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Pet sitting and dog walking rate calculator
Price a drop-in visit, a dog walk or an overnight stay from your time with the pet, your drive and your costs, then add extra pets and holiday surcharges and check the result against what sitters charge.
Example filled in: a 30-minute drop-in visit for one pet (worked example 1 below).
Your cost floor for this visit
$21.56
The lowest price to accept. Below this, the job loses money.
Market check
$21 – $46 drop-in visit of 15 to 60 minutes
- Market range
- Your floor
- Your price for this visit
Pet Sitters International 2026 survey, via GlobalPETS (Oct 5, 2026): average visit rates by length. National figures; check local competitors.
Other published figures
Your price for this visit
$27.00 · $36.00 per hour of your time
Your cost floor plus your margin, rounded up to the next $1, plus extra pets and any holiday surcharge.
- Profit on the visit (before extras)$5.44
- Margin on the visit (before extras)20%
How the numbers are worked out
| Your time: (30 + 15 min drive) ÷ 60 × $20/h | $15.00 |
|---|---|
| Travel: 6 mi × $0.76 | $4.56 |
| Overhead: $200 a month ÷ 100 visits | $2.00 |
| Cost floor | $21.56 |
| ÷ (1 − 20%) before rounding | $26.95 |
| Base price (rounded up to $1) | $27.00 |
| Extra pets: 0 × $5 | $0.00 |
| Holiday surcharge | $0.00 |
| Your price | $27.00 |
Copied
The printed quote is for your customer: it shows the price and what is included, never your costs, floor or margin. Add your business and customer details below first.
Customer quote details
How it works
The method, step by step
Market rates tell you the ceiling. Your costs tell you the floor. Every number above is an example: replace it with your own.
Your time, drive included
(Minutes with the pet + minutes driving) ÷ 60 × the pay you want per hour. A 30-minute visit with a 15-minute round trip is 45 minutes of your day. For overnights, count the active care: walks, feeding and play.
Travel and overhead
Add round-trip miles × cost per mile and a share of your monthly overhead (insurance, bonding, scheduling app, phone) divided by your visits a month. Overnights add a flat stay fee for the hours you sleep there. That total is your cost floor.
Margin, then extras
Base price = cost ÷ (1 − margin), rounded up to the next $1. Then add a fee for each extra pet and any holiday surcharge.
Check the market
Compare with what sitters charge for that service. The published figures are member averages and posted rates, so treat them as a rough guide and check local sitters too.
Example: replace with your own
These inputs in the calculator and the worked examples have no published source behind them. Use your own numbers.
- Drive time: 15 minutes round trip
- Overnight stay fee: $25 a night
- Overhead: $200 a month over 100 visits
- Your pay ($20 an hour) and margin (20%) are choices, not market figures
Worked examples
3 visits and overnights, priced with this calculator
Each example is worked out by the calculator above, with the same formula. Open one to see every line, then change it to your own numbers.
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Example 1
Drop-in visit, one pet
The example filled in above: 30 minutes with the pet, a 15-minute round trip of 6 miles at $0.76, $20 an hour, $200 a month of overhead over 100 visits and a 20% margin.
- Your cost floor for this visit
- $21.56
- Market check
- $21–$46
- Your price for this visit
- $27.00$36.00 per hour of your time
- Profit on the visit (before extras)
- $5.44
- Margin on the visit (before extras)
- 20%
The drive adds half as much time again to a 30-minute visit, which is why it is in the price.
Open example 1 in the calculator -
Example 2
Overnight, one dog
2 hours of active care (evening and morning walks, feeding), a 30-minute round trip of 10 miles and a $25 stay fee for the night. Same pay, overhead and margin.
- Your cost floor for this night
- $84.60
- Market check
- $97–$110
- Your price for this night
- $106.00$42.40 per hour of your time
- Profit on the visit (before extras)
- $21.40
- Margin on the visit (before extras)
- 20%
The stay fee covers the hours you sleep in the client’s home. The price lands between the two published overnight averages.
Open example 2 in the calculator -
Example 3
Overnight, two dogs
The same night with a second dog at $10 per extra pet.
- Your cost floor for this night
- $84.60
- Market check
- $97–$110
- Your price for this night
- $116.00$46.40 per hour of your time
- Profit on the visit (before extras)
- $21.40
- Margin on the visit (before extras)
- 20%
Your price ($116.00) is above the published figures for this service (overnight stay: $96.99–$110.43). Check your time and extras, then what local sitters charge.
