Why we'll never take a placement commission.
Most senior-living referral sites are free for families because communities pay them a move-in fee. That model quietly shapes who you see first. We don't participate — here's why it matters.
Free to families — paid for by communities.
When you use a senior-living referral service like A Place for Mom, Caring.com, or a local placement advisor, you typically don't pay. That's because communities pay them a placement fee for every family who moves in — often somewhere between 50% and 100% of the resident's first month of rent, or a flat per-move-in fee.
Those fees aren't trivial. A community filling ten apartments a year through one partner can owe tens of thousands of dollars in referral costs. Ultimately, that cost has to go somewhere — and it typically ends up in resident pricing, marketing budgets, or the decision of which referral network a community joins in the first place.
The problem isn't that anyone's hiding it. It's that the business model quietly influences which communities get surfaced first, which advisors your family speaks to, and how often you'll hear back from them.
Three things the commission model does to the search.
Pricing gets padded
When a community owes a big chunk of your first month to a referral network, that cost doesn't evaporate — it gets absorbed into the base rent, care fees, or upfront community fees every resident pays.
Rankings get distorted
Communities that pay more — or participate in exclusive partner programs — often show up first. That's not the same thing as being the best clinical or social fit for your loved one.
Advisors have incentives you don't see
A placement advisor earns when you move in. That's a real incentive to keep you engaged, call you often, and nudge you toward partner communities — even if a better fit exists just outside their network.
Flat listing fees. No cut of your decision.
Communities pay SeniorsPlaces a flat fee to list. That fee doesn't change if one family moves in, or a hundred. It doesn't change based on your budget, your care level, or how long you stay.
Because there's no commission tied to your move-in, we have no reason to push you toward one community over another. There's no sales advisor queued up to call. There's no tier of "preferred partners" buying their way to the top of the page.
You browse, compare, and contact communities directly. If we never hear from you again, we still make exactly the same money.
- Flat listing fee — no per-lead or per-move-in cut
- Organic ranking — no pay-to-rank partner tiers
- Direct messages routed to the community, not a third-party advisor
- Your data stays yours — we don't sell or resell it
Side by side.
| Feature | SeniorsPlaces | Typical referral site |
|---|---|---|
| Free for families | ||
| Communities pay per move-in | ||
| Pay-to-rank partner tiers | Often | |
| Advisor paid on your move-in | ||
| Contact community directly | Limited | |
| Your contact info stays private |
Questions we hear a lot.
Browse without the commission hangover.
Explore thousands of senior-living communities, compare them honestly, and reach out directly when you're ready.