Sittercity vs Care.com? If you are not sure which of these two online sitter services you should join, then this article is for you.
In this article, I will provide you a point-by-point comparison of Sittercity and Care.com. By the end of this article, you’ll be able to decide and start looking for sitters to help you with your family’s needs.
So which service is best for you? Read on to find out.
Here’s what some parents have to say about this article:
“I’m glad I came across your exhaustive article on Sittercity and Care.com. That was truly very helpful. Keep up the great work!” – Elissa T.
“Wow, it seemed like you really spent some time researching the various online child care services. I really appreciate it.” – Alyssa H.
“Thanks for the excellent information you just shared about the service. I wouldn’t have been able to find a sitter if it wasn’t for your review.” – Katherine J.
Sittercity Limited Time Offer: Save Up To 65% With Our Value Plans
Table Of Contents
Highlights Of Review
- The key factors which were considered for this review were as follows: market leadership, ease of use of the service, background checking features of the site, availability of qualified sitters, the price of the service, customer feedback, and other features of the services.
- In terms of ease of use of the service, both Care.com and Sittercity have done an excellent job with their search platform. You can really refine your search results and find a good list of candidate profiles to review.
- Regarding background checking, there is a distinct difference in the pricing schedules, with Sittercity having a more reasonable pricing schedule compared to Care.com. Summary pricing of background checks is provided for both.
- When evaluated based on the available qualified sitters, Sittercity had more sitter results for 7 of the 10 metropolitan areas in the sample search areas based on our specific set of search filters.
- In terms of price points, both Care.com and Sittercity have exactly the same price points for their premium membership plans. Basic access is free for both, which is really a great way to test their services. A summary table of price points is provided. Sittercity currently has a limited-time special promo of up to 65% discount on their plans.
- With regards to the quality of sitters, this is a subjective matter and may vary from person to person, depending on a family’s needs, requirements for a sitter, and the type of person that they get along with. Based on customer feedback from moms who have used both services, Sittercity appears to have more positive feedback and better word-of-mouth buzz compared to Care.com. It also appears that there are significantly more complaints about Care.com than Sittercity.
- Important tips are provided with regards to how to best use these services.
- Warnings on certain things that you will have to watch for when using these two services are provided. This is definitely a must-read.
- Lastly, the service I decided to use for my family is revealed.
Sittercity vs. Care.com: How They Started
Meet Alicia and Laura. Both of them are mothers who found sitters to care for their babies using the services of online child care providers. The difference between them is that Alicia found her trusted and caring sitter for her twins on Sittercity while Laura found her dependable and loving sitter for her baby on Care.com.
Alicia and Laura are just two examples of the millions of people who now use Sittercity and Care.com for their childcare needs.
With the increasing popularity of online sitter services, there has been an influx of players in the market. A few are truly market leaders that employ some of the best practices to help you find trusted and reliable child care while a lot of the second-tier services are not even worth seriously looking into.
For this review, we will only be focusing on Sittercity and Care.com.
Before we provide you with a side-by-side comparison of Sittercity and Care.com to help you make an informed decision as to which you should use for your family’s childcare needs, here is a quick backgrounder on these two services.
» Sittercity, the inventor of online caregiving and America’s largest online sitter service, was started by Genevieve Thiers back in 2001 while she was a Boston College student. This online sitter service was modeled by Theirs after successful online dating services wherein those who need babysitters are matched with those willing to provide the service.
From its small initial base of clients in the Boston area, Sittercity has grown tremendously. The company now serves more than 7 million users in cities across the United States. Sittercity’s scope of offerings includes sitters, nannies, pet sitters, and senior care.
Watch the video to learn more about Sittercity.
Sittercity has a network of more than a million caregiver profiles nationwide, and helps families and individuals across America find the perfect in-home care provider quickly, easily, and safely. Sittercity’s care seekers can use the company’s four-step screening process, which includes checking references, reading caregiver reviews, conducting interviews, and utilizing access to background checks.
The company sends out alerts regarding updates on the babysitters that match your criteria as well as promotions on various retail and family services.
» Care.com was founded by mom and entrepreneur Sheila Marcelo back in 2006. Since its launch, Care.com has become one of the largest and fastest-growing sitter and care services in the US. The service provides families an online place to find high-quality caregivers, as well as easily connect, share care-giving experiences, and get advice from the community of parents on the site.
The company addresses a wide range of care needs that each family goes through — child care, special needs care, tutoring and lessons, senior care, pet care, housekeeping, and more.
Watch the video to learn more about Care.com
The service helps families find and select the best care possible based on detailed profiles, background checks, and references for hundreds of thousands of mom-reviewed providers who seek to share their services.
The site also has special needs care services to help address the distinctive care needs of this significant yet often overlooked segment of the population.
Through its Care.com for Recruiters service offering, Care.com also enables companies to find high-quality caregiving employees. Care.com provides the following: a strict screening process, background checks, and feedback from parents on a person’s performance, personality, character, etc.
Key Factors To Consider When Evaluating An Online Sitter Service
There are a lot of factors that you might have in mind when considering an online sitter service to use. For us, we think that some of the important factors to consider are as follows:
» Proven market leaders. For us, we think that it is important to go with market leaders cause these online sitter services have proven their technology and are the trailblazers in the industry. These market leaders are usually well-funded and have more staying power.
You can therefore be assured that for as long as you need sitters, these online sitter services will continue to be around.
From our perspective, the more choices you have to choose from, the better. Furthermore, the more filtering capabilities a search platform can provide you, the better chance you have of finding a potential quality candidate that fits your needs.
» Ease of use. Since these services are meant to make the search for sitters easy and convenient, you would definitely want to use a service that has a platform that is easy and simple to use. Who needs a complicated platform for search? Not us and we assume, not you.
