Best Apps and Websites to Find Pet Sitting Jobs

Rover is an app marketplace.

Sitters and walkers on Rover are considered independent contractors running their own small business on the platform, not Rover employees — that is Rover's own classification of the relationship.

You bring the services.

Rover lets sitters set their own schedule and prices and offer boarding, dog walking, doggy day care, house sitting and drop-in visits.

Dog training is the exception: Rover opens it only to credentialed trainers.

Getting on is screening, not certification.

Rover requires sitters and dog walkers to be at least 18, and sign-up runs through choosing your services, setting rates and availability, building a profile with photos, requesting testimonials from past clients, passing a safety quiz, and completing a background check and identity verification.

Rover says to expect a response within 10 to 20 business days.

That background check is run by First Advantage, a third-party provider.

It covers identity details such as citizenship and Social Security number, your driving record and your criminal history — but not credit history.

US applicants supply their full legal name and SSN.

Fees decide what a booking is worth.

Under the standard US terms Rover published as of October 2026, Rover applies a 20% service fee per booking, so you keep 80% of your earnings.

California works differently: the base rate you enter is what you take home, and owners pay a 25% Rover marketplace fee on top of your rate plus an 11% booking fee.

Rover has also piloted tiered fees in the Seattle/Tacoma/Bellevue, Chicago/Naperville/Elgin and Dallas/Fort Worth/Arlington areas — 30% on a client's booking history up to $599, 15% from $600 to $1,199, and 10% at $1,200 or more, with training and grooming bookings excluded.

Payouts run through Stripe.

Funds appear in your Rover account 2 days after you complete a service, then transfer by direct deposit, which can take up to 5 business days to land.

Keep the booking on the platform too: Rover's terms require payment and communication through Rover, and accepting off-platform payment removes your Rover Guarantee and support coverage and can lead to account suspension for you and the owner.

Rover's sign-up mechanics are the same for walking and sitting — our Rover dog walker guide walks through them step by step.

Wag! runs its sitter side through one caregiver application — walkers apply through the same form.

Through it, Wag! lets sitters offer dog sitting and cat sitting in the pet parent's home, and dog boarding in the sitter's own home.

The requirements are explicit: caregivers must be at least 18, a US permanent resident, and able to pass a background check.

You apply under your legal name as it appears on your ID.

Sign-up runs through six portal stages, from your profile and endorsements through the fee and the check.

Three details are worth knowing before you start:

• The Pet Safety Quiz has 10 questions with a 70% passing score — and you can retake it as many times as needed.
• Endorsements: Wag! asks you to share a link with at least 5 people who can vouch for your pet care experience, and the endorsements then appear on your profile.
• A one-time, non-refundable application fee is required of all applicants, with an amount that varies by state and region — Wag! does not publish it.

The background check is run by Vetty.

Wag! says it typically takes 3 to 5 business days after the application fee is paid, and can take up to 14 business days.

Money works on your rates.

Caregivers set their own rates and choose which bookings to accept; Wag!'s help center tells caregivers to multiply their pricing settings by 1.67 to estimate what a pet parent pays, before tips, booking fees and taxes.

You keep 100% of tips, and payment is released within 48 hours of completing a service.

Like Rover, Wag! says its caregivers are independent contractors, not Wag! employees, responsible for their own taxes — and Wag! says it cannot provide proof of employment or character references.

Care.com is a job board, not a booking app.

It does not employ caregivers: families post jobs and caregivers apply, and Care.com's terms say it does not verify the information in member profiles, job posts or applications.

Its services are limited to people 18 or older under its Terms of Use, last updated October 14, 2025.

The pet care side works like any job board.

You apply to jobs posted by local families hiring in your area — cat-sitting drop-ins are the kind of post Care.com's pet care jobs page names — and the pay is set in each family's post, not by Care.com.

Screening runs through checks you agree to.

By registering, you agree that Care.com may run periodic third-party background "Preliminary Screens" on you, and fuller checks — criminal and motor-vehicle records among them — are treated as consumer reports under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Care.com's terms also state it has no obligation to perform background checks.

