Pet sitting and dog walking are different businesses than grooming, but the software landscape overlaps enough that it belongs in our coverage. Many grooming clients also need pet sitting, and some groomers offer both services.
The pet sitting software market is smaller and less competitive than grooming software. A few dedicated platforms dominate, and they’re genuinely good. Let’s break them down. If you’re exploring this area, our Best Pet Boarding Software (2026) guide covers it in detail.
What Pet Sitters Need From Software
Daily Visit Management
Pet sitters don’t book single appointments — they manage recurring daily visits. Mrs. Chen’s cat needs a visit at noon every weekday. The Johnsons’ two dogs need morning and evening walks plus a midday potty break while they’re on vacation. Your software needs to handle this visit-based scheduling. We break this down further in Best Pet Transportation & Taxi Software (2026).
GPS Walk Tracking
This is the killer feature that clients love. GPS tracking records the route, distance, and duration of each walk. The data is shared with pet parents as proof of service and a fun way to see what their dog did. It’s trust-building AND accountability.
Pet Profiles with Care Instructions
Each pet’s profile needs:
- Feeding instructions (food type, amount, schedule)
- Medication administration details
- Walking preferences (on-leash only, off-leash areas, reactive to other dogs)
- Access instructions (lockbox code, garage code, alarm code)
- Emergency vet information
- Behavioral notes
Client Updates with Photos
Pet parents want to see their pets. Sending photos and brief updates after each visit is expected. Good pet sitting software lets you take a photo, add a note, and send it to the client in one workflow. Related: Best Inventory Software for Pet Stores (2026).
Invoicing and Payments
Pet sitting often involves complex billing: different rates for different services (dog walk vs. overnight stay vs. drop-in visit), holiday surcharges, multi-pet discounts, and weekly or monthly invoicing cycles.
The Best Pet Sitting Platforms
1. Time To Pet — Best Overall
Price: $25/month (Solo Sitter) | $50/month (Growing) | $80/month (Professional)
Time To Pet is the most popular independent pet sitting software and it’s well-deserved. It’s purpose-built for pet sitters and dog walkers. (See Best CRM Software for Pet Businesses (2026) for a deeper dive.)
Key features:
- Visit scheduling with recurring visits, one-time bookings, and vacation coverage
- GPS walk tracking with route maps shared to clients
- Pet profiles with care instructions, feeding schedules, medication tracking
- Client portal — clients request services, view schedules, see visit reports
- Photo and note sharing after each visit
- Invoicing with automated billing cycles (weekly, bi-weekly, monthly)
- Staff management for teams of sitters
- Key management — track who has which client’s keys
- Calendar view with color-coded visits
- Mobile app for sitters to use on the go
What sitters love:
- The visit report workflow is seamless — complete visit, take photo, add note, send to client, all in under a minute
- GPS tracking builds client trust automatically
- Automated invoicing eliminates billing headaches
- The client portal reduces back-and-forth scheduling communication
What they wish was better:
- $25/month for a solo sitter just starting out can feel like a lot
- The route optimization for dog walkers isn’t as sophisticated as MoeGo’s
- Some features are locked behind higher tiers
2. Pet Sitter Plus — Budget Alternative
Price: $16/month (Basic) | $32/month (Standard) | $48/month (Premium)
Pet Sitter Plus offers similar features to Time To Pet at a lower price point. It’s been around longer and has a loyal user base.
Key features:
- Visit scheduling and management
- Client and pet management
- Invoicing and payment processing
- GPS tracking (on higher tiers)
- Staff scheduling
- Key tracking
- Visit reports with photos
Trade-offs vs. Time To Pet:
- Less polished interface
- The mobile app isn’t as smooth
- GPS tracking limited to higher tiers
- Fewer integrations
Best for: Budget-conscious sitters who want dedicated pet sitting software under $20/month.
3. Scout — Best for Dog Walkers
Price: $19/month (Solo) | $39/month (Team) | $59/month (Business)
Scout is specifically designed for dog walkers rather than general pet sitters. If your primary service is dog walking (not overnights or drop-in visits), Scout is worth considering.