» Background checking feature. Since you will be entrusting your kids or loved ones to someone that you barely (or do not) know, it is best to go with online sitter services which provide affordable and comprehensive background and security checks to help you assess and choose the best candidates.
This is definitely a very important factor to consider since this concerns the safety of your child, your family, and your home.
» Availability of qualified sitters. The online sitter service should be a good resource to find a good number of available qualified sitters within your area.
From our perspective, the more choices you have to choose from, the better.
Furthermore, the more filtering capabilities a search platform can provide you, the better chance you have of finding a potential quality candidate that fits your needs.
» Price of service. Just like any company that needs to remain in business and offer quality service, subscription fees are to be expected from online sitter services. The only question in our mind is whether the subscription price points are reasonable and affordable.
» Customer feedback. So what do actual users have to say about the service? Were they happy and satisfied with the service? What was the reason they were happy with using the service? Did they provide negative feedback? What did they have to say about their overall experience? Never underestimate the power of user feedback as this can provide you with some great insights about the service.
» Other special features. Does the site offer other special features aside from finding sitters which you might find very useful? Although some online sitter services pretty much have the same main service offerings, there could be some subtle service offerings that might be worth noting which can be very useful to you.
An example of this would be getting discounts from partner stores or an “emergency sitter” feature in case you need a sitter right away.
Which Site Is More User-Friendly?
When it comes to websites, nothing beats a site that is well laid out and easy to navigate and use. The simpler a site is, the better. Below are our thoughts on these sites’ user-friendliness.
» Both Care.com and Sittercity have very similar navigation and search features. Both of the sites are easy to navigate around and are well laid out so you will be able to focus on the task at hand and not be side-tracked by trying to figure out your way around them.
» Posting a job for sitters is easy for both Care.com and Sittercity. Based on our experience, we found this to be very intuitive on both sites. However, there is a difference in the way posting for jobs is done on each of the sites.
For Care.com, you start by writing a description of the type of help you are seeking from a sitter and then complete the forms for schedules, job details, and other sitter criteria that you are looking for.
For Sittercity, it is the other way around. Sittercity would require you to complete the forms regarding the job details first and then provide the job description afterward. Personally, for us, we find Sittercity’s process a lot easier to work with.
Both of the sites are easy to navigate around and are well laid-out so you will be able to focus on the task at hand and not be side-tracked with trying to figure out your way around them.
» Regarding the search feature for both sites, both Care.com and Sittercity have done a great job in developing a really easy and intuitive search platform. All you have to do is specify your criteria for the ideal sitter with a few clicks of the mouse. Within seconds, you can get results, which you can further refine until you have a good list of sitters who qualify for the job.
Below are sample candidate profile pages from Sittercity and Care.com:
Sittercity Example Profile of a Babysitter Candidate
Care.com Example Profile of a Babysitter Candidate
Both Care.com and Sittercity have done an excellent job with their search platform. You can really refine your search results and find a good list of candidate profiles to review.
Which Provides Better Background Checking Options?
The background checking feature is a great option to have for your child and your family’s safety. Classified ads (such as those in Craiglist.com, online forum sites, newspapers, and campus job postings) do not offer you these convenient features.
This means that you really have to go out of your way to do your background checking. And yes, that usually takes a lot of legwork and time.
Both Sittercity and Care.com offer Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) checking and enhanced in-depth background checking on sitters and care providers.
Classified ads (such as those in Craiglist.com, online forum sites, newspapers, and campus job postings) do not offer you these convenient features which means that you really have to go out of your way to do your background checking.
Basic background checking does not come as part of your membership with both services. Care.com no longer offers this option while it will cost you around $15 on Sittercity.
For enhanced background checking as well as Department of Motor Vehicles records checking, you will also have to pay a fee for these additional services.
Below is the Background Check pricing schedule for Care.com.
Care.com Background Check Pricing Schedule
Below is the Background Check pricing schedule for Sittercity.
Sittercity Background Check Pricing Schedule
The bottom line here is that both Sittercity and Care.com offer background checking to help you make sure that the person you are hiring is not a “sitter from hell”.
However, there is a distinct difference in their pricing schedules as we have noted above, with Sittercity seemingly having a more reasonable pricing schedule compared to Care.com.
Care.com’s comprehensive background check package, which is the Investigative Criminal Plus Check, really comes at a very steep price of $300. But then again, this is way more comprehensive than Sittercity’s Enhanced Plus package, which is offered at $80.
Furthermore, Sittercity offers more background check combination bundles with discounts.
Update as of March 2021:
1. Care.com now requires every caregiver to pass a background check before they appear on the site. They call this CareCheck. This change comes at no additional cost to families looking for care. All caregivers then have a CareCheck badge on their profile, which displays the date the CareCheck was run. Care.com still strongly recommends families run checks on their own.)
2. Care.com has also created a Safety Advisory council made up of leaders in child care and safety to provide thoughtful input on product improvements geared toward safety.
Please Note: We just wanted to let you know that background check prices for both Sittercity and Care.com may be subject to change as of this writing. We do not have any control over any pricing changes that Sittercity and Care.com may decide to implement. However, we will do our best to keep up-to-date with the background check pricing schedules.
Which Provides More Choices For Search Results?
The way we see it, having more available potential sitters to choose from gives you a higher probability of finding the quality sitter or sitters you are looking for as you narrow down your list.
To check on these criteria, we did some test searches on both Care.com and Sittercity.
Using the search feature on each of the sites, we placed the following filters for our sitter search: lives within 5 miles, between 26 and 30 years of age, has a college degree, has transportation, non-smoker, and has at least five years of experience sitting for grade school-age kids.
