Pet Sitter Income Calculator
Pet sitting pays anywhere from $500 a month as a side gig to a full-time income — it all comes down to your services, your rates, and how much the platform keeps. Enter yours to see your weekly, monthly and yearly take-home.
Planning estimates from the rates and volume you enter. Platform fees reflect each company’s published 2026 rates and can change. Pupline is independent and not affiliated with Rover, Wag or Care.com.
Booking direct, every dollar above is yours — no commission. Pupline keeps the schedule, clients and branded invoices behind it tidy for a flat $124.80/year.
Sell the high-value bookings, and keep the commission.
Two numbers move your income more than anything else. The first is your service mix: a single overnight can be worth three or four drop-in visits, so sitters who sell overnights and house sitting earn far more for the same calendar. The second is commission: Rover keeps 20% (25% in California), and Wag keeps about 40%. Moving your repeat regulars off-platform and booking them direct is the fastest raise most pet pros can give themselves.
Want the full picture? Read Do pet sitters make good money? for how earnings really break down, and How much do dog sitters charge? to set your rates. To see a platform’s cut on its own, try the Rover Fees Calculator.
Pet sitter income, answered.
How much money do pet sitters make?
It depends almost entirely on your service mix and volume. US salary aggregators put the average pet sitter at roughly $16–$18 an hour, or about $33,000–$36,000 a year full-time, but independent sitters who set their own rates and sell overnights often earn well above that. As a side gig, $500–$2,000 a month is typical. Enter your own rates and weekly bookings above to see your number.
Is pet sitting good money?
It can be. The biggest levers are the share of high-value bookings (overnights and house sitting pay far more per booking than short drop-ins or walks), repeat clients who keep your calendar full, holiday surcharges, and whether you book direct or through a platform that takes 20–40% commission. Stacking those is what turns pet sitting from pocket money into a real income.
How do pet sitters get paid?
On platforms like Rover, your pay (rate minus the platform's commission) is released about two days after the service ends and deposited to your bank via Stripe; tips are paid on top and kept in full. Booking direct, you invoice the client and take payment however you like — card, bank transfer, Venmo, Zelle, cash or check — and keep 100% of your rate, minus only card-processing fees.
How much do platform fees cost me per year?
Rover keeps 20% of every booking (25% in California and on RoverGO); Wag keeps about 40%. On $30,000 of annual bookings, that's $6,000 lost to Rover or $12,000 to Wag — before you've covered any of your own costs. The calculator shows your exact figure and what booking the same clients direct would keep instead.
Do pet sitters keep their tips?
Yes. On Rover, Wag and Care.com, tips are paid on top of the booking and the sitter keeps 100% — platforms don't take a cut of tips. Direct clients tip you in cash or by app, also in full.
Earn it once. Keep all of it.
Pupline runs your clients, scheduling and branded invoices from your phone for one simple monthly price — and never takes a percentage of your bookings. Free for 30 days.
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