Dog-walking specific features:
- Route planning for multi-dog walks
- GPS tracking with automatic route recording
- Report cards after each walk
- Group walk management — manage walks with multiple clients’ dogs
- Scheduling optimized for daily recurring walks
- Client app for booking and viewing walk reports
4. PocketSuite — All-in-One for Solo Sitters
Price: $45/month
PocketSuite isn’t pet-specific, but solo pet sitters use it because it combines scheduling, invoicing, contracts, and messaging in one clean app.
Why sitters like it:
- Digital contracts and waivers (important for pet sitting)
- Professional invoicing
- Client messaging through the app
- Clean, modern interface
- Calendar management
What it lacks: GPS tracking, pet-specific profiles, visit report workflows. You’d need to supplement with a separate GPS tracking app.
5. Rover + Wag — Platforms vs. Software
Not software you own: These are marketplace platforms that connect sitters with clients. Important distinction.
Rover:
- Takes 15% of every booking
- Provides the client base (you don’t have to market)
- Handles payments
- Includes insurance coverage during bookings
- GPS tracking and photo sharing built in
- Reviews build your profile
Wag:
- Takes 20-25% of every booking (higher than Rover)
- Focuses on dog walking
- Similar marketplace model
The honest take on platforms: They’re great for starting out and building a client base. But 15-25% fees are brutal. A sitter doing $4,000/month on Rover loses $600-$1,000 to the platform. Many sitters use Rover to get initial clients, build trust and reviews, then move those clients to direct booking through their own software (Time To Pet or similar).
The transition: Once you have 10-15 regular clients from Rover, invest in your own website, Google Business Profile, and pet sitting software. You keep 100% of your revenue and control your own business.
Setting Up Your Pet Sitting Business Operations
Create Detailed Client Intake Forms
Collect everything before the first visit:
- Home access instructions (key, lockbox, garage code, alarm code)
- Pet details (name, breed, age, weight, photos)
- Feeding instructions (food location, type, amount, schedule)
- Medication details (drug, dosage, schedule, administration method)
- Veterinarian contact
- Emergency contacts (2 minimum)
- Walking preferences (leash type, route, duration, other dog reactivity)
- Behavioral notes (separation anxiety, resource guarding, escape tendencies)
- House rules (lights on/off, mail collection, plant watering, thermostat settings)
Store all of this in your pet sitting software so it’s accessible during every visit.
Daily Visit Workflow
For each visit:
- Arrive → note arrival time
- Check on pet → note health/behavior
- Complete care tasks (feeding, medication, walks)
- Start GPS tracking for walks
- Take photos during the visit
- Tidy up (wash water bowl, clean litter box, etc.)
- End GPS tracking
- Send visit report with photos and notes to client
- Lock up → note departure time
Good pet sitting software turns this into a streamlined mobile workflow that takes 2-3 minutes of admin per visit.
Pricing for Pet Sitting Services
| Service | Typical Rate |
|---|---|
| 30-minute dog walk | $18-$30 |
| 60-minute dog walk | $25-$45 |
| 30-minute drop-in visit | $18-$25 |
| Overnight pet sitting | $65-$100 |
| Full-day pet sitting | $45-$75 |
| Cat visit (30 min) | $15-$25 |
| Additional pet (same household) | $5-$15/visit |
| Holiday surcharge | $10-$25/visit |
| Key pickup/dropup fee | $10-$15 |
| Last-minute booking surcharge | $10-$20 |
My Recommendation
Solo pet sitter/dog walker: Time To Pet Solo ($25/month). The GPS tracking and visit reports are essential.
Starting out with no clients: Start on Rover to build a client base, then transition to Time To Pet + your own website.
Budget-conscious sitter: Pet Sitter Plus Basic ($16/month) or free tools (Square for scheduling + a GPS tracking app).
Dog walker exclusively: Scout ($19/month) for walk-specific features.
The key differentiator in pet sitting is trust. GPS tracking, photo updates, and detailed visit reports build trust faster than anything else. Invest in software that makes this easy.