Sittercity Review – Scam or Legit? Truth Exposed!

Are you looking for a Sittercity review? But you may wonder if it is a scam.

When looking for a part-time or full-time babysitting job, some feel they have no choice but to rely on their social circle.

To some extent, your personal network will determine how successful you are in your job search.

You can try posting ads or visiting Craigslist if you do not know anyone in the area, but it will be difficult to convince potential clients that you can be trusted.

Sittercity provides a safe online platform for parents to find and hire reliable babysitters.

This review of Sittercity examines the service from both a customer and sitter perspective and compares it to Care.com.

As a disclaimer, I’m not affiliated with Sittercity. It means I’m not paid to write this review. So you can rest assured that you will get an honest and unbiased review from me.

At the end of this review, I’ll also tell you the best alternative to Sittercity that has enabled me to make a full-time passive income online.

What Is Sittercity?

Sittercity is an on-demand platform that matches people who need caregiving services with available caregivers.

While babysitters make up the bulk of the site’s users, you can also find listings for pet sitters, senior care experts, and special needs caregivers.

Families can use the site to find after-school and weekend babysitters, as well as full-time nannies.

A babysitter can be hired for a single evening, but can also be hired for an extended period of time.

Genevieve Thiers, a student at the time, founded Sittercity.com in 2001 to earn extra money by taking care of families.

At the time, the site was limited to childcare in the Boston area.

The company’s headquarters moved to Chicago in 2002, and by 2004, its products could be purchased throughout the United States.

Elizabeth Harz has taken over as CEO of Sittercity.

The company has launched several major programs, such as a corporate program where companies can offer Sittercity memberships to their employees as a perk, and claims to have millions of sitters.

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How Does Sittercity Work?

Sittercity is a paid service where customers can find caregivers and post jobs.

In this respect, Sittercity is very similar to Care.com; the similarities and differences between the two services are discussed in more detail below.

Customers can first visit sittercity.com, where they can browse available sitters in their area without spending a dime.

Once they are satisfied, they can sign up for a membership and either search for a caregiver or post a job.

To post a job, all they have to do is specify the type of care (childcare, pet sitter, senior care), the hours they need to work, whether it’s regular or ad hoc, etc.

Sittercity then presents a list of available, highly rated babysitters.

Clients can then contact sitters directly to arrange a babysitting service.

Sittercity is not an agency that provides babysitters, but a marketplace for finding reliable babysitters that customers can hire.

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How to Sign Up As a Sitter?

If you care for the elderly and want to join Sitter, you can easily do so through your profile page.

At the top you will find the option “Join as a sitter”

Here is how to proceed:

To continue, you will be redirected to the account creation page.

There, you will be asked to provide some basic information about yourself, such as your name, email address, and zip code, as well as the type of care service you would like to receive (e.g., pet care, senior care, or babysitting).

Do not worry about creating a profile just yet; you will have the opportunity to showcase certain aspects of yourself in the near future.

Gathering this information is critical to setting up an account.

After that, a background check approval is required.

Background checks are optional with Sittercity and cost between $15 and $60, depending on how specific you want the check to be.

Even though Sittercity tells your customers that you have opted for the more expensive advanced background check, the service is still more expensive.

Some clients may feel more comfortable hiring someone who has gone through a more extensive vetting process.

Fortunately, your one-time fee gives you permanent access to the site.

If you have already agreed to a background check and received the all-clear, you can set up your profile.

Post a picture of yourself and introduce yourself to potential clients.

You can also brag about your work history and credentials. The next step is to look for work.

How to Apply For Jobs on Sittercity?

You can narrow your job search by location and submit applications for jobs that interest you.

By narrowing your search to the types of work that interest you, you can find everything from one-time contracts to permanent work.

To help you decide whether or not to apply for a job, the job posting includes information about pay, required availability, and job specifics.

You can forward your profile by clicking the “Apply to this job” button.

Do not forget that once you have been contacted, you still need to make payment arrangements, exchange contact information, etc.

Sittercity is just a targeted and powerful job board where individuals can post their resume and be found by families looking for reliable babysitters.

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Sittercity Membership Review

The app is available for free download. An accompanying parent or caregiver can use the basic membership for free. Still, there is a shortage of suitable babysitters for families in the area.

With a basic membership, it can be more difficult to find a suitable sitter, as you cannot view full profiles and can only communicate with those who have expressed interest in your job offer.

