10 Best Pet Sitting Apps & Services – 2024 Reviews & Top Picks

As much as we’d love to bring our pets everywhere with us, we can’t always do that. Whether going on a day trip, leaving the country for a week, or working late, we sometimes need to rely on pet sitters to help us out. But how do you find great pet sitters in your area?

That’s where pet sitting apps and services come in! Using these provides a quick and easy way to find a pet sitter when the need arises (often even last minute). But there are several apps and services you can choose from to find pet sitters, with each offering something a little different. Here’s a closer look at 10 of the best pet sitting apps and services available; we’ll give you a quick review, as well as the pros and cons of each.

The 10 Best Pet Sitting Apps & Services

1. Wag! – Best Overall

When you want to use the best overall pet sitting app to find your dog a sitter, we recommend Wag!. With over 12 million pet care service providers situated throughout 5,300 cities, there’s more than likely a pet sitter near your location. Though Wag! is likely better known for its dog walking services, you can use it to locate boarding, a sitter who will come to your house or take your pet to theirs, arrange for drop-off and pick-ups, and more! Every pet caregiver with Wag! must pass an enhanced background check, and all services provided are insured. Caregivers also provide a profile of themselves that details their experience and special skills, so you can find the sitter most suited to your pet. Plus, there’s 24/7 customer care should you have questions or concerns.

Though customer care is available day and night, there have been some complaints that they are quite unhelpful in resolving issues (both on the customer and caregiver side), so be aware of that. You might also have more difficulty locating a sitter in an incredibly rural area.

---

2. Rover – Best Value

* Use code Hepper20 to receive $20 off your first booking!

When you want the best pet sitting app for the money, you’ll want to go with Rover. Rover has a huge network of pet caregivers (one of the largest around!) that even includes places outside the U.S. and provides everything from boarding to doggie daycare to pet sitting. Services are easily booked via the Rover app, and you can get super detailed about what you’re looking for when searching. All services are backed up with 24/7 support, as well as a guarantee to cover things like property damage or vet care should something happen (though there are exceptions).

You can only pay for services via the app, though, so no cash or check, which may be an issue for some. And there were a couple of complaints about the app’s UX not being entirely user-friendly, so you might run into a mild problem or two while searching.

---

3. Trusted House Sitters – Premium Choice

This app is honestly super cool. Instead of paying someone to pet sit, you simply let them come stay at your home for free, and they’ll watch your pet and house! That doesn’t mean the service is free, though. While you aren’t paying the pet sitters, you do have to purchase a membership plan to use this service (so if you don’t need a pet sitter often, this might not be the best app to use). The membership gives you access to the app and database of pet sitters, where you can not only review caregiver profiles but interview them, too. Overall, pet parents found the app simple to use.

However, this app will probably work best for those in touristy locations, as most people will probably want to pet sit somewhere new and fun. There have been some comments about the app crashing or being laggy, so you might have to deal with that, too.

---

4. Care.com

You’re probably familiar with Care.com, but you might not have expected it to provide pet sitting; however, it does! It also offers boarding, dog walking, grooming, and training services. Currently, Care has almost 140,000 pet care providers available, and though most of those take care of felines and canines, you can also find sitters for guinea pigs, rabbits, birds, fish, and more. The downside of Care is that you might have trouble finding a pet sitter if you’re in a rural area. On the plus side, caregivers are given background checks, and you can purchase further supplemental background checks if you feel the need.

There were complaints about the app, including its tendency to freeze. People also said some caregivers’ profiles were still up, yet the caregivers hadn’t been active in months.

---

5. Petbacker

This app is good for international pet owners since they provide services in 50 countries. And the process of finding a caregiver on Petbacker is pretty easy. You just fill out a request, get up to 5 potential matches, receive quotes from those, and view their profiles. It’s all pretty straightforward! Petbacker also comes with a 100% reservation guarantee, so you can get either a refund or replacement if your pet sitter cancels, and the service offers free premium protection to ensure your pet’s safety.

However, to pick the right sitter for your pet, you must set up a meet and greet, which you must pay a deposit for. And if your meet and greets don’t pan out, you have to go through that process of finding new matches and more meet and greets again. Also, there have been complaints about the app not notifying caregivers when you’re seeking them and about customer service not responding.

---

6. Fetch!

Fetch! works differently from the other services listed thus far in that you don’t get to pick your pet sitter. Instead, Fetch will pick out two sitters for you (one is a backup in case something happens to the first). The fabulous part is you don’t have to wade through caregiver profiles. The downside is you might want more control over who’s taking care of your pet. This doesn’t mean you don’t get to vet these sitters—Fetch provides a free in-home consultation for you to meet them, so you can still nix them if you don’t think they’ll work out. If you like the sitters, they become assigned to you permanently, so you don’t have to repeat this process each time you need a caregiver. And not only are all caregivers given a background check, but they are required to be bonded and insured.

There seem to be very few problems with this app and service. The biggest complaint is that the app randomly doesn’t work on certain phones for no discernible reason.

