UrbanSitter Reviews

I purchased a one month membership to start for $40-something and posted my part-time job for a babysitter at an average rate. I got a few bites from various people who didn’t read the post and didn’t meet the qualifications m, and many people just couldn’t hold a text conversation or simply never replied to basic interview questions. I sorta wonder if they didn’t get notifications? But also, several people replied 2-3 weeks later saying that they’re not looking for work right now at all. Why am I paying for a matching service that allows inactive users profiles to be shown? Another few people kept on trying to give me their phone numbers so I’d text/call them directly instead of using UrbanSitter . However, UrbanSitter automatically deletes those messages that contain phone numbers. It’s kinda unprofessional for a potential job candidate to try and cheat the system of UrbanSitter their using to get work, but also, it was just annoying because these folks weren’t answering some basic questions about their qualifications and thus I didn’t get to the point for a while. Honestly, it just seems like UrbanSitter is better for backup babysitters or if you’re in a pinch and need a one-time random person. Rather than looking for a solid commitment, I’d only recommend using UrbanSitter if you’re out of other options.

I really don’t recommend UrbanSitter for new users they have taken forever to reply to a simple message or email it’s as if UrbanSitter has no one to manage it and that’s really unfortunate. My profile was hidden after I asked a question and that was really suspicious. I sent them an email and they haven’t replied. The new users have to wait 7 to 14 days for they’re profile to be approved and honestly if they take that long to reply to a simple question I don’t think they’re going to be approving profiles any time soon. I really wanted to use UrbanSitter I’ve seen many like UrbanSitters it caught my attention but after seeing how they manage UrbanSitter I’d rather go with another thats more responsive. Urban sitters please take the time to respond to emails and messages and stop hiding profiles and start approving profiles.

I don’t even write reviews in fact this is my first time ever writing one for an app. I’m appalled at the fact that they charge you $90 just to sign up and apply to a job, mind you, you’re not even guaranteed the position. And based on these reviews I WILL NOT be paying for this ponzy scheme of a website. Why would you not allow a monthly plan? Charging yearly is absurd and with a non refundable policy is literally a scheme within itself! Not a free trial or nothing to even test out if I truly like UrbanSitter . Multiple reviews state they weren’t even granted a position and I’m glad I checked before even considering buying. To anyone reading this you’re better off on sitter city. I suggest you incorporate a monthly fee rather than yearly if you genuinely care about customer feedback.

I tried booking a sitter for multiple dates through the iOS app and I wasn’t even able to do it. Despite filling out the times and days, the “confirm dates” button to proceed remained disabled. So I went to the web app and found the process to be tedious and clunky. As soon as I entered the start date, I got an error message informing me that “start date must be before end date” even before I got the chance to enter an end date. That just gave me hostile feelings. Next, the time selectors were really inefficient. I entered 7pm for a start time and expected the selector for my end time to take me to 7pm or later so I can easily choose 10pm. Nope! I was taken back to 12am and had to scroll down to 10pm or enter manually. This interaction could be so much better than it is. Get your act together, this app!

I was charged today for the $40 membership fee and I completely forgot about UrbanSitter. I signed up last year to get some side hustle but due to lack of experience in babysitting, i wasn’t able to book even one job. I am a mom of 2 and can say that I handle kids well. But since I’ve gotten a new job, I obviously don’t need this anymore. Very disappointing that the membership fee can’t be refunded after you are charged. It might be the first time that I’ve heard about a non-refundable membership fee here in the US. It’s even less than 12 hours since they charged my credi card and it’s frustrating that you can’t have your money back. I didn’t realize that it was going to be renewed today and I asked for a refund. The chat support said that it’s non-refundable even though I mentioned that they can cancel my account asap.

UrbanSitter has been around for atleast a few years and if they can’t bother fixing something so basic I have no hopes from them.

I tried booking a sitter for ~ 3 weeks and sent requests to multiple sitters for interviews. Every time a sitter declines they send an individual email for EVERY DAY of the 3 weeks. So with 3 sitters declining I have 70 emails in my Inbox just spamming me with declines. I reported this to customer service and they responded with the “it’s not a bug it’s a feature” and we don’t have a feature to club multiple days together. In so many years, you should be able to build a simple feature like this and even if you didn’t atleast be apologetic about it and don’t call it expected behavior! Absolute garbage!