We then did some sample searches on 10 metropolitan areas in the United States to see how they compare. Below are the results:
| Metropolitan Area Zip Code* | Sittercity Search Results | Care.com Search Results | |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York, New York (10024) | 260 | 193 | |
| Chicago, Illinois (60614) | 335 | 189 | |
| Boston, Massachusetts (02116) | 245 | 183 | |
| Brooklyn, New York (11201) | 199 | 158 | |
| Washington D.C. (20016) | 120 | 104 | |
| Seattle, Washington (98115) | 66 | 58 | |
| Los Angeles, California (90049) | 52 | 41 | |
| San Francisco, California (94123) | 43 | 49 | |
| Dallas, Texas (75248) | 18 | 20 | |
| Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (19154) | 17 | 26 | |
| *Please note that the search results above are based on specific zip code searches so the results may vary depending on your location. | |||
Based on our test search, we can see that Sittercity has more sitter results for 7 of the 10 metropolitan areas as specified by our search filters.
In this aspect, Sittercity offers more potential sitters to choose from. The more potential sitters you have to choose from, the better the chances that you can find the quality sitter or sitters that you are looking for.
In this aspect, Sittercity offers more potential sitters to choose from. The more potential sitters you have to choose from, the better the chances that you can find the quality sitter or sitters that you are looking for.
When it comes to further search filters though, we found that there is a distinct difference between the two. Sittercity gives you the option to further filter the results to show only those candidates who already have available background checks.
Care.com does not have this filter. The reason this is significant is because if a candidate already has some background checks done on them, you no longer need to request and pay for that extra service thereby saving you time and money.
When it comes to further search filters though, we found that there is a distinct difference between the two. Sittercity gives you the option to further filter the results to show only those candidates who already have available background checks … Care.com does not have this filter.
Keep in mind that both services allow you to further filter your results depending on your needs. For example, you can further filter your results based on Certifications (First Aid, CPR, or Teacher), Special Need Experience, Hourly Rates, Languages Spoken, Other Services Offered, Preferred Locations for Babysitting (home or sitter’s home), Availability (full-time, part-time, after school, overnight, date night, short notice, long-term) and more.
These filtering features allow you to really find babysitters who may better fit your family’s needs.
Find-Out For Yourself Which Provides Better Search Results For Your Area. Just click on the links below:
Which Service Offers Better Price Points?
Care.com and Sittercity have exactly the same premium membership subscription plans. Below is a table of their subscription schedule.
| Subscription Period | Sittercity Fees* | Care.com Fees* | |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-month premium membership | $35 a month (automatic billing every month) | $35 a month (automatic billing every month) | |
| Three-month premium membership | $70, which comes out to $23.33/month | $70, which comes out to $23.33/month | |
| One-year premium membership | $140, this is the best deal at $11.67/month | $140, this is the best deal at $11.67/month | |
| *Please note that the three-month and one-year memberships are billed upfront and not on a monthly basis. | |||
As you can see, both Sittercity and Care.com have 3 types of plans. You can sign up for a monthly membership of $35, go for a three-month membership of $70, or a one-year membership of $140.
So if you prefer a monthly billing of $35, you are more than welcome to do just that with both Sittercity or Care.com. Now if you prefer to save more and don’t mind paying upfront, then the three-month or one-year memberships would definitely be better options.
People always ask whether memberships to these online sitter services are worth it. Yes, we do think it is worth it. These online sitter services make it convenient for you to look for a babysitter (or babysitters) right in the comfort of your home.
Simply turn on your computer, log on to the site, and within just a few keystrokes, you have access to a number of potential sitters and caregivers within or close to your neighborhood that you can shift through and choose from.
You no longer have to bother your family, friends, or neighbors on whether they might know of someone to recommend to take care of your kids.
Please Note: We just wanted to let you know that subscription prices for both Sittercity and Care.com may be subject to change as of this writing. We do not have any control over any pricing changes that Sittercity and Care.com may decide to implement. However, we will do our best to keep up-to-date with the pricing schedules for both of these market-leading babysitter services.
Before you decide to join either one of these online sitter services, do make sure to use any available promo codes so that you can get more savings with your memberships. Promo codes, which often offer deep discounts, definitely make these services much more affordable for parents so we highly recommend that you take advantage of them.
Which Offers More Quality Sitters?
From the standpoint of quality, quality is a subjective matter and may vary from person to person, depending on a family’s needs, requirements for a sitter, and the type of person that they get along with.
From the standpoint of quality, quality is a subjective matter and may vary from person to person, depending on a family’s needs, requirements for a sitter, and the type of person that they get along with.
Hence, this could only be answered by you when you start searching, interviewing, and actually using sitters.
You can do some online searches if you like to find out what other parents are saying about both services. You can also check the comments section of this article for feedback on both services.
However, remember that if you have a larger pool of potential sitters to choose from, you usually will have better chances of finding quality sitters who will suit your family’s needs.
However, remember that if you have a larger pool of potential sitters to choose from, you usually will have better chances of finding quality sitters who will suit your family’s needs.
Which Service Is Better Based On Parental Feedback?
You might like to check the comments section at the end of this article regarding feedback from people who are current and former customers of Sittercity and Care.com. I am sure you will find them very insightful and informative in helping you make a decision as to which service might be suited to your situation.
When it comes to feedback from moms who have used Sittercity and Care.com, it appears that there are more complaints about Care.com than Sittercity.
We have also received numerous feedback from people who tried Care.com. It appears that a lot of them were not happy and have decided to cancel their memberships after signing up with the service.
Yes, it’s true that Sittercity has been more low key when it comes to advertising. However, Sittercity has had better word-of-mouth buzz compared to Care.com, especially in the wake of high profile negative news on Care.com …
It appears that most people perceived Care.com to be a better provider as a result of the company’s more aggressive advertising campaigns, which apparently was successful in creating better brand awareness.