However, a premium membership is available on Sittercity and provides access to more features. You can then view all the sitters’ profiles and contact them or request references at your leisure. Parents are charged a monthly fee for this service.

Some examples of possible payment plans are as follows:

1. Annual: $14 per month 
2. Quarterly: $28 per month 
3. Monthly: $42 per month 

For starters, this Sittercity review recommends starting with the free membership. Get familiar with the app’s interface and features, and if you like what you see, you can always upgrade to the paid version later.

Sittercity Payment

Sittercity accepts payments with all major credit cards for membership fees. However, for one-time orders, the client must pay the sitter directly.

Sittercity does not process the sitter’s payments on their behalf, preferring to keep the hiring and payment process between the client and the sitter private.

They are not responsible for selecting applicants or processing payments, but act as a job board where sitters and clients can meet.

They advise sitters to sign a contract before accepting a sitter job.

Who Is Sittercity For? 

Sittercity matches American families in need of babysitters with available babysitters and other caregivers in the country. Sittercity caters to working parents and guardians who need occasional or constant care for their children.

On the other hand, if you are an adult in the United States looking for a job as a child, pet or senior care provider, Sittercity can make your search easier. They can connect you with families and provide services that are right for you.

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Sittercity Customer Reviews

Everything else in the world pales in comparison to your children. It is only natural that you want to provide them with the safest and most appropriate care. Before you make a decision, you should read this Sittercity review to learn what other people’s experiences have been with the brand’s service.

Using Sittercity has been successful for many families and caregivers. Many users who reviewed Sittercity said that they were able to find what they needed quickly, and that they appreciated the clear layout of the website while feeling safe.

This review of Sittercity began with a search on Sitejabber for feedback from parents and babysitters. Only one out of 104 raters gave the company a perfect score for service and safety. They wrote,

“I think Sittercity is a great service overall. I was a bit hesitant about letting a stranger in my house to watch my most precious aspects of my life! I felt comforted when I saw so many sitters in my area and the safety “badges” that get assigned to each sitter (for things like CPR and first aid training). […]”

Among the comments made by a Sitejabber caregiver reviewer was:

“I have been with Sittercity for 7 yrs. I have never had any problems […] I have excellent reviews from parents. I love that I can provide childcare to families and get to know the children I take care of. The company’s specialist’s always help me and are courteous and professional. […] I will remain a Nanny/Babysitter on Sittercity!”

Another 5-star reviewer out of 4 on Park Slope Parents said, “I used Sittercity to find occasional sitters for the night and a few hours during the day. I found it really helpful. It’s good because you can be very specific about your needs and prices and then filter out responses if someone does not seem like a good fit. It’s user-friendly.”

Finally, based on 40.2k reviews and 4.7/5 stars on the Sittercity Apple App, one satisfied customer commented, “I signed up today and have already received 2 requests to meet!!!! Very quick results.” 

As mentioned in this Sittercity review, we found some negative comments online. One main criticism is the monthly automatic renewal of the premium membership. Sittercity members generally agree that the service is worth it for its usefulness and ease of use.

Is Sittercity Safe?

The use of Sittercity is completely risk-free. All caregivers’ profiles are deleted if the brand detects suspicious activity during its background checks. A caregiver’s account is deactivated immediately, even if they have a low criminal record.

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Sittercity’s Privacy Policy

Our research at Sittercity revealed a comprehensive privacy policy, which we will briefly explain here. Information such as your name, address, email address, phone number, and credit card or bank information is collected by Sittercity.

Login data, data about the device you are using, geographical coordinates and the results of tracking technologies are just some of the things that are automatically collected. Last but not least, the brand also collects data from third parties such as users, credit agencies, identity verification services, etc.

The brand emphasizes that it takes security seriously and does its best to protect your data, but that no system can guarantee complete security.

Sittercity’s Refund Policy

Your premium membership can be cancelled at any time. If you choose to downgrade your Sittercity account, you will receive an email confirmation from the Company and your account will be downgraded at the end of the current billing cycle.

Payments for Premium Memberships are final and non-refundable. Once the money is automatically deducted from your account, it’s gone forever.

How to Contact Sittercity?

Have you learned everything you need to know about Sittercity from this review? We recommend that you contact the company yourself if you have any further questions about the product line. The contact information is as follows:

• Support widget on the site
• Email: [email protected] 
• Phone: 888-748-2489

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Sittercity vs. Care.com

Similar to Sittercity, Care.com is popular.

Customers pay similar membership fees to gain access to a database of qualified caregivers.

