shouldiuse.io

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Should I Use Care.com?

care.com·Analyzed 1 week ago··Based on 12 sources

Get the help you need for your children, pets, elderly parents, home and lifestyle.

Verdict

Depends

Buy if you need a large caregiver pool fast and will run your own reference and background checks.

Confidence: Medium

Skip if you want pre-vetted caregivers, a full-service agency, or you're a caregiver counting on reliable job flow.

Biggest caregiver marketplace, but FTC fined it for inflated job listings — great pool, vet carefully.

Key stats

  • Value for money: 2/5

    Rating

  • Free

    Starting price

  • 12

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 2/5. FTC found inflated job listings; $30/mo debated
  • Ease of use. Not directly assessed in sources
  • Feature depth: 4/5. Huge marketplace, background checks, employer backup care
  • Support quality: 2/5. Reddit users struggle to reach support
  • Security posture: 2/5. 2024 FTC action; 2017 employee W-2 breach
  • 6,295 Trustpilot reviews mixed feedback
  • 45M+ Members families and caregivers since 2007
  • ~$30/mo Premium price free basic tier available
  • $111M Funding venture capital raised

Pricing

Basic (Guest)

Free

  • Free to join
  • Browse caregiver profiles

Premium

~$30/month

  • Contact caregivers directly
  • Background checks cost extra (two-part pricing)
Best for and not for

Best for

  • Families hiring babysitters and nannies
  • In-home senior care searches
  • Pet and errand care
  • Employers adding backup care benefits

Not for

  • Caregivers counting on steady, fairly-represented job flow
  • Anyone expecting fully pre-vetted caregivers
  • Families wanting a full-service agency to handle vetting
  • Users allergic to auto-renew and cancellation friction

Biggest gotcha

  • highBackground checks are extra and limited — verify references yourself before hiring10
  • highFTC found inflated job listings — posted earnings may not materialize⁴
  • mediumPremium auto-renews around $30/month; users report cancellation friction⁶
  • mediumCustomer service is hard to reach; users resorted to hunting for a phone number

Pros

  • Largest caregiver marketplace: 45M+ members since 2007
  • Background checks and CareProtect safety features available
  • Employers can offer subsidized backup care to staff
  • Free basic membership to join and browse³
  • Some families find it worth the cost for nanny searches

Cons

  • FTC took action over inflated job numbers and caregiver earnings claims⁴
  • Nannies report no recourse in family disputes⁷
  • Documented screening gaps mean you must vet candidates yourself10
  • Caregivers must submit Social Security numbers for W-2 processing

Security

2024 FTC enforcement for deceptive practices and a 2017 employee W-2 breach; no CVEs found.

  • FTC enforcement action (2024)FTC took action against for using inflated job numbers and baseless claims, deceiving caregivers about wages and job availability.⁴
  • Employee W-2 data breachA hack exposed thirty-nine employees' W-2 information.⁵

What users say

Families often find good caregivers, but caregivers report weak protections and Trustpilot feedback is mixed.

“Care.com offers no recourse for nanny in case of”
Reddit, r/Nanny
“Care.com is a great place to find help”
G2
“Care.com can be worth the cost for finding a baby”
Facebook group post

Companies that use it

  • Cornell University11

Methodology

Based on 12+ public sources including FTC enforcement, Trustpilot, G2, Reddit, and company pages.

Sources

  1. Care.com — Find Child Care, Babysitters, Senior Care, Pet Carecare.com
    official
  2. Plans & pricing - Care.comcare.com
    official
  3. How much does Care.com membership cost?help.care.com
    official
  4. FTC Takes Action Against Care.com for Deceiving Caregiversftc.gov
    news
  5. Care.com Hacked - PC Maticpcmatic.com
    security
  6. Trustpilot reviews of Care.com (6,295 reviews)trustpilot.com
    review
  7. How do you all feel about Care.com? : r/Nannyreddit.com
    review
  8. Care.com Reviews - G2g2.com
    review
  9. Our Hands-on Care.com Review - SeniorLiving.orgseniorliving.org
    review
  10. Is Care.com Safe? An Honest Look at the Screening Gapsbeverly.io
    review
  11. Care.com Membership - Working at Cornellhr.cornell.edu
    official
  12. Comparing Nanny Lane vs. Care.com vs. Sittercitynannylane.com
    review

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