Yes, it’s true that Sittercity has been more low-key when it comes to advertising. However, Sittercity has had better word-of-mouth buzz compared to Care.com, especially in the wake of high profile negative news on Care.com such as this report on the Wall Street Journal and this article.
Again, we recommend that you read through the comments section at the end of this article as people have been providing their feedback and experiences on both services.
Which Service Is Best For You And Your Family?
If you are thinking of using an online sitter service to help you with your sitter needs, you should seriously consider using either Care.com and Sittercity. As we have mentioned above, these two are what we believe are the top choices in the increasingly popular online sitter service market.
Our analysis above shows that both Care.com and Sittercity deliver almost very similar features regarding ease of use and site functionalities, background checks, sitter search functions, and community feedback functionalities to its members.
The ultimate responsibility is yours to make when it comes to interviewing and deciding on the right person to take care of your precious little ones or your family.
Care.com and Sittercity even have exactly the same membership price points.
Some of the differences that we found between the two pertain to the number of filtered search results and the background check pricing schedule.
Care.com’s basic background checking is no longer available and their enhanced background checks appear to be more pricey compared to Sittercity. Sittercity has basic background checking and also has more options for background checking packages, which are priced reasonably.
Also take note that on Sittercity, if a potential sitter that you find interesting already has a background check done on them (which can be seen in their sitter profile), then you do not have to pay for one. Care.com does not offer this feature.
More often than not, sitters on Sittercity have a background check done on themselves to save potential clients like you from having to pay for one. Of course, these background checks are done by third-party service providers so the sitters have no way of influencing the results of these background checks at all.
With regard to potential sitter search results, we found out that Sittercity provides more search results than Care.com for the metropolitan areas we tested.
However, we would like to caution you that this result could potentially be different in your area. Hence we suggest that you test things out in your area as you may have filtering requirements that are completely different from our tests.
Based on what we have seen with Care.com and Sittercity, these two sites have a lot to offer parents who are looking for trusted and well-qualified sitters and care providers. Both sites make it easy and convenient to search for specific types of care providers that you are looking for.
Whether you are looking for someone to care for your child or other members of your family, chances are that you will find them on both Care.com and Sittercity.
Please do understand that Care.com and Sittercity only provide you with the platform to facilitate the search and screening process for potential sitters or caregivers. You need to have a set of requirements or credentials in mind to help you narrow down the screening process to find your ideal sitter.
The ultimate responsibility is yours to make when it comes to interviewing and deciding on the right person to take care of your precious little ones or your family.
With regards to subscription cancellation for these services, keep in mind that Sittercity and Care.com are no different from other companies that you use that offer services for water, electricity, gas, garbage collection, newspapers, magazines, etc. When you need to cancel their services, all you do is pick up the phone and call them or go online via their support contact page, right?
It’s the same for Sittercity or Care.com. It is your responsibility to contact them and inform them that you no longer need their services. In fact, they make cancellation easy but you have to let them know and not assume that they will do this automatically for you.
With regards to subscription cancellation for these services, keep in mind that Sittercity and Care.com are no different from other companies that you use that offer services for water, electricity, gas, garbage collection, newspapers, magazines, etc. When you need to cancel their services, all you do is pick up the phone and call them or go online via their support contact page, right? It’s the same for Sittercity or Care.com.
Going back to the question as to which of the two you should use, this really depends on what suits your needs and priorities. If you prefer more search results and prefer reasonable pricing options for background checking, then Sittercity might be the best option for you.
Here Are Our Final Thoughts
So just like buying a car, you might like to do a test drive.
If you are not sure which service you think will fit your needs based on the information that we have provided, we suggest that you give both Care.com and Sittercity a try.
Take advantage of the FREE Basic Membership so that you can get to use the site and screen for potential sitters right within your area. You can visit their sites and both sites will allow you to do live searches for sitters right within your area.
Again, we highly suggest that you do the free trial. By doing actual searches on their sites, you will have a better feel of what these sites can do for you and more importantly, which site will best suit your needs.
Find-Out For Yourself Which Provides Better Search Results For Your Area. Just click on the links below:
The free basic membership allows you to view sitter profiles, sort, and filter for sitters based on your requirements and needs, view sitter messages, and post limited jobs. It’s really a great way to test drive the service prior to having a paid membership so we highly suggest that you take advantage of this.
The free basic membership allows you to view sitter profiles, sort and filter for sitters based on your requirements and needs, views sitter messages, and post limited jobs. It’s really a great way to test drive the service prior to having a paid membership so we highly suggest that you take advantage of this.
As for us, we ended up using Sittercity after doing a test drive of our own. When we did the free basic access for both Sittercity and Care.com, we found out that we had more sitters to choose from within the city we live in with Sittercity.
As we have mentioned previously, the more available applicants you have to choose from, the higher the chances you have of finding sitters who have the qualities and requirements that you are looking for. As it turned out, that was the case for us.
If you would like to learn more about our experience with Sittercity, you can read more about it here.
This is one of the main reasons why we suggest that you give both of these online sitter services a test drive cause the search results may vary from city to city. Who knows, you also might be able to find your ideal sitter even within a limited pool of available sitters. So again, we suggest that you give both Sittercity and Care.com a test drive.
Only by doing actual searches within your city will you be able to decide which of the two services will best suit your family’s child care needs.
Only by doing actual searches within your city will you be able to decide which of the two services will best suit your family’s child care needs.
Another reason why we decided to go with Sittercity was that we found out during our free access that a lot of the sitters within our area also had their background checks already done so that was truly helpful. That means we did not have to pay for background checks if the potential sitter already had one available.
The bottom line is … we are happy with the service. 🙂
Again, you can read more about our experience with Sittercity here.
So give both services a test drive and see for yourself which service suits your family’s needs the best.
We hope that you found this article informative and helpful in your decision as to which service you should go with.
