Care.com Pet Care Review [2026]: Aggregator Model Explained

Care.com Pet Care is an aggregator marketplace, different from managed platforms like Rover and Wag. Owners pay a $39-$70/month subscription to message and book sitters directly. No insurance, no payment processing, no platform booking management. Honest review of when this model wins, when it doesn't.

CARE.COM PET CARE
Bottom line

Model: Aggregator (search + messaging only), not a managed marketplace

Owner cost: $39-$70/month subscription

Sitter payment: direct to sitter (cash, Venmo, etc.): NO Care.com processing

Insurance: NONE provided by platform, the sitter must carry their own

Best for: direct-relationship preference, multi-service hiring (childcare + pet)

Skip if: you want platform booking + insurance simplicity

Subscription billing and auto-renewal are the most common complaint themes; the platform also settled with the FTC over membership and advertising practices.

Prefer vetted, insured sitters over a listings board? Our Fetch! Pet Care review covers a managed-franchise option.

You can browse local caregivers and pricing on the official Care.com site.

For more on hiring trusted help, see our pet sitting hub.

For platforms with a different model, see our Rover review and our PetBacker review.

For a deeper dive, see our guide to house sitting vs pet sitting: which is right for your pet (and home)? (2026).

Marketplaces are convenient, but see how a professional cat sitter versus an app compares on vetting and emergency support.

Rover is not the only option; see the main Rover alternatives compared side by side.

Who Care.com is and how the model works

Care.com is a long-running caregiver marketplace best known for childcare, senior care and housekeeping, with pet care as one category among many. The crucial distinction is the business model. Rover and Wag are managed marketplaces: they handle booking, payment, insurance and dispute resolution inside the platform. Care.com is an aggregator. It is closer to a directory and messaging service. You pay a subscription for access, search local sitter profiles, message and screen candidates, then take the relationship off-platform once you hire.

That means Care.com gives you reach and choice but very little operational scaffolding. There is no in-platform payment processing, the sitter handles their own pricing, and there is no platform insurance on the booking. The model rewards owners who want a direct, unmediated relationship with a caregiver and are comfortable running their own vetting, contract and payment. It punishes owners who expected the convenience and protection of a managed app.

Pricing and fees

Care.com charges the owner a subscription, generally in the $39 to $70 per month range depending on tier, where the higher tier adds enhanced background-check access and priority support. Sitter rates are entirely separate and paid directly: there is no per-booking platform fee because the subscription is the revenue model. Over a year that subscription runs roughly $468 to $840, which is a real cost to factor in. If you book sporadically, that fixed cost can easily exceed what you would pay in per-booking fees on a managed app. A common owner strategy is to subscribe, find a regular sitter within a month or two, then cancel, since the relationship continues off-platform.

How Care.com differs from Rover and Wag

Factor | Rover/Wag (managed) | Care.com (aggregator)
Model | Booking + payment + insurance in platform | Search + messaging only
Owner cost | No subscription | $39-$70/month subscription
Booking fee | 20-40% platform fee on each booking | $0 (subscription-based)
Payment processing | In-platform | Direct sitter-to-owner
Insurance | $1M secondary built-in | NONE
Same-walker guarantee | Request only | Direct relationship
Vetting | Background + safety quiz | Background + ID, optional enhanced
Dispute resolution | Platform-managed | You handle directly

Pros and cons

The strengths of the aggregator model are choice and control. You see a wide pool of local caregivers, you negotiate rates directly, you pay however you and the sitter agree, and you keep 100% of the relationship without a platform skimming each booking. If you already use Care.com for childcare or housekeeping, adding pet care costs you nothing extra. For a long-term, recurring hire, that direct relationship is genuinely valuable.

The weaknesses are the flip side. There is no platform insurance, so if a sitter is hurt or your pet is injured, you have no marketplace backstop and must rely on the sitter's own coverage. There is no payment protection or chargeback recourse, since payment happens off-platform. You run vetting, screening and any dispute yourself. And the subscription is a fixed monthly cost whether or not you book, which is poor value for occasional users.