Background check costs are one of the main differences between Sittercity and Care.com.

With Care.com, it is up to the customer to check the references of potential employees.

A price range of $59 to $300 is possible for this. Employers on Care.com have the option to request a background check from a caregiver, but caregivers are responsible for covering the cost and passing it on to potential clients.

With Sittercity, caregivers must pay for the background check themselves.

Depending on your perspective, this may convince some sitters that it’s better to join Care.com instead.

Sittercity users can rest assured that they won’t have to spend a lot of money on a thorough background check every time they look for a sitter, because they won’t have to pay for it every time.

So all of Sittercity’s clients know you’ve been vetted, and even though Sittercity’s caregiver background check costs $15 and the advanced background check costs $60, they may be more willing to hire you.

“Featured Caregivers”

Care.com also has the potential disadvantage that “featured caregivers” must pay fees for the opportunity to be highlighted in the listings.

The fact that caregivers must pay a subscription fee to be highlighted is a benefit to some, but has irritated others who see this as a pay-to-play system.

Jobs are posted on Sittercity, and interested users can contact the client directly.

No additional fees are charged for higher placement in search results.

It does not matter if you are listed first or last if there are not many caregivers in your area and on the website.

However, in big cities like New York or Washington, D.C., it can be difficult to be seen on Care.com unless you pay for better visibility in search results.

Sittercity users may conclude that it’s more cost-effective to pay upfront for background checks and then let their work do the talking.

However, it can be difficult for new users of Sittercity to stand out from the crowd until they have made a few postings and received positive feedback.

Paying for a highlighted profile on Care.com is all you need to get noticed right away.

You will have to determine the optimal strategy for yourself.

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Sittercity FAQ

Who owns Sittercity?

CEO Stephen Kramer and his company, Bright Horizons, currently own Sittercity.

Can I cancel Sittercity anytime?

Whenever you want, you can stop the automatic renewal of the subscription. The methods differ between the mobile app and the desktop computer software.

If you have subscribed via desktop computer:

1. Log in to your account and navigate to the account settings.
2. Scroll all the way down the page and click Manage Subscription.
3. Confirm your request by clicking Downgrade to Basic.

If you signed up using an iOS app:

1. Navigate to Subscriptions in your settings by clicking on your name.
2. Select the subscription you want to cancel.
3. Select Cancel Subscription.

Sittercity Review: Final Verdict

If you need a babysitter or a new job, Sittercity is a great resource. The company offers families and caregivers a cost-effective way to meet their needs.

Sittercity works much like a freelance website in that both caregivers and families can list their needs and browse profiles of potential candidates.

You’ll have many potential candidates to choose from, even if you only need a babysitter on an ad hoc basis. Caregivers, however, say it’s not hard to find work.

If you’re serious about finding something, you’ll probably have to pay for a premium membership. Fortunately, the brand’s prices are fair, and once you find a nanny, you can cancel your membership so it won’t be charged indefinitely.

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Best Alternative of Sittercity to Make Passive Income

If you want to make a stable and secure stream of passive income, I would suggest you start an affiliate marketing business online.

Affiliate Marketing is perfect for anyone who is new to online business. 

In fact, of all the online business models I’ve tried, affiliate marketing is the easiest and most rewarding so far.  

In affiliate marketing, you can actually run your business almost with zero cost and achieve a steady and sustainable passive income to pay for your bills. You don’t need any initial capital and can even do it as a side hustle.

And if you really want to learn affiliate marketing and build a business from scratch, I’d recommend you to get started with the most reputable platform for affiliate marketing: Wealthy Affiliate.

Wealthy Affiliate is an all-in-one platform for building your affiliate marketing business from scratch. It offers you a free account (including a free website) with comprehensive training on SEO (free traffic methods), which enables you to get started with affiliate marketing right away without paying a penny.

But How Much Can You Earn with Wealthy Affiliate?

A 21-year old student from Wealthy Affiliate was able to earn $7,395 in just 1 week, which means he made more than $1k a day…all while using free traffic methods.

Wealthy Affiliate has existed for 15 years and there are many success stories in the past decade.

To give you more examples, here are some of the other inspiring success stories of Wealthy Affiliate members.

Where to Join Wealthy Affiliate?

Wealthy Affiliate has a very simple pricing scheme. It has free and premium membership.

If you want to feel about Wealthy Affiliate, you can sign up for the free starter membership here (no credit card required). You can select to be a free member with no time limit.

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