Disclosure: Compensated Affiliate. Click here for details.
After comparing Sittercity vs Care.com, which do you think suits you best? Have you used either one of these online sitter services? Feel free to share with us your experience.
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A nerd at heart (haha), I have been following and analyzing the world of online sitters for a couple of years now and have seen a lot of innovations and changes in this market. In between taking care of my loving (and demanding 😜) family and writing, I also do a lot of “traveling” on the Travel Channel and Discovery Channel. Read More
Hi, I see this article/post was updated 4/1/16. I just signed up for a premium membership with care.com but I am not seeing how I can do any unlimited standard background checks for free.
On one of their pages about background checks they say that as of Jan 2016, they no longer run preliminary checks. Is that what was once included? Or do they still include unlimited standard background checks with the premium membership and I am just not seeing how to do it?
Any advice/input would be appreciated. I will also reach out to customer service at care.com.
Thank you, Leah
I did receive a response from Care.com – they NO longer offer any type of background check as being included in a membership.
Thanks so much for the update regarding Care.com’s background checking feature. I’m sure other moms will appreciate your kind gesture of informing others about this. Thanks so much again. 🙂
You’re welcome! Thank you so much for this helpful comparison article!
I have to say that the cheeky technique that Care.com uses to try and get someone requiring care to sign up has put me off a bit. You are asked to specify family details (number and gender or adults/kids), what type of care you’re looking for and a date. And then it goes and posts an ad, to which you receive a bunch of replies, but you can’t reply to them without upgrading! We’ve used Sitter City in the past so it’s back to them…
Care.com has a lot of post from for sitters, but they never respond. I found out that as a caregiver you must upgrade or the parents won’t see your application unless you have a Premium Membership. There are lots of scamers on that site here in Ohio. I used to belong but no more .
I’ve been with Sittercity the past two years. So far so good. I’ve got no issues at all. I found some great sitters who I use from time to time.
I have had nothing but problems with care.com! They have THE WORST customer service I have ever encountered!
So far I am impressed with Sittercity and it is much easier to navigate!
Care.com has hundreds of reports the Better Business Bureau (Google “better business bureau care.com) and thousands of bad reviews across many sites.
Someone said “read the fine print.” A decent company wouldn’t make you read the fine print. They should be upfront about their charges and at least notify you when they are charging you.
Sitter city has similar complaints, but not as many
I had done some research regarding the auto-renew policy for both Sittercity and Care.com and found nothing really malicious about it cause everything is stated in the terms of agreement when you sign up. I guess some people do not really read the terms of agreement when they sign up. They simply put a check mark and agree to it without reading them.
Just like electricity or water, you have to inform the companies providing them that you no longer want to use their service. It’s no different with Sittercity or Care.com. I found that their sites provide a lot of options to allow you to inform them that you want to cancel their service. In fact, informing them is just a phone call away.
One difference between the two that I would like to add is that it is way easier to find the “Contact Us” link on Sittercity’s site than it is on Care.com. Sittercity’s “Contact Us” is on the homepage while Care.com’s is buried in an inner page. You have to find “Help” on the homepage before you get to find the “Contact Us” link.
Anyways, just thought of sharing that with people in case they decide to use any of these services. I use Sittercity by the way.
The issue with Care.com (which is $39/month and has been for at least a year) is that they do not email you receipts or any information that you are being charged. Like most parents I know, I would subscribe once or twice/year to hire a nanny or after school provider then cancel my subscription after a month. I received an email notifying me that my premium subscription would be automatically continued on September 12, 2015. I went in and *thought* I cancelled my subscription. However, I apparently did not. I was charged $39 for a year until I discovered it when I logged in to hire a sitter in August 2016. So, you need to cancel your subscription, make SURE you have an email confirmiong you cancelled, and then double check your credit card statements, because while the email looks like something they will send monthly, they do not email ANYTHING after the first month other than promotions. The only way to know you are still being charged is to log into and check your Care.com account, which most people have no reason to do once they believe they have cancelled and they hired someone. My husband manages the credit cards (and apparently missed this $39 monthly charge each month. I sent an email to the company and they sent a form email back blaming me for not understanding their auto-subscription. I told them I did understand, but thought I cancelled. Nothing. So I contacted BBB. They finally acknowledged that I thought I cancelled and that they would take my feedback to send monthly emails to premium members when their fees are charged to their management, but refused to refund anything. I cancelled my subscription and double checked our credit card statement. Do not trust Care.com. I still am not sure if I cancelled and their site had a glitch or if I truly did not finish the process of cancelling. Either way, their customer service was snarky and rude. And I do not trust them. Sittercity from now on!
I also cancelled but then was charged each month for almost a year after that (happened twice actually). No emails or other notifications that they were continuing to charge me. No usage of the site. I KNOW I canceled on their website. They are shady. This happened to me twice. The first time, I assumed that even though I thought I had cancelled maybe I hadn’t. The second time I knew. And also, for something like an auto-renewal that they are never going to notify you about as they charge you going forward, customers should expressly elect into this and not have to go read fine print somewhere. That is not reasonable and an unethical business practice.
Care.com uses predatory, deceptive and fraudulent marketing techniques to advertise their business. It is a “Bait-and-switch” model. They advertise and actively promote their One Month Premium Membership. Once they have your credit card information, they continue to charge you without providing receipts until you happen to discover their deception.
In addition, the people they offer are clearly not properly vetted. I had to pick through some very questionable prospects to find a qualified person. The two people I finally hired were known to me through other sources – in other words, at the end of it I really hadn’t needed care.com at all, though the time I lost dealing with emails and strange people can’t be recovered.
That’s pretty sad. But thanks for sharing your experience. I’m going for Sittercity then. Thanks again.
The care.com site clearly states that monthly memberships are automatically renewed unless cancelled. Read the fine print.
