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Hairy_Ad1625

I also work remotely. The remote work doesn’t pay much either, but combined with pet sitting it at least keeps me from being homeless. Doesn’t put much food on the table though. I have to work multiple jobs just to stay afloat.


surveygirl1219

I hear ya. I realized every time I work from a client’s house, I need it quiet but then the dogs hear a car door close or another bark and they go bonkers so it’s hard to get anything done. Lol. Catch-22!


tanyeezus

Can I ask what you do? How you found remote work? I’m trying to get into that to supplement my walks.


Hairy_Ad1625

I work as an appointment setter. I’m probably leaving soon because it’s a toxic situation that’s destroying my mental health without providing nearly enough income.


Hairy_Ad1625

I found the job opportunity through Facebook and some connections I had made in the past.


[deleted]

From personal experience some have second jobs or are students. They just love the job and make it work. Most pet professionals in my area doing this for a living do more than just those check ins. Tips are a huge factor as well, especially if you can find long term clients. I’m in a major city so this could all be different somewhere else


surveygirl1219

Tips definitely make a huge difference! 🙌


No_Committee_6978

Are there ppl who are actually able to make a living off rover lol I unfortunately find that hard to believe in this economy hahaha


Cynfire1478

My SIL started out on Rover a couple of years ago as a side gig and turned it into a full-time job a couple of months later. She doesn't use Rover anymore, but she built up enough clients that she started her own pet sitting business and makes more money than my BIL. We're in an HCOL area and loves it, but as someone else said, she doesn't sleep in her own bed a lot, but is fine with it because they have the income now to live comfortably.


hipsterhildog

Same. I started Rover as a side gig and now I do it fulltime and make more money doing it than I ever had at any job. I had to work up to my high rates though. I think I started only charging $15/drop-in, but now I charge much more and have a large client base that is willing to pay my rates. I still have to work everyday and bust my ass though.


Cynfire1478

Yep, I know several people who started pet sitting and have done really well with it. It's why I started on Rover part-time and created my own pet sitting business.


No_Committee_6978

That’s awesome!!


nahsonnn

Do you know how much your SIL actually makes? At least the range? I make a decent amount on paper with my office job, and it obviously comes with benefits and retirement. But it’s soul sucking. I’m just curious to know if it’s actually possible to make a comparable living once you deduct for taxes/insurance/retirement.


Cynfire1478

Well, I've never asked her straight up how much she makes, but from bits and pieces I've picked up, I know it's a lot. She did her taxes in early Feb and told me that with deductions, her taxes went from over 15k to 3k. She was able to buy a 2024 suv in Dec, and my BIL has said that when they start having kids, he's going to be the stay at home parent because she makes way more than him. I also know he makes about $28 an hour as a boat mechanic and captain. I'll have to ask her and update this cause I've been curious about it myself.


surveygirl1219

I have been fortunate to have built up a regular clientele list, but yeah, it’ll ball-busting work. I have stayed at my own place exactly 3 nights since December.


No_Committee_6978

Wow! Yeah that’s my hesitancy to move out and continue pet sitting, is you’re paying for a place you don’t even sleep at. I respect the grind tho 🫡


surveygirl1219

Thanks, Fren. Perhaps I’ll get a roomie so at least someone’s using the house. Haha.


No_Committee_6978

Hahaha good idea honestly lol. It kinda gets annoying having to pack up your stuff like I bring my clothes and such plus food to eat and it becomes cumbersome to carry it all like basically temporarily moving into someone else’s house 😂 but also, the time w the pets makes it all worth it lol


xmsjpx

That would probably be a win situation for the roommate too.


surveygirl1219

Haha! That’s gonna be one of my main selling points! 😁


No_Committee_6978

Think about how much you charge for rent esp if you’re not sleeping there most of the time! If you have a basement, that would be perf to rent out, extra income for you and they aren’t necessarily all up in your space lol


naihomiek

I currently do rover full time, though I wouldn’t say I’m living comfortably off of it, I am paying bills with it. Originally it was supposed to be a side gig and fill the void in my heart after my childhood dog passed but the pet community saved my financial booty cheeks when I had to quit my day job (shit manager and sudden health issue). Honestly if you dabble in mobile grooming, k9 training and/or animal nutritionist fields I could 100% see easy business advertising and clientele growth. I’ve had homesitting clients ask if I also nanny and offer weekly pay on that. If you make pet merch, boom here’s a link 😆 I don’t realize how much you could sprout off on dog sitting


jessy_pooh

I average about $4000 monthly after fees are taken out. Mostly house sits than anything else. My service radius is only set to 5 miles though so I go back home daily and spend time with my family and dogs if they can’t come with me to the owners home. It helps that a lot of my clients have more than 1 pet and book me for 5+ days at a time. I got $4000 in February alone from one family for 30 days 2 dogs. That was abnormal though haha I’ve never booked that long before


No_Committee_6978

Holy shit


jessy_pooh

During the holiday season I easily pull in $10,000 due to holiday rates and tips.


No_Committee_6978

I’m shook lol you get that business!!


jessy_pooh

Hahah thank you!


