This page compares hiring directly, as you do on Yaya, with a licensed agency's monthly package. Licensed agencies are often still called Tadbeer centres.
| Feature | Hire directly on Yaya | Agency monthly package |
|---|---|---|
| Choosing | ||
| Who picks the candidates | You do: message anyone you like, or post a job and let caregivers apply | The agency proposes from the workers it sponsors |
| How many to choose from | 2,313 approved caregiver profiles (live count), each with a video introduction | The agency's own roster (one large agency advertises 300+ available) |
| Meet before you decide | Yes: chat in the app, call, then interview in person | Usually, among the candidates offered |
| Cost | ||
| Upfront | A Yaya plan while you search (from AED 99 for the first week), then her two-year visa, privately or through our sponsorship partners (visa costs) | Usually nothing extra: the agency is her sponsor and the visa is included |
| Each month | Her salary, paid to her | One fee to the agency that includes her salary, from AED 2,500 a month and up; one large agency charges AED 2,980 to AED 4,490 a month for live-in, depending on nationality, and AED 950 more for live-out |
| Who decides her pay | You agree it with her | The agency |
| Commitment and risk | ||
| Her sponsor | You, or a licensed agency on your behalf (sponsorship only; she still works for you) | The agency |
| Minimum commitment | The two-year visa | None at the agencies we checked: weekly, monthly or yearly |
| If it doesn't work out | No visa refund; you start a new search | The agency replaces her; some advertise unlimited replacements |
| Best for | Long-term care, where you choose who looks after your children | Short-term cover: holidays, family visits, one or two months |
How to read this table: agency prices are the lowest each agency publishes on its own website, read on 26 September 2026; prices rise from there with nationality, live-out and package.
Both involve a licensed agency, so families often mix them up. The difference is who finds her, who she works for and who pays her.
The agency's monthly package: you pay the agency, and the agency employs her.
You find and hire her yourself; a licensed agency only handles her visa.
There is also a third route: sponsor her yourself (private sponsorship), where you are her sponsor and handle the visa paperwork. For visa sponsorship through an agency, Yaya families can use our partners Maids.cc or Housekeeping Co.
On a monthly package, the agency is her sponsor and, under UAE law, her employer (Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022, Article 14). You pay it one fee each month, it pays her, and it can replace her. Published live-in packages start from AED 2,500 a month at licensed service centres and go up from there: one large agency charges AED 2,980 to AED 4,490 a month for live-in, depending on nationality, and AED 950 more for live-out. The agencies we checked ask for no fixed contract.
Hiring directly, you pay to find her (Yaya starts at AED 99 for the first week), then her visa, then her salary, which you agree with her and pay to her.
An agency proposes candidates from the workers it sponsors. On Yaya you browse caregiver profiles yourself, each with a video introduction, work history and references where provided, and filter by what matters to you. You can also post a job and let caregivers apply; you choose who can.
Every Yaya profile is reviewed by hand before it goes live, and about 30% of applicants are approved.
This is where agencies offer real reassurance. On a monthly package the agency sends a replacement, and one large agency advertises unlimited same-day replacements.
Hiring directly, the visa is paid before she starts and there is no visa refund if it doesn't work out. The law allows a probation period of up to six months once she starts work (Article 8). That is the extra risk of hiring directly, and why the checks below matter.
A monthly package has to cover her salary, her visa and insurance, and the agency's own costs and margin. At the prices agencies publish, from AED 2,500 a month with visa and insurance included, that leaves limited room for her pay. In our experience, that is why agency rosters lean towards caregivers who are new to the UAE or new to the work, and why agencies find it hard to keep their most experienced people.
Once a caregiver has experience and references, she can usually earn more when a family hires her directly, and she can choose the family she works for. In our experience, many caregivers who start with an agency move to direct sponsorship when their contract ends, then look for their next family on direct-hire platforms such as Yaya. We rarely see anyone go back from a direct salary to an agency package.