You are absolutely correct about their unethical management of premium memberships.
I have friends that are signed up with Sittercity. I also have friends that are signed up with Care.com. I can say that they’re pretty satisfied, be it Sittercity or Care.com. But what got me to choose Sittercity was the ease of running a background check. I can actually have that done anytime I want to. Furthermore, most of the time, background checks have already been run on the applicants I am interested in, which is really great. That means I don’t have to request and pay for a background check on them.
You’re right…what good would a qualified sitter be if she weren’t available:)
Yes! Sittercity guarantees qualified sitters that are available when you need them. That’s very important for moms like me.
There are a lot of qualified sitters. There’s no doubt about that. But when it comes to availability, they come up short. That’s why I decided to use the services of Sittercity, They can help me connect to qualified and available sitters.
We’re living in dangerous times. We can’t be too trusting. It’s good that Sittercity allows us to run a background check.
Both Care.com and Sittercity are great. I’ve tried them both. But in terms of navigation or site user-friendly, I’d have to go with Sittercity.
I like that I can read the reviews of other parents. That, together with the background check, helps me a lot in finding the right sitter for my kids.
I want to make sure the babysitter creates good rapport with my kids. I need to see that right away, The mere fact that she tries, is good enough for me. I also make sure my kids give me feedback. But above everything else, it’s a standard thing for me to run a background check. I can’t do without that and that’s why I like Sittercity.
We have a regular babysitter from Sittercity. She’s wonderful. My kids love her. Her expertise on children is just amazing. She was able to get my kids to eat better. No junk food…just natural and healthy food around the house. I can’t believe she was able to do it but she did. I wouldn’t have been able to find her if it weren’t for Sittercity.
I’ve been with Sittercity for quite some time and I don’t have a hard time getting a last minute babysitter for my kids.
It took me some time to sign up with Sittercity. I had always relied on our neighbor’s teenage daughter. She was okay and my kids loved her. But she started dating and boys were starting to come over to our house. I didn’t like that at all. That was when I finally got on Sittercity.
We all have our own reasons why we got on Sittercity, In my case, our beloved 60-year old sitter found love online. She moved to another town and I had no choice but to sign up with Sittercity. But I’m pretty happy with Sittercity.
The background check of Sittercity is perfect for moms like me. I always need a sitter that knows how to drive. I never seem to have a hard time finding one in Sittercity.
I’m new to Sittercity so it’s taking me some time to find a sitter. I’m following the selection process carefully. I want to be totally sure about the sitter I hire.
Sittercity gives me that extra layer of protection because it allows me to run my own background check. That’s very important for me. My daughter is too young to be left with a complete stranger. The least I can do is to find out everything about the person that’s going to watch her. I owe that to my daughter.
It wouldn’t hurt to know what our options are. But at the moment, I’m very happy with Sittercity.
I’ve been with Sittercity for the longest time. I don’t see any reason why I should try any other childcare services. But it’s good to know that there’s care.com.
Thank for shedding light on both Sittercity and Care.com. They both sound very reliable. But I’d like to go for the marker leader which is Sittercity.
I’d have to go with Sittercity considering it has more parameters for search filters.
It helps to write down the qualifications you want from a babysitter. From there, you can decide which one of the two services is good for you.
Thanks for your comparative analysis of the two. I think they’re actually the same. It’s just that Sittercity partners with LexisNexis for their background check. But in terms of how comprehensive their background checks are, they’re almost the same.
You forgot to mention a very important point.
Sittercity is an online service that can help families identify qualified sitters (including dog, eldercare and childcare) in their area. The program benefits all military families, regardless of deployment status. With membership, which is free for military families, families can search for providers and do a background check on potential sitters for FREE!!!
Indeed! Military families can go to http://www.sittercity.com/dod to find out more. The fee is paid for by the Department of Defense.
Thanks for pointing that out. Seems like Sittercity is perfect for every kind of family, be it military or civilian.
Care.com is good if you want to save a couple of bucks. But then I wouldn’t really consider saving a couple of bucks when it comes to childcare. I would rather that my kids are safe and sound than save a couple of bucks.
NEVER use Care.com. Sittercity and Indeed are the best.
I can’t really say which one is the best but I find that Sittercity suits all the needs of my family.
I like the three-month plan of Sittercity. It’s very flexible and affordable.
You know what…you’re right 🙂 I’m trying to choose between the two and I’m pretty much leaning towards Sittercity because there appears to be more available sitters in my area.
I’m going to have to try both before I decide.
My kids feel very comfortable with their sitter from Sittercity. That’s one of the factors why I trust only Sittercity.
I really appreciate your detailed report on these two sites. I did the trial for both Sittercity and Care.com and found more candidates to my liking on Sittercity. I signed up with them. Thanks for suggesting the free trials. If it wasn’t for the free trials, I’d still be stuck without any options. Keep up the great work. I’m sure a lot of people like me appreciate all the information that you have provided about these sitter sites. Thanks also for your featured Sittercity coupon. It really came very handy. 🙂
My thoughts exactly. The information on this site is very helpful to moms like me. But I actually went ahead with Sittercity. Based on the write-up, Sittercity has has more search results that can help me save time in finding the most suitable sitter for my kids.
I like the deals and discounts that come with the Sittercity Perks.
I thought that I could work from home so that I could watch my kids at the same time. But no. I still needed the services of a sitter. I went for Sittercity.
I read the reviews of previous employers and run a background check on each applicant. That way I’m really able to choose well from the list of applicants. For me, that’s really the right way to find a sitter.
I went for Care.com because of their Care-on-call feature. I usually look for a sitter at the last minute.
Both sittercity and care.com are reliable childcare providers. But you don’t have a promo code for care.com so I went for sittercity. But I’m okay with that so thanks.
