Alizabeth is a devoted mother to a 2-year-old toddler with Hemophilia B, which has brought on a unique set of challenges and opportunities as a parent. She believes that every child is unique and deserves to be celebrated for who they are.
Trying to find a babysitter to watch your child during the week while you’re working or even if you’re just looking to spend a night out on the town can be extremely stressful. The well-being of your child is always on the forefront of your mind, but with all of the crazy things going on in today’s world, how are supposed to trust a complete stranger with the safety of your kid?
We know just about as well as anyone that finding someone to babysit could be a full-time job in itself and even after spending a few hours searching around, it still seems like an impossible mission. If you’re leaning on using a babysitting website to help find a sitter for your child after hearing your friend recommend Urbansitter or Care.com, you may be a bit curious to see if one site is better than the other.
Today, we’re here to tell about what differences can be found in Care.com vs Urbansitter and if there’s one site that would fit your needs more than the other.
Let’s get started!
Bottom Line Up Front Summary: While UrbanSitter is helpful to find a more traditional baby sitter, we found the broader talent pool and easier vetting process to be superior on Care.com here for longer term nanny’s and childcare. While prices are comparable, you can check Care.com’s latest promotional deals here.
Both Care.com and Urbansitter offer several different types of care, so you’ll get to choose between a selection of young nannies, babysitters, and professionals. While it will take you a little bit to decide what type of sitter you’re looking to watch over your child, it’s great to have a large pool of candidates to choose from to help find the perfect fit.
In addition, both websites also give you the option to run a background check on any potential sitters, as well as allow you to be able to communicate with your selections before you even meet them in person!
Main Differences Between Care.com vs Urbansitter
The main differences between Care.com vs Urbansitter are:
Availability: Care.com offers services for senior citizens, children, pets, and housekeeping! Urbansitter only offers babysitter services.
Pricing: Urbansitter is cheaper than Care.com, but the price difference between the two isn’t shocking. They’re only a few dollars apart.
Background checks: Care.com doesn’t give users access to background checks, unlike Urbansitter. Babysitters can give you a copy of their background check with Care.com, but with Urbansitter, you can request a copy of a background check through the support team at Urbansitter.
The reason we went with Care.com is simple. A much larger network of service providers (reach) and an easier to use interface. Put simply, when hiring for the home, MORE OPTIONS is better!
We earn a commission if you click this link and make a purchase at no additional cost to you.
Now that you have a better understanding what the main differences between these two companies are, let’s see what really sets Care.com and Urbansitter apart!
Care.com
If you’ve ever spent time watching television, there’s no doubt that you’ve seen advertisements for Care.com! When you first started thinking about finding a baby sitter, Care.com is probably the first website that came to your mind.
What’s really great about Care.com is that they offer a variety of several options and services to be able to meet the needs of all different needs! Care.com also gives users the option to run a background check on anyone that you’re interested in hiring as a babysitter and even has an option for you to pay your babysitter on their website!
Care.com also has a tax document section on their site, to help make the entire process a lot easier on your behalf. If you ever have any questions or concerns, Care.com offers support to help you with any questions.
In terms of the subscription plans that Care.com offers, you can choose to subscribe to their website for a monthly or an annual account. However, if you’re not sure that you’re ready to stay committed, you can also sign up for a trial subscription that doesn’t lock you into paying for a site that you’re not 100% in love with.
Pricing for their annual plan will run you $140 a year or if you’re not sure you’re ready to commit on an annual basis, a monthly subscription will only run you $37 a month, or $70 for a three-month membership.
Pros
Care.com offers nannies and babysitter profiles for occasional, part-time, and full-time services available.
Desktop version available, as well as a downloadable app on both Google Play and iTunes.
Care.com offers nannies and babysitters, as well as the services of tutors, pet care, childcare facilities, senior care, housekeepers, and housekeeping services!
Easy to use website, which is especially important if you aren’t tech savvy
Care.com organizes applications, sitters that you’re interested in, and all of their information compiled into one folder to help keep you organized
You can opt-in to receive updates on any caregivers that you’re researching via email or text message
Cons
While Care.com does have a great selection of sitters, you may have a hard time finding the perfect sitter if you have a child with special needs or who needs specific medical care
The calendar and scheduling options that their website offers aren’t the easiest to use
If you aren’t located in or near a city, you may have a harder time finding a sitter that’s near your location
The reason we went with Care.com is simple. A much larger network of service providers (reach) and an easier to use interface. Put simply, when hiring for the home, MORE OPTIONS is better!
We earn a commission if you click this link and make a purchase at no additional cost to you.
Urbansitter.com
With more than 150,000 sitters available in over 60 cities, Urbansitter is basically like the Lift of websites that offer babysitting services. Not to mention that Urbansitter actually has a less than three-minute response time to any last-minute request!
Urbansitter does come with a monthly fee if you’re interested in scouring their website, but they do give their membership users the option to search through available sitters based on their experience, their background, and their rates. Plus, you can make payments, book sitters, and post sitter reviews all on the Urbansitter app!
The Urbansitter app is available both on Android and iPhones, with a $99.95 annual membership (breaks down to $19.95 a month) or $34.95 monthly membership that allows you to cancel whenever. If you’re not ready to jump in just yet, Urbansitter does offer a free basic membership!
Pros
Urbansitter offers a pay-as-you-go option that gives you complete access to their website for one month at $34.95. This does not renew, so it gives you the option to test out their website without having to worry about committing.
If you connect your Facebook account and give Urbansitter information such as what school your child is attending and if they’re involved in activities, they give you crowdsourced information. Basically, Urbansitter will let you know what sitters are recommended by parents that you may know through a school, any sports, or other activities that your child is involved in.
You can read reviews from parents that used a baby sitter to understand how their experience with a specific sitter went. That way, you’re not just trusting a website with the well-being of your child and can actually read real, verified reviews.
Urbansitter also gives sitters the option to upload videos on their profiles, so you can watch any videos uploaded by sitters through your mobile app or on the desktop version. This gives you the option to get a better understanding of who you’re really hiring and not just depending upon written words.
Cons
You have to contact the Urbansitter support team to have Urbansitter run a background check on the sitter themselves. You will get a copy of the report of the babysitter once the background check has been completed.
Another complaint about the background check is that if you’re in need of a last-minute babysitter, you won’t be able to run a last-minute background check on Urbansitter.
The reason we went with Care.com is simple. A much larger network of service providers (reach) and an easier to use interface. Put simply, when hiring for the home, MORE OPTIONS is better!
We earn a commission if you click this link and make a purchase at no additional cost to you.
Which Service You Should Choose
You should choose Care.com if…
You’re in the need of finding a sitter fast or one that you can truly customize around your schedule. If you’re interested in finding a site that offers all-in-one services for other members of your family (your aging parents or your fur babies) or even if you’re not up for housekeeping this week, Care.com is the site you should choose.
You should choose Urbansitter if…
You’re interested in hiring a sitter that a lot of your friends or co-workers have been using for their children. You should also go with Urbansitter if you’re interested in finding a sitter that’s been popular in your neighborhood!
Wrapping it up
Picking a babysitter or a nanny can be especially stressful if you’re a new parent, but thanks to Care.com and Urbansitter, you can get access to professional, well-trained sitters. Thanks to the organization of both websites, you can easily hire someone that you feel comfortable entrusting your child with. Good luck with finding your next babysitter (and enjoy your night out)!
Leave a comment