
| How the role is defined | A nanny job description, with light housekeeping at most. | Written with you on the kickoff call: the children's hours, the house, the calendar, the errands. It can shift as the kids grow. |
| Vetting | Screening, interviews, references, background check. | The same, by a hiring specialist in your region, plus an employment agreement before any offer. |
| After the hire | Varies; replacement windows are often short. | Onboarding call, the Home Systems Playbook, a six-week check-in and a one-time re-match inside 90 days. |
| What you get back | Childcare hours covered. | Childcare where you need it, and the rest of the week handed off: meals, laundry, supplies, logistics. |
Already have an agency quote? Bring it. We'll go line by line.
Seen enough? Pick a time now.
A free 30-minute group call with a Sage Haus hiring specialist. No obligation, and the fee is covered live.
What you'll get
Everything an agency does. Then the part they don't.
1
Kickoff with your specialist
We map the whole week: the kids' hours, and everything around them that nobody owns.
2
One job description, your scope
Childcare, meals, laundry, logistics, the house. Hours and title written to attract people who can do all of it.
3
Vetted finalists, interviews arranged
Sourced, screened and interviewed by a person. You meet the top candidates. References and a background check before any offer.
4
Onboarding and a 90-day guarantee
Onboarding call, six-week check-in, and a one-time re-match within 90 days if it isn't right.
Case studies
Families who knew exactly what they were comparing.
The Ashfield family · Nanny to House Manager
They'd had a great house manager. Then they'd had the wrong one.
A family business, three children at home full-time, and a household that already knew exactly what this role was — because they'd had someone excellent in it.
The Ambleside family · Dual-Physicians
Plenty of help. Nobody owning the rest.
A physician and a professor in the Southeast with a full house of children, and genuinely good help already in place — a nanny covering the youngest, pickups, several meals a week.
The Pinfold family · Nanny to House Manager
Consultants know how to staff a project. This was the project.
Two management consultants with demanding hours and travel, three children with the youngest still a baby, school and daycare running to 5:30, a nanny covering the infant — and a family dog in the mix.
Read all the stories at sagehaus.com/case-studies.
Not ready to book? Take the three-minute quiz.
It builds a scope for your family: the hours, the tasks and the kind of role that fits. You get the result straight away.
The numbers
Run the numbers before the call.
Our calculator shows what you spend today on piecemeal help and your own time, what a search costs by route, and when a house manager pays for itself. Compare an agency's percentage, a flat fee and your own time side by side.
- The cost today, including your own time
- Search cost: agency % of salary vs a flat fee vs doing it yourself
- Return on the search at one and two years
How the calculator works
- 1What you pay today for sitters, delivery, cleaners and errands, plus the hours you put in yourself
- 2A house manager at the hours and rate you choose, with W-2 costs if you want them
- 3How you find them: a flat fee, an agency percentage, or your own time
- 4The return on the search at one and two years, and the hours you get back
Nothing is filled in for you. Add the Sage Haus fee from your call when you have it.
Book a call
Ready for support?
A free 30-minute call with a Sage Haus hiring specialist. We'll look at your week, tell you honestly what kind of role fits, and if a search makes sense, what it would look like for your family.
More from our families
What the process felt like.
“In the past, I've been the one to vet and hire applicants for our household employees and it took a LOT of time and effort. Their care, speed, and attention to detail meant that we found a dream house manager quickly.”
“Their professionalism, discretion, and attention to detail in the hiring process are unmatched. One of the best investments we've ever made in our family's quality of life.”
“They really took the time to understand our family, our needs, and what we were looking for in a House Manager. Finding the right person to welcome into your home is such a personal decision, and they made the entire process feel seamless and thoughtful.”
Questions families ask
Before you book.
Do you place nannies too?
Yes. A house manager is usually the better hire for families who need help beyond the children, and that is where we start. If a nanny turns out to be the right fit for your family, we run that search too.
How is your fee different from a nanny agency's?
Most nanny agencies charge a percentage of the nanny's first-year pay, so a higher wage means a higher fee. Ours is flat, in two payments, and the same whatever you pay your house manager. We cover the exact numbers on the call.
Can a house manager actually do the childcare too?
Yes. Many of our placements include pickups, after-school hours, bedtime a few nights a week or a full childcare block. The difference is the rest of the role: meals, laundry, the calendar, errands and the house sit inside the same job description.
Free resource: The mental load, explained and time and cost calculator
How do you vet candidates?
The vetting is the part a good nanny agency and Sage Haus have in common. Regional hiring specialists source from local boards and our certified talent pool. Every candidate is screened and interviewed by a human before you meet them. References, a background check and an employment agreement come before any offer, and a one-time re-match is available within 90 days.
What if it doesn't work out?
Most agencies offer a replacement window; ours is a guarantee with the conditions written down. A one-time re-match with up to two new candidates inside the first 90 days, no extra fee, provided you did the onboarding call and the six-week check-in with us.
What will I pay the house manager?
Because our fee is flat, what you pay your house manager is between you and them. Typically $25 to $50 an hour depending on scope and location, higher in New York and the Bay Area. They're a W-2 household employee; we point you to a payroll partner that handles taxes and pay stubs. Our own fee is covered on the call.
Free resource: time and cost calculator
How long does it take?
Agency timelines vary; ours is the same for every search. About four to six weeks from an approved job description to your first candidates. If you have a date in mind, we work back from it.
My partner wants to go with the agency.
Bring them to the call, or start with our guide for the conversation at home.
Free resource: Pitch in the Kitchen and the calculator
Do you cover my area?
Unlike a city agency, we place in every region through regional specialists. Families across the United States and Canada, with regional specialists who know the local market. Rural and small-town searches take a little longer; tell us where you are on the call.