My 5 Favorite House Sitting Websites
Ranked in no particular order (because I love them all!)
(Many of the links in this article will be affiliate links. I will mark them with an asterisk (*) for ease of identifying.)
For the past few years, my partner and I have been off-and-on long-term house sitting. Which is a fancy way of saying “living in someone’s house for a few months at a time.”
During this time, we’ve used a number of different websites, trying to find the “best one.” Unfortunately, there’s isn’t really a one-size-fits-all house sitting website for either the sitter or homeowner. It’s all about finding what works for you.
For sitters, I think this is the easier choice. All you have to choose is where to go. Once you’ve decided on this, looking for the best website becomes a whole lot easier.
Some of these websites will cost a few hundred dollars a year to use, and one costs as little as $20 a year. When my partner and I first signed up for some of these websites, we were incredibly skeptical at the prospect of paying so much money for a year’s subscription. But we realized that most hotels cost $100-$150 a night, and spending two nights’ worth on a few different subscriptions is a great deal.
Worldwide
Trusted Housesitters
Perhaps the best website for house sitters to use when they’re looking for a sit anywhere in the world is Trusted Housesitters*.
Although they’ve only been in the game since 2010, they have a wide variety of house sits available and boast one of the largest user populations for both owners and sitters.
Currently, Trusted Housesitters* offers 3 different plans.
Basic $119 — Basically, you get to make an account, send messages, and organize sits. (This is the one we use.)
Standard $149 — The same as above with a few extra perks. Instant alerts for any of your saved searches, dedicated member support, liability protection (if the pet you’re taking care of causes an accident and it’s your fault, they have you covered), and perhaps the most interesting, 24/7 phone and video access to a veterinarian (while pet sitting). Although I’ve never used this last benefit, my partner and I have been in a situation twice where we need quick access to a vet and this would have saved us the middle-of-the-night drive and panic attack. (Both times were false alarms.)
Premium $239 — The same as above, but with the “Premium” package you will receive 2 global airport lounge passes and sit cancellation insurance. As someone who does worry about every little detail, the idea of “cancellation insurance” is amazing. I always wonder if we’re going to show up somewhere and the homeowner will suddenly no longer need our services, or decide last minute to board their pets. With insurance that covers us for $150 a night, up to 10 nights, I think I wouldn’t worry so much. However, I’m not so sure how useful the global passes are. They seem a bit gimmicky, but if you only complete one house sit a year, then they can be a fun little treat.
For owners*, the price is roughly the same per year, though it comes with things like a “money back guarantee” and “Home & Contents Protection.”
Note: One of the main reasons you will see Trusted Housesitters on everyone’s “House Sitting Websites” list is due to their generous affiliate program. Which can make it hard to trust whether or not you’re getting an honest review, especially with such a high price tag. Truth be told, my partner and I signed up for the basic version a few years ago and recently renewed it while searching for another sit, but we have only completed one (1) actual sit through Trusted Housesitters. However, we’ve been back every year to take care of the same cat, three years in a row. It’s $119 incredibly well-spent for us, but this is obviously not the case for everyone.
Mind My House
Mind My House is a smaller website that usually only has a few hundred active sits at any given time. (Sometimes it will plummet to a few dozen.)
Although it was started in London, it has a heavy US/EU population. While Australia has some sits available on this website, this isn’t an Australia-centric website like some of the ones I will mention later, so you might not find too many.
Mind My House has been my go-to for its price of $20 a year. This allows you to sign up and message any of the homeowners.
Unless I’m mistaken, Mind My House still doesn’t have an “identity check” requirement like Trusted Housesitters, for example. So you might run into a few scammers here and there, but I haven’t personally found any. Although we’ve never actually completed a sit through Mind My House, we have exchanged messages with a number of homeowners who were warm and receptive.
We’ve also found that Mind My House seems to collect house sits in a number of the unique house sit locations, like an island off Belize and a small collection of scattered rooms in Kenya.
For owners, you can join for free!
Europe
Nomador
While Nomador was technically launched in Sydney, Australia, it’s actually a French website with French-heavy users.
If you’re planning on spending a week in Paris, Nomador is definitely the website I would check first.
They have two different pricing options.
Free — This allows you to make an account, message homeowners, and receive their messages. I believe you are limited in the number of people you can message/house sits you can apply for with this option. And if a house sit is “reserved for members only” then you can’t apply for that, of course.
$99 A Year — This allows you to apply to any house sits, bookmark and save house sits, and provide multiple documents for identity verification (which means more homeowners will trust you). If you don’t like the idea of spending $99 all at once, Nomador gives you the option of paying $42 for a quarter of a year.
For owners, the pricing system is the same, but the benefits of the paid version are posting more than one house sit, or contacting the house sitters directly (rather than through Nomador’s messaging service).
My partner and I have used Nomador successfully, and we enjoy their system of badges that allow homeowners to get an easy “read” on who you are.
HouseSittersUK
House Sitters UK* will always have a soft spot in my heart because they were the first website we used. While we were staying in Italy, our visas about to run out, and desperately looking for a house sit, someone reached out to us through House Sitters UK* to see if we were available for a two-month house sit in Edinburgh. Of course, we jumped at the opportunity.
Just as the name suggests, House Sitters UK is only good for finding a house sit in the United Kingdom (which means you also won’t find sits for Ireland posted here). However, I have found that there are always a plethora of sits posted at any given time.
Although House Sitters UK is small in its scope, they are only £29 for the year, which is a great deal for anyone looking to get their feet wet in the house sitting world.
For homeowners who would like to place an ad, however, it’s totally free.
United States
HouseSittersUS
In all honesty, it’s a toss-up between House Sitters America* and Trusted Housesitters*. I wanted to offer an option that isn’t Trusted Housesitters for two reasons.
- If you’re only looking for North America, using a more location-specific website like House Sitters America is a great way to find a house sit. Trusted Housesitters charges more because they offer a worldwide selection.
- House Sitters America is $49 a year, as opposed to Trusted Housesitters’ minimum of $119 a year.
Just like House Sitters UK, if you’re looking to test out house sitting, try it out in a town or city that you’ve always wanted to visit, then House Sitters US can be a great option. Especially if you’re already in the US and you have a car, since many of the sits I’ve seen aren’t necessarily in places with amazing public transportation.
Nathaniel Mellor is a published short story writer and aspiring travel writer living in Italy with his partner. He writes travel articles over at Only A Bag.
