Dog sitting rates calculator: how much should I charge?

How much do dog sitters charge?

Rover publishes national averages from the rates sitters set on its platform. Most sitters charge a flat rate per visit or per night rather than by the hour:

Rover's weekly and monthly figures are simply the daily rate times 7 and times 30. Rates on other platforms can be much higher: Thumbtack's 2026 guide, based on quotes from its pros, puts overnight pet sitting at $160 to $268 and hourly sitting at $27 to $30. The gap shows how much rates depend on where and how you find clients.

Dog sitting rates by city

Location moves rates more than anything else. Rover's averages for 25 of its biggest US cities, from the most to the least expensive for house sitting:

What extra fees can a dog sitter charge?

• Extra dogs. Rover notes that every extra dog increases a sitter's rate, usually as an additional-dog rate on top of the base rate for the first dog.
• Holidays. Rover says sitters tend to set holiday rates 10 to 20% above their standard rates. On Rover, if any night of a booking falls in a holiday period, the holiday rate applies to the first dog for the whole booking, and the calculator follows that rule.
• Puppies. Dogs under a year old need more potty breaks and supervision, and some sitters charge a puppy rate for them.
• Late pick-up. For boarding and house sitting, Rover adds 50% of the nightly rate when the pet parent collects their dog more than 2 and up to 8 hours later than the drop-off time, and a full night beyond 8 hours.
• Pick-up and drop-off. Sitters who collect the dog from the owner's home may charge a fee for it.
• House chores, medication, special needs and last-minute bookings all justify a higher rate.

A worked example

Booking total = (base rate + extra dogs + puppy fee) × nights or visits + late pick-up

A sitter charging Rover's house-sitting average of $55.45 a night, plus $15 a night for a second dog, earns $493.15 for a 7-night stay. Over a holiday with a 15% surcharge on the first dog, the same stay comes to $551.37. If the owners return 2 to 8 hours late on the last day, add half a night: $520.88 in total. If you book through an app, enter its commission to see what you keep.

How to set your dog sitting rates

1. Start from your local market, not the national average. In the city table above, house sitting in San Francisco, CA costs 86% more than in Oklahoma City, OK.
2. Price by the visit or night. Flat rates are easier for clients to compare and avoid arguments about minutes.
3. Charge for your experience. Long review histories and certifications, such as Fear Free training for sitters, support a higher rate.
4. Publish your extras (extra dogs, puppies, holidays, late pick-ups) before anyone books, and apply them the same way to everyone.

If you also walk dogs during the day, price those separately with the dog walking rates calculator.