What customers say

Care.com's customer sentiment is notably weaker than the managed apps, and the complaints are about the company, not the caregivers. On Trustpilot the score sits in the low range that platform labels "poor," and the Better Business Bureau profile likewise carries a low average customer rating across hundreds of reviews.

The dominant theme is subscription billing. Owners repeatedly describe being charged again after a plan auto-renewed, difficulty getting refunds, and trouble cancelling. A second recurring theme is customer service: complaints about chatbot-and-email-only support with canned responses and no easy way to reach a person. The context matters here. In 2024 Care.com reached an $8.5 million settlement with the US Federal Trade Commission over allegations involving misleading advertising and membership practices. None of this reflects on the individual sitters, who do draw positive reviews when a hire works out, but it is a clear signal to treat the subscription carefully: set a calendar reminder before any renewal date and cancel deliberately rather than relying on the platform to make it easy.

When Care.com is the right call

You want a direct sitter relationship without platform mediation

You're already paying Care.com for childcare or housekeeping, so bundling pet care is incremental cost

You want maximum sitter choice and pricing flexibility

You're hiring for the long term (months to years of recurring service)

When to skip Care.com

You only need pet care (not childcare or housekeeping): Rover is simpler and includes insurance

You book sporadically (1-2 sittings per year): the subscription cost does not make sense

You want platform insurance protection, Care.com provides NONE

You want chargeback protection for payment disputes

How Care.com compares to other platforms

Against the managed apps, the comparison is structural. Rover and Wag charge per-booking fees but hand you booking, payment and a $1M secondary insurance backstop, which is simpler and safer for occasional pet-only use. Fetch! Pet Care goes further still, supplying bonded, insured franchise sitters rather than a directory of independents. PetBacker is a managed global option. Care.com only pulls ahead when you genuinely value the direct relationship, want to bundle with other household care, or are hiring for the long haul. For most pet-only owners, a managed marketplace is the better default. Our pet sitting hub walks through how to vet any sitter you find.

Who Care.com is right for

Care.com is the right fit for the household that is already inside its ecosystem, hiring for childcare or housekeeping, and wants to add a pet caregiver at no extra cost while keeping a direct, long-term relationship. If that describes you, the aggregator model is an advantage. If you only need pet care, book occasionally, or want the insurance and dispute protection of a managed app, Care.com's subscription cost and missing safety net make it the wrong choice, and Rover will serve you better.

Care.com's background checks: CareCheck and the paid tiers

Care.com's vetting is opt-in and layered, which is different from the baseline check a managed app runs automatically. The pieces:

CareCheck is an annual screening that pet sitters are asked to complete. Sitters who pass display a badge on their profile showing the date it was run. Treat a stale or missing CareCheck date as a reason to dig deeper.

Paid enhanced checks. Care.com offers additional background checks you can purchase, covering criminal, social media, and driving history at deeper levels than the baseline. You, the owner, pay for these.

The key takeaway is that the most thorough screening on Care.com is something you buy, not something the platform applies to everyone by default. A baseline CareCheck badge confirms a sitter cleared an annual screen, but it does not match the depth of a paid criminal-plus-driving-plus-social check, and it tells you nothing about how the person actually handles animals. Budget for an enhanced check on any finalist before you let them into your home or near your pet.

How to vet a Care.com sitter safely

Because Care.com is an aggregator with no platform insurance, the verification work is entirely yours. Care.com itself recommends going beyond CareCheck, and the practical sequence is:

Interview every finalist, by video at minimum, ideally in person with your pet present.

Check references, and actually call them rather than reading the line on a profile.

Run a paid enhanced background check on your top candidate.

Confirm the sitter carries their own liability insurance, since the platform provides none.

Put the arrangement in writing: dates, rate, duties, emergency vet authorization, and a spending limit.

Pay through a traceable method so you have a record if a dispute arises.

For a fuller framework on screening any caregiver you find, see our pet sitting hub, and compare typical rates in our guide to how much pet sitting costs.

