8 Real Rover Alternatives for Dog Walking and Pet Sitting (2026)

Rover is the largest name in pet sitting and dog walking apps, but it is not the only option, and it is not automatically the right fit for every pet or every budget. Some owners want lower per visit fees, some want a longer term relationship with one sitter, some travel enough that a membership model saves real money, and some have already had a booking fall through and want a backup plan. This guide covers eight real, currently operating alternatives, what each one actually is, and an honest read on when it beats Rover and when it does not.

The bottom line: no single app is the best choice for everyone. The right pick depends on whether you need a walk today, a week long house sit twice a year, or a caregiver you trust enough to hand a house key to on a recurring basis.

Before comparing individual apps, it helps to sort them by model rather than by name recognition. Some are on demand dispatch apps, matching you with whoever is available right now. Some are browse and book marketplaces, where you pick a specific profile and message them directly. Some are membership exchanges with no per visit charge at all. And some are not apps at all, but a franchise business or a personal referral. The right alternative to Rover usually falls out of which of those four shapes actually fits the trip or the routine you are planning for, not which app has the most downloads.

Wag: on demand walks and drop ins

Wag is a mobile app built around on demand, GPS tracked walks and drop ins, closer to a rideshare model than Rover's browse and book marketplace. You request a walk and the app matches you with an available, nearby walker rather than you picking a specific person from a list of profiles.

Wag went through a prepackaged Chapter 11 reorganization in 2025, filed in July and completed in September, and emerged under new ownership by its former lender, Retriever LLC. The company is not defunct and the app has continued operating through and after the restructuring, but it is worth knowing the ownership changed and confirming current service availability in your area before relying on it for a first time booking. Walk pricing runs roughly $12 to $25 depending on service length and location, plus Wag charges walkers a one time application fee to join the platform, which is different from Rover's fee structure. See our full Wag review and Wag pricing breakdown for more detail, and our Rover review for the marketplace side comparison.

The upside of the on demand model is speed. You can often get a walker matched within the hour without messaging several profiles and waiting on replies, which matters on a day when a meeting runs long and the dog has been alone since morning. The tradeoff is the same thing that makes it fast: you rarely get the same walker twice in a row unless you specifically request them again, so a dog that does better with a familiar face may not get that consistency the way a recurring Rover booking with one chosen sitter usually does.

Best for: last minute, single walks in cities with dense Wag coverage, when you do not need the same walker every time.

TrustedHousesitters: membership, not per booking fees

TrustedHousesitters runs on a completely different model than Rover or Wag. Instead of paying per walk or per night, members pay one yearly membership fee, roughly $130 to $260 depending on plan and promotions, and in exchange sitters stay in the owner's home for free while caring for the pet. It is a mutual exchange: the sitter gets free accommodation, the owner gets in home pet care without paying a nightly rate.

This only works if you are comfortable having someone live in your home while you are away, and it works best for longer trips where hotel or kennel costs would otherwise stack up fast. It is a poor fit for a single day drop in or a two hour walk, which is squarely Rover and Wag territory instead. Read the full TrustedHousesitters review for how vetting, references, and the exchange model actually work.

The math tends to favor TrustedHousesitters most clearly for owners who travel several times a year, since the fixed annual fee gets spread across more trips. A single week away might not beat a well priced Rover boarding rate, but three or four trips a year almost always will. The honest tradeoff is trust: you are not paying a per visit fee that funds a platform guarantee in the same way a transactional booking does, so references, video calls before confirming a sitter, and a clear house sitting agreement matter even more than they do with a paid app.

Best for: owners who travel for a week or more at a time and are comfortable with an in home sitter exchange instead of a per visit fee.

Care.com: hiring a long term caregiver, not just a one off booking

Care.com is a broader household hiring marketplace that covers child care, senior care, house cleaning, and pet care in one platform. For pets, it works more like hiring a regular caregiver than booking a one off service. You post a job, review candidate profiles and background check options, and typically build an ongoing relationship rather than a single transactional booking.

Because it is not pet specific, the sitter pool for animals is smaller in some areas than Rover's, and background check depth and cost vary by the package you choose. It tends to suit households that already use Care.com for other caregiving needs and want to add pet care to the same account, or owners looking for a recurring, dedicated sitter rather than a rotating cast of app matched walkers.

Because Care.com spans so many categories, the interview and background check process can feel heavier than a pet specific app, which is a plus for owners who want documentation and a minus for anyone who just needs a single walk booked quickly. It is worth comparing the background check tier you select against what a dedicated pet sitting platform offers before assuming Care.com's process is automatically more thorough.

Best for: households wanting one steady, recurring caregiver across multiple needs, not a same day single walk.

PetBacker: an option for international and traveling pet owners

PetBacker operates in roughly 50 countries, which makes it a useful option for pet owners traveling internationally or living somewhere Rover's marketplace has thin coverage, since Rover is strongest in the US, Canada, and parts of Europe. On PetBacker, owners typically receive multiple sitter quotes for a request and compare profiles, pricing, and reviews before booking, and the platform states it does not charge upfront fees to sitters, instead taking a percentage after a completed job.

Coverage density varies a lot by country and city, so it is worth checking how many active sitters actually serve your specific area before counting on it, the same due diligence that applies to any marketplace app.

Because sitters set their own quotes rather than following a fixed rate card, pricing on PetBacker can vary more widely between two profiles in the same city than it typically does on Rover, so comparing several quotes before booking is worth the extra few minutes. Reviews and completed job counts on a profile are the most useful signal for gauging reliability when the platform itself is newer to a given market.

Best for: pet owners outside the US or Canada, or those needing care while traveling internationally.

