This is one of the most searched comparisons in Australian pet care, and it became more complicated in November 2025 when Rover acquired Mad Paws. We run a competing platform, so read this with that in mind. We have tried to describe both fairly and stick to what each company publishes about itself.
Check the current terms yourself
Fees and policies change, sometimes without announcement. Everything below reflects what each platform published about itself at the time of writing. Confirm the current position on their own sites before deciding.
The models are more similar than different
Both Pawshake and Mad Paws are commission marketplaces. An owner pays for a service, a sitter provides it, and the platform takes a percentage. Both offer boarding at the sitter's home, in-home sitting, drop-in visits, walking and daycare. Both operate across Australian capital cities.
That shared model matters more than the differences between them. If you are comparing the two, you are choosing between two versions of the same idea: paid pet care with a platform fee in the middle.
Where they differ
Ownership and direction
Mad Paws is now part of the Rover Group following the 2025 acquisition. Pawshake operates internationally across more than twenty countries and remains separate. For some Australians the ownership question matters and for others it does not, but it is a genuine difference and it is the one driving most of the current search interest. We covered the acquisition and its consequences in our guide to the Rover and Mad Paws deal.
Fees
Both take a commission from the sitter, and both apply a fee on the owner side. The precise percentages have changed over time and differ depending on when a sitter joined, so the only reliable figures are the ones currently published in each platform's own fee schedule. Check both before you compare, and check the owner-side fee as well as the sitter-side one, because the owner fee is frequently the less visible of the two.
Guarantees and vetting language
Both platforms use reassuring language about screening and protection. This is where we would encourage the most care, on any platform including ours. Marketing pages and terms of service often describe the same thing very differently. If a guarantee or a vetting claim is part of why you are choosing a platform, find that claim in the terms and read what it actually promises, what it excludes, and what you have to do to rely on it.
Where a non-monetary exchange fits
There is a third option that neither of these platforms offers, and it suits a specific situation. In a non-monetary house sit, no money changes hands for the care. A sitter stays in your home, looks after your pets in their own environment, and the accommodation is the exchange. Sitterly works this way, as do Aussie House Sitters, Happy House Sitters, Mindahome and TrustedHousesitters.
It genuinely does not suit everyone. It works best for trips of several days or more, where having someone living in the house is an advantage. It works poorly for a single night, for drop-in visits, or where you want a commercial service with a booking guarantee behind it. If you need someone to walk a dog twice a day while you are at work, a commission marketplace is the better fit.
Which should you choose?
- You want boarding at the sitter's home, or short drop-in visits: a commission marketplace like Pawshake or Mad Paws.
- You want a paid service with commercial recourse and are comfortable with the fees: a commission marketplace.
- You are away for a week or more and want your pets to stay in their own home: consider a non-monetary house sit.
- You want to avoid per-booking commission entirely: a non-monetary platform.
- Your pet has complex medical needs: prioritise the individual sitter's experience over the platform, on any of them.
What no platform can do
No Australian platform supervises a sit while it is happening. Whichever you choose, the meet-and-greet, the written expectations and the emergency plan are the parts that actually protect you. Sitterly does not vet every user, does not guarantee bookings and does not provide insurance.
The questions that matter more than the brand
Whichever platform you use, the same short list decides how the sit goes: who authorises veterinary treatment and up to what limit, what happens if the sitter cancels, what is written down before the sit starts, and whether you have actually spoken to the person. Our questions to ask before confirming covers the conversation, and the emergency vet guide covers the authority question.
If a non-monetary exchange sounds like it fits your trip, you can browse open sits or read how Sitterly works.
