How to Start a Pet Sitting Business
💰 $500–$2,500
⏱ First dollar: days–weeks
🐾 Rover, or fully independent
The 30-second version
Create a free Rover profile and you could take your first booking within the week — no formal license needed for casual sitting. Respond to requests within 5 minutes and you're 42% more likely to convert them into a booking — speed is the single biggest lever new sitters have.
Create a free Rover profile and you could take your first booking within the week — no formal license needed for casual sitting. Respond to requests within 5 minutes and you're 42% more likely to convert them into a booking — speed is the single biggest lever new sitters have.
Lean startup
$500–$2,500
Common rates
$20–90/visit
Top sitters
$7,000/mo (Rover)
▶Watch this first
"How to Set Up a Rover Account as a Pet Sitter" — picked from a real creator, not a GigWiz production.
✓What you actually need to start
- A free Rover (or Wag) profile, or go fully independent with your own booking system
- Pet-sitter liability insurance and bonding (~$200–600/year) — the single biggest credibility signal for clients
- LLC or sole proprietorship registration if going independent
- Optional but valuable: pet first aid/CPR certification
👣The steps
Set up your Rover profileChoose services, set rates and availability, add good photos of you with pets (even borrowed ones if you don't have your own).
Respond to requests within 5 minutesThis single habit measurably improves your booking conversion rate more than anything else.
Do a Meet & Greet before every new bookingStandard practice — lets both sides confirm it's a good fit before money changes hands.
Get liability insurance once bookings are realClients increasingly ask for it, and it protects you if a pet is injured or property damaged.
Ask for reviews after every bookingReviews from your first handful of clients matter more than anything else at this stage.
Consider going independent once you have repeat clientsPlatform fees add up — some sitters transition regulars to direct payment via Venmo/Zelle (still taxable — track it).
💵The money, honestly
| Service | Typical 2026 rate |
|---|---|
| 30-min drop-in visit | $20–40 |
| Overnight in-home sitting | $50–90 |
| Dog walk | $20–35 |
Rover's own top sitters report up to $7,000/month — that's the ceiling with multiple regular clients and boarding, not the typical starting rate.
⚠ The reality check
- Mileage is your biggest tax deduction. Driving between client homes adds up fast — the IRS business mileage rate is 76¢/mile as of July 2026 (up from 72.5¢ mid-year) and can be your single largest write-off.
- Platform income is still taxable, even off-platform. Direct Venmo/Zelle payments from regulars aren't invisible to the IRS just because they're under a 1099-K threshold.
- Care-custody-and-control matters. If you're bonded/insured incorrectly, one escaped pet or accident can wipe out a year of profit — verify your coverage actually fits pet sitting, not generic liability.
- It's not truly passive. You're on someone's schedule, often multiple visits a day, every day they're away.
The GigWiz verdict
✓ Good if
- You're an animal lover with a flexible daily schedule
- You can put $500–$2,500 toward starting
✕ Skip it if
- You can't commit to daily visits on someone else's timeline
- You need something that runs without your ongoing time and attention
The numbers
Lean startup$500–$2,500
Common rates$20–90/visit
Top sitters$7,000/mo (Rover)
DifficultyEasy — one of the cheapest businesses to launch
⚠ The catch
Respond to every request within 5 minutes.