Sittercity
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Buy if you need a large sitter pool fast and accept paywalled messaging and shallow screening.
Comparison
Sittercity vs Care.com
Sittercity and Care.com both land on Depends.
Care.com
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Buy if you need a large caregiver pool fast and will run your own reference and background checks.
| Compare | Sittercity | Care.com |
|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Depends | Depends |
| Best for | Parents seeking occasional babysitters | Families hiring babysitters and nannies |
| Who it's not for | Anyone wanting guaranteed-vetted caregivers . screening here is shallow | Caregivers counting on steady, fairly-represented job flow |
| Privacy | Offers background checks and safety centers, but a 2012 NBC investigation found approved caregivers with arrest records.² | 2024 FTC enforcement for deceptive practices and a 2017 employee W-2 breach; no public CVEs found.16 |
| Support quality | PissedConsumer page catalogs service complaints | Reddit users struggle to reach support |
| Public sentiment | Reddit parents and nannies find Sittercity usable but often rank it equal to or below and UrbanSitter, with recurring complaints about fees, scam listings, and agency spam.³ | Families often find good caregivers, but caregivers report weak protections and Trustpilot feedback is mixed. |
| Biggest gotcha | Background check badges are not guarantees; screening gaps are documented² | Background checks are extra and limited . verify references yourself before hiring |
Pick Sittercity when
- Parents seeking occasional babysitters
- Families wanting caregiver background-check options
- Households also needing pet or senior care
- Sitters building a side-gig client base
When Sittercity is not a fit
- Anyone wanting guaranteed-vetted caregivers . screening here is shallow
- People unwilling to pay just to message candidates
- Nannies who want agency-grade placement without recruiter spam
- Guess: rural users with thin local sitter pools
Pick Care.com when
- Families hiring babysitters and nannies
- In-home senior care searches
- Pet and errand care
- Employers adding backup care benefits
When Care.com is not a fit
- 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
Sources
- Sittercity homepagesittercity.comofficial
news
- Care.com vs Sittercity (Reddit r/Nanny)reddit.comreview
review
review
- Sittercity Trustpilot reviewstrustpilot.comreview
- Sittercity Raises $22.6 Million (TechCrunch)techcrunch.comnews
- Sittercity on LinkedIn (Bright Horizons company)linkedin.comofficial
- Sittercity premium membership options (support)support.sittercity.comofficial
- Sittercity Recurly case studyrecurly.comofficial
- Sittercity customer service complaints (PissedConsumer)sittercity.pissedconsumer.comreview
review
official
- Plans & pricing - Care.comcare.comofficial
- How much does Care.com membership cost?help.care.comofficial
news