It’s good to know that Care.com is also a reliable source of child care providers. I can use it a a back up. I’m very happy with the services of Sittercity.
Some of my friends are actually signed up with both. I might just do that.
That sounds like a good idea.
You know what, a lot of my family members and friends are satisfied with sittercity. But in my case, I find care.com more fitting for me and my kids.
I’m leaning more towards sittercity. Somehow I like the fact of having more sitters to choose from.
I’m more for care.com since all the features are integrated with the membership fee.
It seems to me that both online services are almost the same. I guess the best thing for me to do would be to avail of the free trial searches for both and find out for myself where I can find a sitter for my kid. BTW, thanks for the info on your site. Your site is really very helpful especially to moms like me who are looking for sitters.
It’s not easy choosing which one I should sign up for. I’m actually good with both but signing up for both is going to cost me a lot. I’m still deciding which one.
For me, it works that I’m signed up for both. I can always turn to either one in case I’m really desperate for a sitter.
I signed up with sittercity. I just make sure to plan everything well so that I can find a sitter (complete with a background check) right away. It’s really just a matter of scheduling.
I haven’t had the chance to try out Sittercity. The sitters I hire from Care.com are all amazing so far. I’m also quite comfortable with the cost of Care.com.
I’m quite happy with care.com. The babysitters I have hired have no availability issues. Also, I like that I don’t have to pay extra. It’s more affordable for me really.
You know what, I actually signed up for both. In case I can\t find one that\s available on a certain day, I search on the other one. But so far, I’ve not had any availability issues with sittercity.
I’m still choosing between the two. They both look pretty reliable. I hope I get to choose the right one.
I’m just wondering why care.com offers the background check for free. As I understand it, I need to pay extra for it if I were to sign up for sittercity.
Yes, you need to pay extra for the background checks in Sittercity. But here’s the thing, Sittercity partners with big companies to get a good run down on the applicant. Sittercity has LexisNexis and Family Watchdog to speak off. I can’t seem to get anything on care.com as to how they really conduct their background checks.
You know what, you would also have to make an additional payment to Care.com for an enhanced background check. Now, I wouldn’t know how enhanced that is compared to the background check of Sittercity. But the bottom line is that you need to pay extra to be able to find the right one.
There was so much hype about sittercity that I had to try it out. It’s okay. I have only needed to find a sitter twice. They weren’t so bad. Maybe , I’ll give care.com a try as well.
I recently posted a job for a full-time nanny on both Care.com and SitterCity.com on the same date. Within 1 week of posting, we had over 20 different applicants respond to our job on Care.com and 0 applicants from SitterCity.com. We found several good candidates for our nanny position on Care.com. We live in the San Diego area, so maybe the number of individuals looking for work varies from city to city, but I will not use SitterCity.com again.
Yup, I think it is safe to assume that the number of potential candidates may vary depending on your location. That’s why I suggest that people should use the free trials for both Sittercity and Care.com to see which service provides better search results for them.
I’m kinda used to care.com. I’ve been with them for quite a while. Although, most of my “mommy” friends are signed up with sittercity, I’m quite contented with care.com.
Well, I won’t have any point of comparison. I’m just about to sign up soon. Sittercity was recommended to me by some of friends. None of them ever mentioned care.com. I would just have to go with sittercity.
Pardon my ignorance, but I have not heard of care.com. But it’s good to know that there are other alternatives. I really thought that sittercity was the only one. Anyway, I’m very satisfied with the service of sittercity. If ever the time comes when I need to try another service provider, I will give care.com a try. In the meantime, I’m very satisfied with sittercity.
Yes, there are other child care service providers online. Sittercity isn’t the only one. Care.com isn’t so bad. I was signed up with them before I tried sittercity. Then I read about the background checks of sittercity so I decided to give it a try. Since then I stayed with sittercity.
I was about to try care.com because I heard about it first. Then a friend of mine recommended sittercity. I looked it up and thought they were almost the same. But as I looked deeper, I found the screening process of sittercity more reliable. That got me to choose sittercity.
Yeah, I started with an agency and got bad results (I say ‘bad’ to be fair but there’s no such thing as ‘bad’ when it comes to someone watching your children. There’s great and there’s horrible. It was horrible.)
I went with sittercity after a recommendation from some of my son’s pre-school teachers who were on the site as well.
I found some applicants and landed an AWESOME NANNY for two years until she went to start her own family.
I’m now back to sittercity (I never cancelled my subscription), BUT I’m not getting many applicants so I’m supplementing my search with the free version of Care.com.
My interviews of sittercity candidates start next week. Hopefully the few candidates are good fits so I dont have to use my care.com job posting, and pay the fee for responding to candidates. (There are many hits on my care.com job posting, not many on my identical sittercity.com posting.)
Somehow, I am more partial with the retailers of the discount shopping program of sittercity. That’s basically the reason why I’m choosing it over care.com. Thanks for your comparative article, it helped me decide.
For me, it’s best to really search for a babysitter online. It’s convenient and easy. Although I didn’t like it at first, now I’m really used to it. I like sittercity because I am always able to find someone that can fit the bill.
I’m not really comfortable with the background checks of care.com. Somehow, I just don’t feel like it has all the inforration I need. Let’s face it, the team-up of sittercity with well-known companies give me peace of mind.
I’m very comfortable with Sittercity. Although I must admit that I have never tried care.com, I’m very happy with all the features it provides me. I’m very satisfied and my kids are benefiting from the security Sittercity guarantees me.
I wanted to be sure so I tried both. The one thing that I like about Sittercity is the availability of their sitters. Somehow, I couldn’t get that from care.com.
We have a corporate account with sittercity. Their services are great and we’re all very happy with it. There’s no need for me to try the other child care service providers.
