Six months on from Rover's A$62 million acquisition of Mad Paws in November 2025, many Australian pet owners and sitters are still figuring out where they fit. Some have stayed put. Others are watching to see how Rover integrates the platform. Plenty are actively looking for alternatives, particularly sitters who don't want to operate under per-booking commission models.
If you're in that group, this guide is for you. We've laid out the platforms still operating in Australia, what each one does well, and what to watch for when choosing where to put your time and trust.
A note on transparency
Sitterly is one of the platforms in this comparison. We've tried to write the comparisons fairly. Where we have something to add, we'll say so explicitly. Where another platform is the better choice for your situation, we'll say that too.
The Two Models: Commission vs Subscription
Australian pet-sitting platforms split into two broad camps. Understanding which one a platform uses tells you a lot about how it will affect your wallet over time.
Commission-per-booking platforms
Mad Paws (now under Rover), Pawshake, and Rover itself charge sitters a percentage of every booking. Owners often pay a separate service fee on top. The platform takes a cut every time you transact. The advantage: low barrier to entry, you only pay when you earn. The disadvantage: the costs scale linearly with your business, and platform incentives push toward maximising bookings rather than long-term sitter relationships.
Annual-subscription platforms
Trusted Housesitters, Aussie House Sitters, Happy House Sitters and Sitterly all use subscription models. Sitters pay a flat fee (annually or monthly) and the platform doesn't take a cut of any arrangement. These platforms are typically built around non-monetary house-sit exchanges, the sitter receives free accommodation in exchange for pet care and home oversight. The advantage: predictable cost for the sitter, no per-booking pressure, longer sit lengths possible. The disadvantage: a subscription is a real upfront cost when you're starting out.
The Australian Platforms in 2026
Trusted Housesitters
British-headquartered, global, with the largest pool of sitters of any subscription platform in Australia. Particularly strong in Melbourne and Sydney. Includes A$1M home and contents cover and a 24/7 vet line. Annual membership both sides. Best fit for: travellers who want maximum sitter choice and global reach.
Aussie House Sitters
An established Australian platform that has been running for over 20 years. Annual sitter subscription, free for homeowners. Partnership with the RSPCA. ID verification available. Best fit for: homeowners and sitters who want a long-running, established Australian-run service.
Happy House Sitters
Operating since 1999, with strong city-by-city pages and an A$30 cash-back guarantee. Annual sitter fee. Best fit for: longer-stay house sits and sitters who want a lower-volume but established platform.
Pawshake
Commission-based, with a Trust & Safety vetting process and a Pawshake Guarantee that covers vet expenses. Strong in major capital cities, with thousands of reviews per metro area. Best fit for: homeowners who want booking-style certainty with platform-mediated trust signals, and sitters comfortable operating on commission.
Sitterly
A new Australian platform, that's us. Non-monetary house-sit exchange model (similar in structure to Mindahome), sitters receive free accommodation in exchange for pet care, no money changes hands for the sit itself. Currently free for everyone during our growth phase. Homeowners will always be free. A flat-fee sitter subscription is planned for the long term, never a per-booking commission. Built specifically for in-home pet sitting in Australia, with reply ratings, optional ID/email/police-check verification, and direct on-platform messaging. Best fit for: travellers, retirees, remote workers, and digital nomads who want free accommodation in exchange for caring for someone's pets, and homeowners who want their pets to stay in their own home with someone trustworthy.
How to Choose
There's no universally best platform, only the one that best matches your situation. Here are the questions worth asking yourself:
- Are you a homeowner or a sitter? Many platforms are free for homeowners and charge sitters. The economics look different from each side.
- How often do you transact? If you book pet care once or twice a year, commission models can be cheaper than annual subscriptions. If you sit regularly, subscriptions almost always win.
- Do you value Australian ownership? If yes, Aussie House Sitters, Happy House Sitters and Sitterly are the three options.
- How important is sitter density in your specific city? Trusted Housesitters and Pawshake have the highest density nationally. Newer platforms are still building supply.
- Do you want insurance / vet line / dispute resolution? Trusted Housesitters and Pawshake currently lead on this front.
Use more than one
Many active sitters list themselves on two or three platforms. Listings cost nothing extra, and supply is still uneven across the Australian market. Diversification protects you from policy changes, fee increases, or single-platform outages.
What's Likely to Change in the Next 12 Months
The Mad Paws / Rover integration is still settling. Three things to watch for: pricing structure changes (whether Rover's international fee model rolls out to Australian users), feature changes (Rover's app and processes are different from Mad Paws'), and supply movement (sitters and owners migrating between platforms). Expect more turbulence before things stabilise.
For new entrants like Sitterly, this is a window to build supply in places the larger platforms have under-served. For established platforms, it's a chance to demonstrate that they're the safer long-term home. For pet owners and sitters, it's a chance to think more carefully about who you trust with your pets, your home and your time.
Where Sitterly Fits
Sitterly is genuinely new, we're transparent about that. We don't have the supply density of Trusted Housesitters or Pawshake yet, and we won't pretend otherwise. What we do have is a platform built specifically for the Australian in-home pet-sitting market, with a subscription-only commitment that means we don't profit from squeezing sitters or owners on every transaction.
If you're a sitter who's been on Mad Paws for years and you're thinking about where to go next, we'd love to be one of the platforms you try. Free during our growth phase, no commissions, no surprises. Create a sitter profile or browse current sitters to see what we have so far.
Mad Paws, Rover, Pawshake, Trusted Housesitters, Aussie House Sitters and Happy House Sitters are trademarks of their respective owners. The information above reflects our understanding of each platform as of May 2026, fee structures and feature sets may change. Sitterly has no affiliation with or endorsement from any of the other platforms named.