Maybe it’s my area… but I’m an experienced caregiver, & from what I read UrbanSitter is for caregiver positions. I am certified private home health assistant, & I babysit on the side (since I was 13) . I’m a mother , I like private jobs where I can choose my own hours . I went through an extensive screening process, paid fees for subscription and everything … so this seemed like the place to be , as far as caregiver opportunities. Since they took the process of screening seriously.. maybe I was expecting way too much. Finally I’m approved & go to search for jobs in my area. Nine… 9 families seeking help. One was seeking urgent home health assistance. I applied a week ago and still nothing . Not many job opportunities to choose from, that’s for sure . I gave two stars simply because UrbanSitter … it’s easy to use and self explanatory. Other than that you’re better off on Craigslist at least it’s free to look for jobs and more jobs to choose from also .

I’m pretty annoyed with UrbanSitter. Not sure if it’s UrbanSitter itself or the sitters i chose to reach out to... At first, I liked UrbanSitter a lot! User friendly, useful filters to find the right sitter in my area etc.. however... I found a few sitters I was quite interested in so I requested phone interviews through UrbanSitter . Less than half of the sitters I contacted even acknowledged my interview requests so I decided to send polite follow up messages to the ones that didn’t respond. But — I received no reply from them on the messages either — and you can even see when they were last active so either UrbanSitter does not work well on the sitters’ end in giving them notifications of messages, or the sitters on UrbanSitter are rude and don’t even have the time to politely decline or respond to your well thought out message. Overall it has been a waste of my time and money.

App was fairly easy to use, but cost was the main sticking point for us because we didn’t need to regularly find a sitter. Luckily there was a promo and we paid a fraction of the first month. Fast forward a month and I’m surprised to see a new charge thinking I had cancelled shortly after our one time use of the service. I followed up the same day of the charge and was simply sent a link to their refund policy which is that all charges and fees are non-refundable. Not an unusual policy, but this has happened from time to time with other subscription services and I can’t remember a time where the company didn’t refund a charge in good faith when I immediately reached out. Probably realizing that it’s more valuable to have people come back and use their service in the future rather than banking that one month of subscription fees. this app prefers your one-time donation and apparently is not interested in sporadic users. Clearly within their rights, just good to know up front.

I have used this app for over three years now and have enjoyed UrbanSitter , but the new update that allows “Rate depends on experience” with no option for entering a pay range really chaps my hide. I have more than 15 years of experience and a bachelors degree in the field. My services do not come cheap, but this system obscures information in a way that wastes the time of sitters. I refuse to apply to any job with “rate depends on experience” listed with no information on pay rate and encourage everyone I’ve referred to UrbanSitter to do the same. It is a legal requirement in my state that salary information be included in the job listing and this system violates that egregiously.

The system should have a specific option for parents to enter a possible pay range as a part of their listing but this new system hides higher paying jobs among low paying ones and is a waste of time for many quality sitters with higher rates.

Initially I did love UrbanSitter , it is very convenient and I was quickly able to build a consistent clientele. It’s organized in an easily accessible way, but there are a few things I believe could be fixed. In my case I had a sudden family emergency and I was unable to contact the family in time, which led to my account being suspended although this had been my only real issue with a gig. I’ve contacted support numerous times to explain, and the lack of urgency is a bit disappointing since I am a college student and this is my main source of income. I am not sure how I can show further proof. Besides this, UrbanSitter is great and all the families I have worked for have been super great people. Would definitely recommend UrbanSitter to others, but be VERY careful with mistakes!

I’ve been on UrbanSitter for about 3 weeks browsing to see the jobs before I pay money for a membership.. I’ve been focused on two families who fit my schedule but when I come back today their profile and the babysitting dates are completely different. First she needed overnight sitter, now she needs someone to watch the kids while the husband sleeps? With a totally different city now..Another posting (different family) is a duplicate with two different needs, days and times as well. There is no consistency which leads me to believe these are scams. Yes positions fill, but how can families have multiple postings & suddenly change where they live...? Without proper verification I’m not feeling confident that these are real needs

I have been a regular customer urban sitter for three years. It’s been great for finding high quality sitters available but there is one change to make. When I use your mobile app it is so difficult to find Post a new job. I sometimes have to go to your website on my computer to use it. Please make it easier to use us moms who do not have a lot of time to go from tab to tab button to button up looking everywhere to find Post a new job. I frankly do not find it useful to sift through sitters I would rather just post a job and see what qualified individuals respond. Thank you for listening to this feedback. Once this Change is made I will consider changing this review 5 stars.