The price lands above the published overnight averages, which are for any number of pets, so check what local sitters charge for two dogs.
Open example 3 in the calculator
Market rates
What pet sitters and dog walkers charge
Member survey averages and posted rates, not audited statistics, so the market check is rougher than for home services. Care.com’s town and city figures are one sitter’s rates. Check what sitters near you charge.
| What | Range | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Drop-in visit, about 30 minutes | $25.49 average (2024) | Pet Sitters International |
| Drop-in visit, 15 to 60 minutes | $20.64–$46.26 average by length (Pet Sitters International 2026 survey) | GlobalPETS |
| Dog walk, about 30 minutes | $25.63 average (2024) | Pet Sitters International |
| Dog walk, posted rates | $16–$25 | Care.com |
| Overnight stay | $96.99 average for 12.76 hours (2024) | Pet Sitters International |
| Overnight stay | $110.43 average (Pet Sitters International 2026 survey) | GlobalPETS |
| Dog sitting, one sitter’s rates | $15–$25 in small towns, $25–$40 in big cities | Care.com |
| Extra dog | $5–$10 each | Care.com |
| Holiday surcharge | 67% of sitters charge one; 18% charge $5–$7 and 23% charge $8–$10 per visit (2024) | Pet Sitters International |
| Holiday surcharge, per visit | $5–$20 | Care.com |
| Animal caretakers’ median wage | $17.00 an hour (May 2025) | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics |
Sources
- Pet Sitters International: Pet-sitting and dog-walking rate survey, 2024 (PDF) (file dated April 2024; member averages; read Nov 8, 2026)
- GlobalPETS: Pet-sitting businesses report revenue growth in North America (Pet Sitters International 2026 survey) (page dated Oct 5, 2026; read Nov 8, 2026)
- Care.com: How much does a dog walker cost? (page dated Feb 3, 2026; read Nov 8, 2026)
- Care.com: Dog sitting rates (page dated Aug 11, 2026; the town and city figures are one sitter’s rates; read Nov 8, 2026)
- Pet Sitters International: 2024 pet sitter holiday survey (page dated Oct 17, 2024; read Nov 8, 2026)
- Care.com: Pet sitting cost during the holidays (page dated Nov 21, 2025; read Nov 8, 2026)
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025: animal caretakers (39-2021), median $17.00 an hour (May 2025 estimates, released May 15, 2026; median read through the BLS public data API; read Nov 8, 2026)
- Pet Sitters International: How to Set Your Pet-Sitting and Dog-Walking Rates (updated July 2026 (month only); read Nov 8, 2026)
- IRS: Standard mileage rates (76 cents a mile for business use from July 1, 2026; read Nov 8, 2026)
Cost guides publish estimates from their own marketplace or listing data, not audited statistics. US figures only.
Questions
Pricing questions
How much should I charge for a 30-minute dog walk?
Pet Sitters International’s 2024 survey found an average of $25.63 for a walk of about 30 minutes, and Care.com lists posted rates of about $16–$25. Price from your time including the drive, then check your local market.
What should I charge for overnight pet sitting?
Pet Sitters International members averaged $96.99 a night in its 2024 survey and $110.43 in its 2026 survey. Price the active care time, add a flat fee for the hours you sleep there, and add your drive.
Should I charge extra for more than one pet?
Many sitters do: Care.com cites $5–$10 per additional dog. Extra pets add feeding, walking and cleanup time, so charge per pet or move the client to a longer visit.
Should I charge more on holidays?
Two-thirds of the sitters in Pet Sitters International’s 2024 holiday survey charge a holiday surcharge; 18% charge $5–$7 and 23% charge $8–$10 per visit. Put the holiday dates and the fee in your service agreement.
How do I price my driving time?
Count it. A 30-minute visit with 15 minutes of driving is 45 minutes of your day, plus the miles. Group clients by area, or add a travel fee for distant ones.
How should I set my rates overall?
Pet Sitters International says charging by time (standard rates for 30, 45 or 60 minutes) is the industry norm. Its rate guide gives benchmarks of 45–50% of revenue for labor, 20–30% for overhead and 20–30% profit.
Do I need insurance or bonding?
Many clients ask for it, and insurance and bonding are sold specifically to pet sitters. Business license rules vary by state and city, so check with your city and state before you start.
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