Fetch! Pet Care: a franchise model with insured, background checked staff

Fetch! Pet Care is structured differently from the apps above: it is a franchise network, not a peer to peer marketplace. Each local Fetch franchise hires and manages its own team of walkers and sitters, who are typically bonded and insured through the franchise business rather than functioning as independent contractors picking up gig work.

That structure generally means more consistency in vetting standards and accountability if something goes wrong, since you are working with a business rather than an individual profile, but it also usually costs more than a peer to peer app and is only available where a local franchise operates, which is a smaller footprint than Rover's national marketplace.

The company structure also tends to mean more consistent scheduling, since a franchise typically has a small bench of staff covering a territory rather than a single independent walker who might get sick or double book, so a Fetch client is less likely to have a visit fall through with no backup. The higher price reflects that overhead, and franchise availability is far more limited geographically than an app that operates nationwide, so it is worth checking whether a local franchise actually serves your zip code before counting on it.

Best for: owners who want the accountability of a company behind their sitter, and are willing to pay more for it.

Local independent sitters and word of mouth referrals

Not every good option lives inside an app. A local independent pet sitter, often found through a vet's front desk, a neighborhood Facebook group, Nextdoor, or a personal referral, frequently costs less than an app booking because there is no platform fee built into the price, and you can build a genuine long term relationship with someone who gets to know your specific pet.

The tradeoff is that you lose the app's built in insurance, guarantee, and dispute resolution process, so the vetting burden shifts almost entirely to you. Pet Sitters International's guidance for owners recommends asking for references, confirming any bonding or insurance directly, and treating the interview the way you would any other person you are giving house access to. Our guide on how to find a trustworthy dog sitter walks through the questions worth asking regardless of whether you go through an app or a referral.

Best for: owners in a tight knit neighborhood or with a strong personal referral, who are comfortable handling vetting themselves.

Comparing dog walker services beyond a single app

If none of the individual options above feels like the right fit, it is worth comparing a broader set of dog walking services side by side rather than defaulting to whichever app is most heavily advertised. Coverage, pricing structure, and vetting depth all vary enough between platforms that the best choice really does depend on your city, your schedule, and your pet. See our roundup of the best dog walking services for a wider comparison beyond just Rover and Wag.

When to pick an alternative over Rover

Rover remains the default choice for a reason: it has the largest sitter and walker pool in most US cities, a built in booking and payment system, and a guarantee that covers many bookings. But a few situations tend to favor an alternative. If you travel for a week or longer multiple times a year, TrustedHousesitters membership math can beat paying Rover's nightly boarding rates. If you want the accountability of an insured company rather than an individual contractor, Fetch is worth the higher price. If you are outside North America, PetBacker's international footprint may simply have more active sitters near you than Rover does. And if you already have a trusted neighbor, vet tech, or referral, a local independent sitter often costs less than any app while giving your pet more consistency.

Whichever option you choose, the vetting standard should not drop just because a booking is happening off an app. The Better Business Bureau and industry groups like the International Boarding and Pet Services Association both note that platforms describe background checks and vetting in general terms but rarely publish the specifics, so confirming credentials, asking for references, and doing a meet and greet before the first booking matters regardless of which service you use.

App or option | Model | Best for | Price model
Rover | Peer to peer marketplace, browse and book | Widest US and Canada coverage, choosing your own sitter | Per booking, provider sets rate plus owner service fee
Wag | On demand matching, app dispatched | Last minute single walks in dense city coverage | Per walk, $12 to $25 typical range
TrustedHousesitters | Yearly membership, mutual home exchange | Longer trips, comfortable with an in home sitter | Annual membership, roughly $130 to $260 per year, no per sit fee
Care.com | Broader household hiring marketplace | Recurring, dedicated caregiver across household needs | Membership or per hire, background check add ons vary
PetBacker | Peer to peer marketplace, quote based | International and traveling pet owners | Percentage fee taken from completed bookings
Fetch Pet Care | Local franchise, employed staff | Owners wanting company backed accountability | Per visit, generally higher than peer to peer apps
Local independent sitter | Direct hire, no platform | Referral based, long term neighborhood relationships | Negotiated directly, often lower without platform fees

Frequently asked questions

Is Wag still operating in 2026?

Yes. Wag went through a prepackaged Chapter 11 restructuring filed in July 2025 and completed in September 2025, and it now operates under new ownership by Retriever LLC, its former lender. The app has continued running through the process. It is not defunct, though it is worth confirming current sitter and walker coverage in your specific area before booking.

What is the main difference between Rover and TrustedHousesitters?

Rover charges per booking, with the sitter setting a rate and Rover adding a service fee on top. TrustedHousesitters instead charges one yearly membership fee and has no per sit charge at all, because sitters stay in the owner's home for free in exchange for pet care. TrustedHousesitters tends to make more financial sense for longer trips, while Rover suits single walks, drop ins, or shorter stays better.

Is PetBacker available in the United States?

PetBacker operates in roughly 50 countries including the US, but sitter density varies significantly by city and is generally thinner than Rover's coverage in most American markets. It tends to be most useful for owners traveling internationally or living outside the US and Canada, where Rover's presence is weaker.

Are local independent pet sitters safer or riskier than app based sitters?

Neither is automatically safer. App based platforms provide a booking record, a guarantee or insurance policy, and a dispute process, but the underlying background checks vary and are not always detailed. Independent sitters found through referrals skip the platform fee but put the full vetting responsibility on the owner. Either way, ask for references, confirm insurance or bonding directly, and do a meet and greet before the first booking.

Which Rover alternative is cheapest?

It depends on usage pattern rather than one app being cheapest across the board. For occasional single walks, a local independent sitter or a lower cost Wag walk in your area may beat Rover's combined provider rate plus service fee. For frequent multi day trips, a TrustedHousesitters annual membership can end up far cheaper than paying nightly boarding or sitting rates on any per visit platform.