1- Whenever I need to interview the applicants on my job opening it says that the applicant is not available at this time, even though I try different variations. When I look at their calendar, they’re availability is wide open. I have to text them privately every time only to find out that they’re available during all the times I was proposing.
2- I cannot post a rate range, when I mark it per the suggestion, I get inexperienced applicants, when I mark it higher, I get applicants who normally charge a lower rate saying that their rate is what I’ve posted.

I tried using this app 2 years ago and I’m still finding a lot of issues unfixed. Which is frustrating. Hire a UX researcher!

As an actor/singer primarily, flexibility in my day job is important. I’ve been using UrbanSitter as a sitter for my main source of income when I am home for about 3 years now and it has been wonderful. I’ve met great families and the ability to do payment via credit through UrbanSitter is so handy (plus it gives me a little control without having to awkwardly bring up payment in person.)

If you are a sitter who has some experience, just know that it may take a little time for the amount of work you get to be consistent. It’s always a little slow for me when I am just back in town, but with more reviews and such, it picks up fairly quickly.

I've been babysitting for several years now, and been an US member for about 3 years. I tried 6 different sitting sites and fell in love with this one. My tech friend also confirmed that this app has the best security out of the several sites his hiring company has used (data protection is important!!)

Sitters read to the end why this review is 4 stars, and not 5...

Pros
• Very easy/functional app (love this)
• Sitters - autonomy with setting your availability, creating your bio, setting your rate, and accepting/declining job requests (most, but not all sites allow all of these options!)
• Parents - from what I've heard, responsive customer service for families

Cons:
• Parents - Some families have struggled to book interview requests; however, this can be easily navigated by booking a $0/hr job request or using the website messaging system to message a sitter and arrange a chat or in-person meet
• Sitters - POOR customer service. Had a terrible experience where it took me 2 months to get a non-automated response and additional 1.5 months past that to get follow up emails and my problem resolved. Thankfully, I have only needed to use customer service once, but it was incredibly stressful and disappointing.

The other 5 sitting sites I worked with was readily available the same-day to talk with me. This or 2 business days should be the standard like it is for other jobs.

I’ve been working as a sitter for the past two years while I’m in college, and when my friend told me about urban sitter I decided to give it a try, because as a sitter sometimes it’s a bit hard to find babysitting gigs. Anyway, I have been using this app for about one year now and so far I have had only great experiences. All the families I met there were reliable and nice people. I would say that the best babysitter jobs I’ve had were through this app. In fact, the job I have now I got through the platform. I always recommend this app to my friends who also babysit or for other people I know that need sitters sometimes.

I have been doing care for families as their nanny with this app for over two years. UrbanSitter is easy to navigate. And I have met some wonderful families with many return appointments. The fact that you can contact families or they can contact you is extremely helpful. no personal information is exchanged to you except a job. I am thankful to this app for the wonderful support they give if customer services ever needed. I strongly recommend UrbanSitter

As a parent of two kids, flexibility in my job is very important. At some point I was thinking of babysitting while my kids will grow up an go to school. But I didn’t have much success until 4 months ago I downloaded UrbanSitter . I did my best to follow the instructions and advises the Support Center provides and in couple weeks I got my first job. Since than I do mostly occasional jobs and I’ve met great families. I like the ability to confirm the hours right after the job is completed and process the payment right away. Also I want to mention that the Support Center team is doing a great job. When I just started, I had many questions. Every time I would email them, they answer promptly and clearly. Thank you Urban Sitters Team.

Urban Sitter is truly an amazing app! It has helped me (a college student) to meet many new families around the bay area while gaining more experience in the child care field. It is very easy to navigate, I just have a couple of suggestions.

1) Make a feature where you can block a specific family (or sitter) so you don’t even have to view them in your search. If a certain family is not adequately compensating for their number of children or have included services in their posts that you don’t offer, you should be able to block them so you won’t see them each time you’re on the job board. Likewise, if a sitter does not fit your criteria (i.e. aren’t CPR certified) you should be able to block them, too. This will help save time for everyone involved during their searches for the perfect candidate/family. I know you can hide your availability from specific families, but it would be nice if you could completely hide them from view forever.

2) For sitters, only show jobs that match the availability posted to your calendar. This will save time during the job search so you won’t have to waste time hiding all the jobs you can’t even take.

Again, I love UrbanSitter so much and can’t recommend it enough! I seriously talk about it to anyone who will listen. I hope you at least consider adding these features, as I know many other sitters and families who agree.