---

7. PetSitter.com

PetSitter also works a bit differently from many other services on this list. For one, they don’t have an app, so you’ll have to pull out the laptop to book through them. For another, they don’t background check their sitters as they aren’t an agency but a self-serve service. That means you decide whether a caregiver is suitable or not. You’ll also be doing most of the work yourself with this service—searching through local pet sitter profiles, negotiating pay, and setting up pre-screening chats (if you desire). So, it’s a little more work with this than some others. If you have animals other than cats and dogs, you’re in luck; there are even caregivers on PetSitter who work with farm animals!

---

8. Sitter City

Sitter City is another of those apps and services that are primarily for finding sitters for people, but you can find some pet sitters through them, too. With this service, you’ll provide what you need (when you need a sitter, for how many pets, etc.), and local pet sitters will then contact you to apply. Unfortunately, Sitter City doesn’t automatically provide background checks for its sitters; however, you can request one for an additional fee. You do get a detailed profile to look through for the pet sitters that contact you, though, which includes what they provide, pricing, and more. When you find a sitter who might be a good fit, you can contact them through the app. Also, a plus is the pet sitter network seems to be fairly extensive, so there’s a good chance of finding someone near you.

Using the website seems to be better than using the app, as there were several complaints about the app not being user-friendly, so keep that in mind if you’re looking for the convenience of an app.

---

9. Camp Bow Wow

For some, this service will be a bit hit or miss, as Camp Bow Wow is mostly a franchise that provides boarding for dogs and doggy daycare. Some locations, though, do offer in-home pet sitting, so your local Camp Bow Wow might have that. This is definitely an excellent option for dog owners since you can have someone come to your home to walk your dog while you’re away or just board them. All sitters are given a background check and must become certified before working with pets.

The biggest downside to this service is not everywhere has a Camp Bow Wow (they’re mostly located in cities on the eastern side of the U.S.), and not every Camp Bow Wow provides pet sitting.

---

10. Thumbtack

You’ve probably heard of Thumbtack being used to hire a plumber or caterer but for pet sitting? We can’t promise you’ll find a ton of pet sitters in your area with this one (particularly in rural spots), but you should be able to find a few (and other pet care services, too). All you have to do is put your location and what you’re looking for, and Thumbtack will pull up anyone near you that fits the bill. Thumbtack doesn’t do background checks (though some individuals might offer one, it just depends), so you’ll have to trust your gut (and reviews) for anyone you find here. The other negative to Thumbtack is that prices can vary widely, so some pet sitters may be pricier with this app because many people listed here are professionals (versus college students, like on other sites)

Buyer’s Guide: Choosing the Best Pet Sitting Apps & Services

Not every app and service on this list will be suitable, so how do you figure out which ones are? Here’s what to look at.

Your Needs

What exactly are you wanting this app or service to do? Pet sitting, for sure, but do you need a pet sitter for a single day or a couple of weeks? Do you want the pet sitter to come to your home, or do you want your pet to go to theirs? Does your pet sitter need to know how to care for a disabled animal or administer medications? Do you need a sitter for an animal other than a dog or cat? When looking for the best pet sitting service and app, you want to be sure any you go with is capable of meeting all your needs, so sit down and list out everything you require before looking for a pet sitter.

Location

Where you live is a pretty important component of finding a pet sitter. Unfortunately, more rural areas tend not to have as many pet sitters available as cities and larger towns. And some pet sitting services and apps may not provide information for areas with smaller populations. You’ll have to figure out if a service you’re considering even serves your geographical location in the first place.

Background Checks

Your fur babies are like your children, so you’re not going to automatically trust just anyone to take care of them! That’s why it’s essential to find out whether a pet sitting service does background checks on its sitters, what kind of background checks those are, and whether you automatically get access to the background check or have to pay separately for one. A majority of services do background checks on their employees, but a few do not, so if that’s a factor for you, be sure you find out whether they’re done or not.

Guarantees

Does a pet sitting service or app offer any guarantees, such as protection or insurance for your pet in case anything happens while a sitter is watching it? Are pet sitters required to be bonded, insured, or certified? Is there a refund policy in place in case a sitter cancels on you at the last minute? To ensure you don’t have any issues with the pet sitting service you go with, check out the sort of guarantees offered.

Pricing

Different pet sitting services will offer different prices because individual pet sitters don’t all charge the same amount. And a few services or apps may require a membership of some kind to access. How much you’ll be paying for a service and individual pet sitter is something you need to know up front. Luckily, there is a fairly wide variety in what pet sitters charge, so finding someone to fit your budget shouldn’t be too much of a hassle.

Reviews

Don’t just check out reviews of a company or app; check out reviews for individual pet sitters! The app might have issues, but the pet sitters are fabulous. Or the company or app might have excellent reviews, while the sitters have less stellar ones. Always take a quick look at what other pet parents have to say before making a final decision!

Conclusion

That was a lot of reviews to get through, so here’s a quick recap. If you are looking for the best overall pet-sitting app and service, we recommend Wag! because it offers tons of providers that are insured. But if you want the best app and service for the money, we’d go with Rover for its detailed search options and affordability. And if you’re seeking something a bit different, take a look at Trusted House Sitters, which allows you to find a pet sitter in exchange for letting the sitter stay at your place.

---

Featured Photo Credit: NDAB Creativity, Shutterstock