Read: How to Put Parental Controls on YouTube App
Best Babysitting Apps for Sitters
1. Urbansitter
Who it’s for: Sitters who want to get ad-hoc local gigs Urbansitter connects sitters with parents who want to quickly get a sitter for an ad hoc gig. There are situations where they don’t have the time to sit down, review choices, and hire. Sometimes, an event comes up and you have to leave the kid at home. This is a real boon if you’re a local sitter and you haven’t been able to find too many long-time gigs on other platforms. Trust is a big factor when it comes to babysitting. Urbansitter doesn’t compromise on the trust aspect, even if it’s for quick hires. It relies on social networking and recommendations to highlight your profile if you’re a trustworthy and reliable sitter. Read: 8 Kid Safe YouTube Alternatives Urbansitter makes sure that you’re vetted through a third-party provider for basic legal purposes. But it does more than that, too, to establish trust. Urbansitter’s algorithm uses your social network profiles and parents’ profiles to nudge parents towards you if you have connections in common with them. If you’ve sat for someone they know on the platform, or are connected with them on social networking sites, you’re more likely to match. Pros:
Great for picking up one-off sitting gigs
Cons:
Difficult to get a regular, steady stream of work from it You might have to work at odd hours with little notice
Download it here: Android | iOS
2. Bambino
Who it’s for: Sitters who want to elevate their word-of-mouth presence In babysitting, word-of-mouth recommendations are the best kind. Parents need to be able to trust you with their kids and a good word from a neighbor or friend means more than a star rating ever could. Bambino was built as a platform that prioritizes sitter trustworthiness over other aspects. It lets parents set a filter for the visibility of their sitting requests. They can filter for just sitters they know, sitters their friends know, and sitters within close distance. This makes Bambino a great option if you’re a local sitter and you have been trying to expand your local clientele through word-of-mouth. Parents who might not have approached you because they don’t know you personally would see your profile if you’ve sat for their friends or are available nearby. Bambino also has a strict vetting process. This might be a challenge as only one in three sitters makes the cut. Payment is handled in-app, though. This means you won’t have to deal with cash transactions or multiple payment methods. Pros:
Parents using the platform tend to trust you more
Cons:
Hard to find gigs unless you’re already connected in parent social circles
Download it here: Android | iOS
3. Taskrabbit
Who it’s for: Sitters who also don’t mind doing other handy work for clients Babysitting isn’t the only kind of work that you can do for parents and other local clients. On the other hand, you’re not likely to find parents who’d trust their kids to sitters on classifieds sites like Craigslist. This is where Taskrabbit comes into the picture. The app vets you for security purposes so parents have a good idea of who they’re entrusting their kids to. But apart from babysitting, it also lets you take on a variety of other odd jobs. These include lifting heavy objects, cleaning, installing TVs, and others. Babysitting, of course, is one of those. If you’re doing reasonably well from babysitting but have the skills necessary to take on other odd jobs, Taskrabbit can help you integrate, so that everything’s on one platform. A big problem with Taskrabbit, though, is that it is entirely ad hoc in nature. Clients are paying for just the one job, so it’s always a one-off, and not a long engagement. Also, Taskrabbit takes a 15 percent cut on all gigs you do. That being said, you can always connect with your Taskrabbit clients offline. That way, you can still snag regular gigs from clients you met in the app. Pros:
Huge variety of jobs to do, not just babysitting
Cons:
Rates tend to be lower than for specialized sitting apps and services Taskrabbit takes a 15 percent commission on all gigs
Download it here: Android | iOS
4. Sitter
Who it’s for: Sitters who want quick, one-off sitting gigs Sitter addresses some of the same issues that Urbansitter does. It’s meant to connect parents in a hurry with reliable sitters as and when they need them. Sitter handles this a bit differently from Urbansitter, though. Urbansitter relies more on using social media networks to determine suitable sitters in the location. But Sitter sends out broadcast messages as and when parents need a babysitter. Depending on your settings, these will go to either a parents’ existing sitters, or to their sitters and the ones their friends are using on the network. Whoever responds first gets the gig. This is both a good and bad thing. If you’re flexible with timings and if you’re not afraid to pick up work at odd hours, Sitter is ideal. You can respond to the sitter notification as soon as it arrives and you’ve got the gig. Again, though, the caveat is that Sitter focuses on one-off and ad-hoc gigs. It inherently doesn’t provide long-term, recurrent opportunities. You get Sitter gigs only when the parents happen to need them. Pros:
Broadcast system means you’re instantly notified whenever there’s a sitting gig
Cons:
Limited to parents you’ve sat for and their friends You might be forced to work on very short notice
Download it here: iOS
5. Helpr
Who it’s for: Professional sitters who want to earn premium rates Babysitting can be rewarding personally, but it doesn’t usually make you a lot of money. In informal contexts, you might end up making less than the minimum wage per hour. There’s also the fact that it’s not a secure, regular income source. But if you have experience as a childcare provider, Helpr offsets some of that risk by providing premium rates. It’s much harder to sign onto Helpr because you’re required to have at least 2 years of experience working with children. This could have been as a nanny, a kindergarten teacher, or other similar experiences. If you have the experience and you make it through their interview process, Helpr will pay upwards of $26 per hour. Helpr has tie-ups with corporates and subsidized care providers. This means that parents might spend as little as $3 per hour, so there’d be a lot more clients than you’d think for a premium service. Unlike some of the apps here, Helpr has support for repeat hires. So if a parent likes you, you’ll have repeat opportunities. A big drawback, though, is that Helpr is limited to just a few cities. Unless you live in LA, New York City, Chicago, or Seattle, chances are Helpr won’t be supported in your city. Pros:
Premium sitting rates Opportunity for repeat gigs at a high rate
Cons:
Requires you to have specialist childcare experience
Download it here: iOS
Wrapping Up
Each of the apps here is great for different kinds of sitters. If you’re looking for a quick gig once in a while, Urbansitter and Sitter are your ports of call. Urbansitter makes sure that parents who need one-off gigs are connected with sitters that they’re linked to on the basis of their social media profiles. Sitter, on the other hand, sends out broadcast messages to parents’ sitters and their friends’ sitters for ad hoc jobs. Bambino’s great if you want to sit for parents who need that extra level of trust. It lets parents filter out distant sitters and those they aren’t connected with, directly or directly. So if you’re already sitting for people in the local community, Bambino’s a way to connect with clients they’re friends with. Lastly, Helpr’s great if you want to make premium money. But it only works if you’ve got professional child-care experience. If you can get through the grueling interview process, it can pay upwards of $26 per hour. Read: How to Block Websites on Chrome Browser on Android