I can’t afford to try both services so I will have to take your word for it. I kinda feel safe with sittercity. Thanks for all the information you have shared. I appreciate it.
I have heard some “interesting” stuff about Care,com. Yes, they were very “interesting” stories that I just had to choose sittercity to play it safe.
The response time of Sittercity is faster than Care.com. I used to post a job on both sites until I realized that the response time on sittercity is faster. Since then, I stuck with it.
I had no idea that I could avail of a three-month membership. But then again, it would come out more expensive compared to the one-year membership.
I have heard of Care.com. But when I decided to sign up, I had to choose sittercity because all my friends told me to. They all had signed up with it. They gave me great feedback and I thought it was right to take their word for it.
I find the Sittercity Perks more exciting. I can get discounts and rebates from companies such as Disney and Target (my two favorite retailers 🙂 ) I can also get discounts on movie tickets. I can’t imagine all these perks come from finding a great sitter.
I do believe that it’s a parent’s responsibility to really assess all the applicants. But the reality is that some parents just don’t know how to do it. As a parent, I can really tell you that sittercity has guided me a lot to find the perfect one for my kids.
This online sitter service sounds amazing. I want to give it a try. Hopefully, I find the right match for my kids. Thanks for sharing this kind of information.
You won’t regret it. I’ve been with sittercity for the past two years and it has been fantastic. Call it luck or whatever, I have been finding great sitters for my kids. I’m sure you will also find the right match for your kids. Do remember to use the promo code 🙂
I took your advice and I tried them both. I’m more inclined to choose sittercity because of the price difference in the yearly plan. Furthermore, I feel safer with their selection process.
I feel the same way. Seems like sittercity has all the right steps to find a reliable sitter. Sure the lower price point may seem tempting but that’s not why I have chosen sittercity. I feel that their background checks are more reliable. Their partnership with an established company that conducts background checks really matter to me.
I think the reason why people trust Sittercity more is because of their collaboration with established companies such as LexisNexus and Family Watchdog. As a parent, I need to see those credentials to be able to have peace of mind.
I only know Sittercity and I’m good with that.
Well now you know about care.com:) Personally, I think sittercity covers a more comprehensive background check. That’s very important considering the fact that you should know every available detail about the applicant.
I used Care.com and I found a great sitter. The issue I had with them was that I signed up for a one month membership and my credit card was charged for 3 additional months before I caught on. According to Care.com; all memberships are automatic renewal for the convenience of their clients. I ended up having to file a complaint with the better business bureau to get a partial refund. I assumed when I paid for a one month membership that it was for one month. If I had wanted an ongoing service I would have signed up for the year membership and received the discount. Does anyone know if Sittercity operates in this way?
Yes, it’s the same for Sittercity. The terms of payment are actually spelled out on the site’s Terms of Use section. Sittercity will also renew your membership until you request a cancellation. In order to cancel a subscription, you have to contact Sittercity by phone at 888-SIT-CITY (or 888-748-2489), by mail at support@sittercity.com, or change your account setting directly. I would just call them if ever you decide to cancel. Based on my experience in dealing with Sittercity’s support team, they are really very friendly and helpful so I do not see cancellation to be a problem at all.
@ Jess T…..Look at the bright side, you did get a great sitter. I think all websites (that sell something) offer some kind of automatic renewal service. Even if you’ve signed up for just a month, as long as your credit card is on their system, it renews automatically. You may have missed a setting in the registration process. My case with Sittercity is that I did go for the automatic renewal.
Until I find a better sitter network, I don’t think I will cancelling anytime soon. I just feel that my kids are safer with sittercity. BTW, I availed of the automatic renewal as well.
My mind is set on Sittercity:)
It’s better with Sittercity.
I’m more at ease with Sittercity
I don’t think I’ll ever stop hiring babysitters from Sittercity.
I always leave room for doubts. I’m just that kind of person. But with the selection process of Sittercity, I have fewer doubts.
Sittercity is the fastest and safest way to find a great babysitter for the kids.
Between the two, Sittercity seems to be more popular.
It’s a no brainer. It’s Sittercity 🙂
I feel better and safer with the selection process of Sittercity.
Same here. The selection process and the background checks of Sittercity give me assurance that my kids are in good hands.
I’m enjoying the Sittercity Perks. BTW, I can get a last minute babysitter from Sittercity as well.
That’s exactly why I stayed on with Sittercity. I can always get last minute sitters.
I’m more confident with the background check of Sittercity.
Up till now, I had never heard of care.com. I’ve been with Sittercity for a while and I’ve never bothered to check out the other online babysitting networks.
I made a choice and it’s Sittercity.
I’ve tried both and I feel safer with Sittercity.
I’m really good with Sittercity.
I feel more comfortable with the background checks of Sittercity.
Both focus on safety. But I would say that Sittercity has more extensive background checks.
Even if the applicant has gotten her background checked, I still prefer to have one done for my own peace of mind. I’m not compromising my kids’ safety for a very small amount.
Somehow, I’ve not heard about about care.com until now.
I can’t really say which is best because I’ve never tried care.com. One thing for sure though, I’m 100% satisfied with Sittercity.
I have heard of both but all of my friends are with Sittercity. I don’t want to take chances so I’ll choose Sittercity.
Since I was hearing more positive things about Sittercity than care.com, I had to go with the former.
I’ve heard great things about Sittercity as well. That’s why I’m choosing it.
The numbers on the search results for both Care.com and Sittercity are very convincing. I would have to go with Sittercity.
I would have to seriously think this over. But I’m leaning more on Sittercity.
I don’t mind paying addtional charges for the background checks. I’ve been getting professional babysitters from Sittercity that I’m very satisfied with it. I never really considered trying any other babysitting service provider.
I’ll take your advice. I’ll try out both so that I can see for myself. Thanks for your detailed and comparative article.