The fit is different from Rover and Wag!: you are answering posted jobs rather than building a booking profile, and each family's post carries its own pay.

For sitters who want to job-hunt the traditional way, that is the appeal.

TrustedHousesitters is the one to read carefully, because it is not a paying job.

It is an exchange: sitters do not charge, no money changes hands between owner and sitter, and the sitter gets a free place to stay in return for pet and home care.

You still spend money to sit.

Sitters buy an annual membership — Basic, Standard or Premium plans — to apply for unlimited sits, and travel costs to and from sits are the sitter's own responsibility.

The platform also charges a fixed booking fee, paid by both owner and sitter, when a sit is confirmed; Premium members skip it, and the amount is shown before you confirm.

US-based sitter members complete a free background check, run by Evident, as part of profile setup, and the completed check is shown on their profile.

So who is it for?

Sitters who want to travel, or who need a free place to stay while they sit — not sitters who need income.

If your goal is a paying side business, treat TrustedHousesitters as a supplement to a paid route, not a substitute for one.

The fifth route: a job with a pet sitting company.

Fetch! — which calls itself America's largest dog walking and pet sitting franchise — shows how the model works.

It hires walkers and sitters through local franchise owners: you choose a location, apply online, and interview with the local owner.

The service list overlaps the apps' lists.

Fetch says its walkers and sitters do pet visits, dog walks, cat playtime, puppy care, feeding and pet transport, with some locations offering boarding in the sitter's home and overnight care in the client's home.

Fetch says new walkers may start with few assignments and build a clientele.

What a company like Fetch adds is structure.

Fetch says its coordinators screen each pet's background and temperament by phone and hold in-home consultations before service, and a sitter with safety concerns can have a pet reassigned.

Fetch also says its office books your appointments and provides insurance, and that new hires get an orientation to its standards.

Ask two questions at any company interview: how you are paid, and how you are classified.

Fetch's own careers pages do not say whether its walkers and sitters are employees or contractors, so ask — the answer shapes your schedule, your paperwork and who covers you.

The industry has room for all of it.

PSI (Pet Sitters International), the pet sitting trade association, says the majority of its membership is sole-proprietor pet-sitting businesses — sitters who built their own client lists, many after careers in education, business and medical or veterinary support.

Our pet sitter career guide maps the hiring doors, and how to become a pet sitter covers the application process end to end.

Whichever pet sitter platform you pick, the fee and the service list decide the take-home more than the brand does.

Here is the side-by-side:

Sort yourself with four questions:

• Do you need income? Then TrustedHousesitters is out by definition — nothing changes hands — and the choice is between the apps, a company job, or your own clients.
• Which services do you want to sell? Rover's list runs to boarding, walking, day care, house sitting and drop-ins; Wag!'s caregiver application covers dog sitting, cat sitting and boarding in your home; Fetch's list adds feeding, pet transport, puppy care and cat playtime.
• Do you want to apply or to book? On Care.com you answer posted jobs, with pay set in each family's post; on Rover and Wag! you build a profile and take bookings through the platform — Wag! says approved caregivers download its app and start accepting bookings.
• Are you 18? Rover, Wag! and Care.com all require it — and Wag! does not refund its application fee to under-18 applicants denied due to age, so wait until you qualify.

Two cautions before you pick.

First, ignore the earnings marketing: none of these platforms sets your pay — you set your rates on Rover and Wag!, families set pay in their Care.com posts, and TrustedHousesitters pays nothing.

Compare fee structures and service fit, and treat the earnings figures platforms advertise as their own marketing claims, not wage data.

Second, know what you are signing up to.

Rover and Wag! both treat sitters as independent contractors — their own classifications — and Wag! says its caregivers are responsible for their own taxes; Care.com says it does not employ caregivers at all.

On the company route, a local owner hires you and the office books your appointments — Fetch's model — but Fetch does not say whether its walkers and sitters are employees or contractors, so ask how you would be classified.

Career information, not legal or tax advice: platform fees, sign-up steps and terms are each company's own and change often — the details here reflect the platforms' own help pages as of October 2026. Confirm current terms with each platform, check any licensing question with your city or county, and send tax questions to the IRS or a tax professional.