HomePay and the household-employer question

If your pet sitter becomes a regular, recurring caregiver you direct and schedule, you may cross into household-employer territory, where tax obligations attach. Care.com sells HomePay, an optional payroll service that handles payments, taxes, and the paperwork for household employees, with Premium members getting discounts (the steepest bundle savings typically land during the January-to-April tax season). Most occasional pet hires never reach this threshold, but a live-in or near-daily sitter can, so it is worth knowing the service exists before a casual arrangement quietly becomes an employment one.

The subscription playbook: subscribe, hire, then cancel

The most cost-efficient way to use Care.com for pet care, and the one experienced owners describe, is to treat the subscription as a short-term search tool rather than an ongoing service. Subscribe, run your interviews and checks within the first month or two, hire your sitter, and then cancel, because the relationship continues off-platform at no further cost. The discipline that matters: Care.com auto-renews, and billing complaints dominate its reviews, so set a calendar reminder a few days before your renewal date and cancel deliberately. Over a year the subscription runs roughly $468 to $840, which is pure waste if you forget and let it roll while booking nothing. If you want platform-managed payment and a built-in insurance backstop instead, compare the managed model in our Rover review.

Frequently asked questions

Is Care.com legit for pet care?

Yes, but the aggregator model differs from Rover/Wag. $39-$70/month subscription. Sitters set rates and are paid directly outside the platform. Care.com vets but provides NO insurance, NO payment processing, NO booking management.

How much does Care.com cost?

Subscription roughly $39-$70/month depending on tier, where the higher tier adds enhanced background-check access plus priority support. Sitter rates are separate and paid directly. No per-booking fee.

Care.com vs Rover?

Different models. Rover is managed (booking, payment and insurance in-platform; 20-25% fee). Care.com is an aggregator (subscription, direct sitter payment, no insurance). Rover is simpler; Care.com is for a direct relationship.

Insurance?

NONE. Unlike Rover/Wag ($1M secondary), Care.com provides no insurance. Verify your sitter has their own liability cover before hiring. This is the biggest model difference.

How are sitters paid?

Directly, sitter to owner: cash, check, Venmo, Zelle. Care.com handles only search and messaging. You take on the payment-dispute risk.

Is Care.com safe?

Background checks plus ID verification, with enhanced screening on the higher tier. There is more exposure without platform-managed booking, payment and insurance. Mitigate with a meet-and-greet, verified sitter insurance, a written agreement and traceable payments.

What do reviews complain about most?

Subscription billing and auto-renewal are the dominant complaint themes on Trustpilot and the BBB, alongside chatbot-only customer service. In 2024 Care.com settled with the FTC over membership and advertising practices. Cancel deliberately before any renewal date.

How do I cancel the subscription?

Care.com auto-renews. Many owners cancel after 60-90 days once they have a regular sitter, since the relationship continues off-platform. Set a reminder before the renewal date; the $468-$840/year cost is significant if you book sporadically.

Who should use Care.com instead of Rover?

Three cases: you want a direct relationship and payment control, you are multi-service hiring (childcare plus pet plus housekeeping), or you are already on Care.com. Pet-only owners usually win with Rover.

What is CareCheck on Care.com?

CareCheck is an annual background screening that pet sitters are asked to complete, and those who pass display a dated badge on their profile. It is a baseline; Care.com also sells deeper paid checks covering criminal, social media, and driving history that you purchase yourself before hiring.

Does Care.com handle taxes for a recurring pet sitter?

Not automatically, but it sells HomePay, an optional payroll service that manages payments and household-employer taxes for caregivers you employ regularly. Most occasional pet hires never reach the household-employer threshold, but a near-daily or live-in sitter can.

What is the cheapest way to use Care.com for pet care?

Subscribe, complete your interviews, reference checks, and an enhanced background check within a month or two, hire your sitter, then cancel, since the relationship continues off-platform for free. Set a reminder before the auto-renewal date, because the roughly $468 to $840 yearly cost is wasted if you let it roll while booking nothing.

METHODOLOGY
Review based on Care.com public info (May 2026), aggregated customer reviews across Trustpilot and the Better Business Bureau, the 2024 FTC settlement record, and partner provider research. Refreshed quarterly.