That is also why we see "unlimited replacements" differently. It is a real convenience when you need cover. But the person looking after your children is not interchangeable, and a model built around replacing people is not built around keeping them. An agency saves you the search today; if you want care that lasts, choosing carefully once is worth the extra effort. That is what Yaya is built for.
The visa is the commitment, so the checks before it are where you lower the risk.
Want someone to run the search for you? Yaya Concierge does it for you, from AED 1,000 + VAT.
“Yaya Middle East launches Yaya AI to simplify nanny and maid hiring.”New feature helps families find a caregiver faster, get instant answers on hiring processEmirates Woman
“Yaya Middle East: finding the right caregiver for your child.”Parents Rui Pinto and Marilena Hadgianni founded Yaya Middle East to ensure a seamless and thorough process in finding your child the perfect caregiver.What's On
“Platforms like Yaya Middle East were built to solve this problem.”Rui Gomes Pinto is the founder and CEO of Yaya Middle East, a UAE-based app connecting families with verified nannies and domestic helpers.Time Out Dubai
“Find and connect directly with nannies suited to your needs.”Relocating to a new city can be daunting but gone are the days where you need a compass and map to navigate around unknown surroundings. Yaya Middle East is there to help you with your childcare needs.This page is published by Yaya Middle East, which runs a direct-hire platform. On 26 September 2026 we read the price pages of three MOHRE-licensed agencies, listed in the sources below. Agency prices are the lowest each agency publishes and vary by nationality, live-in or live-out, and package. Where we give our view rather than a published fact, we say so.
Legal points come from the English text of Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022 on an archived copy of the official legislation portal (captured 22 July 2025), because the live portal would not open for us on that date. Later amendments may apply. This is general information, not legal advice. Spot something out of date? Email support@yayamiddleeast.com and we will correct it.
It depends on the salary you agree and how long she stays. A monthly package puts her salary, visa and the agency's fees into one price: published live-in packages start from AED 2,500 a month and go up from there; one large agency charges AED 2,980 to AED 4,490 a month for live-in, depending on nationality, and AED 950 more for live-out. Hiring directly, you pay her salary to her, her two-year visa, and a Yaya plan while you search. For short-term cover a package is simpler; over a long stay, hiring directly puts more of what you pay into her salary.
In our experience, most experienced caregivers look for work directly. A monthly package has to cover her salary, visa, insurance and the agency's margin, which leaves limited room for her pay. Once a caregiver has experience and references, she can usually earn more when a family hires her directly, and she chooses who she works for, so many move to direct sponsorship when an agency contract ends.
Yes. Talk in the app, meet face to face, then hold an extended interview at home over a few visits on different days, so you can see how she interacts with your children and your family. Call her previous employers too. If you'd like someone working in your home for a few weeks before a longer commitment, a licensed agency's monthly package gives you that.
An interview at your home, spread over a few visits on different days, after you have talked in the app and met face to face. She meets your children and your family, you see how she interacts with them, and you talk through the actual job: hours, evening babysitting, days off and sick days.
Hiring through an agency means the agency finds her, employs her and pays her out of the monthly fee you pay it, and replaces her if it doesn't work out. With agency sponsorship only, you find and hire her yourself, for example on Yaya, and pay her salary directly; the agency only holds her visa and handles the paperwork, for a visa fee.
Yes. Our partners Maids.cc and Housekeeping Co offer visa sponsorship for a nanny you have found. They handle her visa and paperwork; she works for your family and you pay her salary. Options and prices are on Yaya's visa page.
Yaya is built for long-term hiring, where you sponsor the caregiver yourself or through a licensed agency. For a few weeks of cover, such as while your nanny is on holiday or family is visiting, a licensed agency's monthly package is the better fit.
No. Yaya is a platform, not an agency, that connects families directly with helpers. There are no placement fees or commissions, and subscriptions can be purchased on CareFinder Web or through the Yaya mobile app.
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