TrustedHousesitters

Basics:

TrustedHousesitters connects homeowners with house sitters willing to watch their homes and pets in exchange for free accommodations

Expected pay: None

Husl$core: $$$$$

Commissions & fees: $129 – $319

Where: Nationwide/worldwide

Requirements: None

TrustedHousesitters Review:

I am naturally frugal. So I really struggled with the idea that my top recommendation for a house sitting site — for both sitters and homeowners — is also the most expensive. TrustedHousesitters charges between $30 and $150 more annually than most of its competitors. But when I took the time to analyze it, I realized what appealed to me is what appeals to frugal shoppers everywhere: The value you get for your money.

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But, let’s back up a bit to explain.

TrustedHousesitters connects homeowners with house and pet sitters, who are willing to work in exchange for free accommodations. House and pet sitters do not — and often CANNOT — accept pay for these arrangements because many of the house sits this site arranges are international in nature. And most governments do not allow foreigners to work, unless they have a hard-to-get work Visa.

You can get paid for house or pet sitting in your own country. However, if you aim to do that, sign up with Rover, not TrustedHousesitters. Trusted is aimed at free housesits that can be arranged with people from around the globe.

Expensive but worth it

Trusted is one of the few housesitting sites that charges homeowners just as much — or more — than it charges pet sitters. (Many other sites let homeowners list for free, presumably to increase the number of houses to sit and encourage pet sitters to sign up.)

At minimum, both sitters and homeowners pay $129 annually for a basic membership. If you want a combined membership — where you can find both house sitters and available sitting jobs — it’s a minimum of $189. Premium memberships, which come with veterinary video-conferencing, liability and theft insurance, cost as much as $319 (combined membership). This makes TrustedHousesitters a lot more expensive than other options.

Many recommendations

Why, then, is this our top recommendation? First, the site has many times the web traffic of all of the others. To be specific, where Nomador drew about 250,000 page views in April of 2021; TrustedHousesitters drew 780,000. The additional traffic increases the chance that you’ll find a house sitter — or a house to sit. (You can sign up to housesit or list your house here.)

Reviews of this site are also overwhelmingly positive — possibly because TrustedHousesitters can afford good customer service.

Moreover, a TrustedHousesitters membership gives you access to veterinary consultations, which can be pivotally helpful if a pet you’re watching seems ill. It also gives homeowners an added assurance that their furry friends will be well taken care of when they’re gone, without unnecessary and costly trips to the vet.

And the insurance? You’re handing your house keys to a stranger. Do you want a little extra peace of mind? I do. Besides, even the most costly premium membership is less than what I pay for a week of dog-sitting — or a couple of nights in a hotel.

Is it worth the additional cost?

For house sitters: Probably. More house listings mean more options for house sitters. So, paying the basic membership fee means you may find a nicer home to stay in. And, the additional cost when you’re talking about the basic membership is only about $30 compared to Nomador, our second-favorite housesitting site. Paying this fee also gives you the ability to call a TrustedHousesitter vet, if you have concerns about the animals in your care.

For homeowners? It would be for me. My dog is nine years old. My son’s dog, who is often at my house when we vacation as a family, is 11. I really like the idea that my membership allows my house sitter to talk to a vet 24/7. Naturally, I’m going to leave instructions on where to find my vet in person. But, this would allow me to sleep easier. And, I love the idea of being able to play both sides here. In other words, I would use the site to find a sitter, and a house to sit in my favorite destinations.

Recommendations

Know that homeowners can sign up with some house sitting sites for free. (Homeowners are, after all, the draw that makes housesitters want to pay for membership. We’d suggest that you sign up with the sites that cost nothing, including House Sitters America and HouseCarers. If you don’t find a good house sitter with these sites, and you plan to travel for more than a few weeks a year, also sign up with Trusted.

After all, even Trusted’s relatively high-cost plans cost less than hiring a petsitter for more than a few days. Paid pet sitters typically charge $25 – $50 per night.

What their users say (from TrustPilot):

Another great experience with our petsitter from Trustedhousesitters.com. Using this site and its great petsitters has really changed our vacations for the better. We have so much more peace of mind leaving our 4 cats in great care at the comfort of our home. Kitties are happy and well cared for and we can relax and enjoy our vacations! Highly recommend!

Lynda & Chris were a lovely couple with a beautiful house and property. Yogi is a sweetheart and full of cuddles, the girls (the chickens) full of character. This was our first experience looking after chickens but they were easy, taking themselves to bed. We just had to close the door to the coop.

TrustedHousesitters has been a great experience for us so far! We got two rescue dogs a year ago. One seemed to have ptsd, and couldn’t be left at a kennel or with just anyone, so we hadn’t really gotten away in a year. I took great care to look through sitter reviews, and to get a feel on FaceTime for the woman we eventually chose. What a difference it makes to find true animal people. Also, the two times I needed help from THS customer service, they were quick to respond, true animal lovers, organized and professional.