Care.com

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What: Care is an employment site for baby sitters, pet-sitters, nannies, elder-care, housekeeping and home care nurses

Expected pay: $10 – $50 per hour (high-end of the range generally is for elder and nursing care)

Husl$core: $$$$

Commissions & fees: Pay an annual background check fee($15 – $17); or buy a premium membership for $48 annually (or $9 monthly) for caregivers. Families looking for care pay $155 annually, or $39 monthly.

Where: U.S. and Puerto Rico 

Requirements: Be a legal resident; over the age of 18; pass regular background checks. 

Want to try Care?

Click here to sign up

Care Review:

With more than 32 million members, Care.com is the industry giant. That gives caregivers greater potential to find a job — and provides families with the best chance of finding a good caregiver for children, disabled or elderly adults.

However, the site has some drawbacks, including the fact that it charges everyone who uses it some sort of fee.

Fees for caregivers

The site demands an annual background screening fee of $15-17, depending on your location. It also encourages caregivers to sign up for a premium membership that costs $9 a month or $24 semi-annually.

You don’t have to get a premium membership to register as a caregiver on the site. But if you don’t pay the membership fee, your ability to communicate with some potential employers is restricted. A premium membership also raises your profile on the site and provides job alerts, which can be an advantage with a site that has so many members.

Premium members also don’t need to pay the background check fee. So, the net cost is relatively minor, if you only maintain the premium membership for 6-months. You can sign up to be a caregiver here. (Click on “find work” at the top of the page.)

Fees for families

Meanwhile, families must also pay a monthly or annual subscription to talk to caregivers. Notably, families can post jobs for free. But, if they want to contact a caregiver to fill that job, they must pay for a premium membership. These memberships cost $155 annually or $39 monthly. You can sign up to find caregivers here.

Auto-renewal

Know, too, that memberships — for caregivers and families — auto-renew. So, if you don’t physically cancel, you’ll pay every month (or year) until you do. Automatic renewal is far and away the biggest complaint we see about this site. 

Finding work or care

That said, every company has to find a way to profit and Care.com does not take commissions from worker wages. The site’s reach is also impressive, so your chance of finding work here is good. You also get to set your own rates. So, membership could be a cost-effective way to find a handful of regular clients. But remember to cancel your membership when you no longer need new customers. The site does not give refunds.

Recommendations

Other sites that offer good child care opportunities are Bambino, SitterCity and Urban Sitter. You can register to provide elder care at Carelinx. Another site to find pet-care jobs is Rover. 

What their users say (from Indeed): 

As you might know, Care.com is just a website to match you with the family that best suits you! There are various pay rates, and a well written bio can land you great opportunities!

As a college student I needed to find a flexible job that wasn’t too demanding and easy to navigate. I found great families through Care.com and it really helped put me through school. I learned so much about nannying – how to communicate expectations, negotiate and to care for a range of ages.

Care.com is an excellent resource in finding work with children, pets, and elderly people. I had a lot of luck working off of this site and was able to secure multiple jobs.

Wonderful families

Care.com has helped me meet some wonderful families that i have known for years. the only downside is making the sitters pay for a membership seems insane.

I love the work that I do with care.com. The clients needing assistance with care for their loved one or housekeeping services are very nice and professional. A typical month of work can vary, also you can work as a caregiver and a housekeeper the at the same time.

I’ve worked with Care for 3 years. It can be a good job to have if you want flexible hours and you can set your own prices for services you provide. The only downfall is having to pay a $20 monthly fee to stay premium. If you are not premium then you won’t be able to talk to potential clients. I have also had a difficult time using their payment system. They actually kept drawing money out of one of my client’s accounts. The client and I had to go to our own banks and tell them to stop letting Care take money out of the client’s account. From then on I’ve told future clients to use a different way to pay me.

*Updated 4/28/2022