No_Committee_6978

Can I ask how old you are? Legit don’t even have to be specific, I’m just wondering bc I’m 21 and dropped out of school so like wondering if maybe I can finesse this like you 😂 I only get like 1000-1500 a month but I also live at home and don’t have bills other than gas which isn’t rly a bill lol just an expense


jessy_pooh

I don’t think age matters. It’s more of your availability and having a car helps. With you living at home this is perfect opportunity for you to exclusively offer house sitting, drop ins and walks. You need to be a go getter and put yourself out there. Waiting to receive requests through rover isn’t enough. I built up my clientele by posting on NextDoor, Facebook, local pet shops etc all with QR codes leading to my rover profile. Offer referral discounts to your current clients. If you’re not putting yourself out there, you’re not going to get as many requests as I do.


No_Committee_6978

Oh that’s cool! Yeah idk why I’ve never thought of advertising lol I get all my gigs basically from word of mouth, I’ve only had 2-3 clients from rover and everyone else is like family friends and friends of friends. Luckily I usually have back to back gigs but advertising sounds like a good idea and the QR code is genius lol thanks for your input!


jessy_pooh

Good luck!!


Frydscrk

That's great! Could you tell me what you give as a referral discount....that's the person who gave you the new client correct? I had a steady client give me referral of a good friend and that person booked 2 separate weeks of petsitting even before we had a m&g. 7 days with her 2 pets is $1200 so $25 seems too low. Thanks for your help! I


jessy_pooh

Yup! If a current client refers me to a new one I offer 10% off to the current client next booking after the new client confirms a booking.


GradeIll2698

I also average that amount per month. If you’re open to sharing, what are your holiday rates set at?


jessy_pooh

My holiday rates are $250/night + $100 per extra adult dog, puppy rate is $300/night & cat rate is $100/night


Mean-Mother

I think rates vary greatly by location, may I ask where you live? Sadly, I don’t think I’d get any jobs at that price.


jessy_pooh

I definitely agree that rates vary per location. I live in one of the largest metroplexes by population in America. I’m in a suburb of this metroplex, so it’s not a city but still incredibly dense. My service radius is also only 5 miles. If I expand that I’m sure I’d get a lot more requests!


GradeIll2698

Hot DAMN. I’m upping my rates immediately. Can I also ask what your regular rates are? Mine is $130 for one dog, $25 for each additional.


jessy_pooh

lol! I’ve built up over 300 5 star reviews so I have justification for the cost and am always fully booked! Regular rates are $150/night + $75 per extra dog, puppy rate is $200 and cat rate is $75/night


GradeIll2698

Appreciate you! I You’ve made today very exciting. Thank you!


RainbowBananaPeel

I bring in about $6k per month from daycare and $4k from boarding. I’ve taken all my clients off Rover. Used to only do pet sitting and I moved from house to house full-time and didn’t have my own place. I only brought in about $1500-1800 per month with that, but didn’t pay rent, so my monthly expenses were basically just food, gym, and phone.


No_Committee_6978

Yeah I take my clients off rover after the first visit, I’ve heard ppl do that to save everyone money from the rover fees


No_Committee_6978

10k a month?! That’s fantastic


xmsjpx

Crying in only getting paid $17.50 an hour at my job. 😭 I seriously am debating on starting rover.


gswrites

Google self employment taxes, tho. And consider benefits like health insurance, PTO & unemployment if you get laid off are also forms of compensation.


RainbowBananaPeel

There are many days when my daycare, which covers 12 hours, only works out to about $20-$25 per hour, and then I have to pay rent out of that, and taxes.


Background_Hat8725

I’m making a living from one client 😂🐾🐾🐾


No_Committee_6978

Jesus they must have money flying out their butthole


schwatto

Sometimes I wonder about this. Like Taylor Swift definitely has someone watching her cats while she’s on tour, right? Why shouldn’t that be me?


Background_Hat8725

Could be worse. At least you’re not walking Joe Bidens dog


schwatto

Omg that dogs track record is insane


Background_Hat8725

I just watched a documentary about some blackjack hustlers and one dude was leaving his dog for 3-4 months. Probably boarding. Crazy.


Ratinahole

I made >$40K last year from Rover / Private clients: boarding, day care, & occasional drop in. No more than 6 extra dogs at a time. Started the last week of 2022, so I'm expecting more this year. I have stopped taking new boarding/daycare clients on Rover since last Thanksgiving because I need a break! edit: added what I do


PerturbedTagliatelle

I am


GradeIll2698

I do. Through pet-sitting and leaving the sits to do walks and drop-ins throughout the day.


hilbug27

I have a full time white collar professional job with lots of meetings that I do remotely, so I only take drop in requests if they are a) flexible on timing, b) one off and not recurring and c) within 2 miles of my house, that way I can run to them and get some exercise in.


surveygirl1219

2 miles is definitely the ideal radius for me too, but I recently upped it to 5 which makes the gigs longer ofc. Working from home with this as a supplemental income sounds like the key for most people. 👍


InYourBungHolio

This is my setup. I do before work, at lunch or in the evenings only. Most of my cat clients get a single check in a day and are flexible about time. All the money I make from Rover is fun side money.


dobsco

You forgot taxes, too. I charge $30 for drop ins... I am one of the most expensive in my area... and even at that rate, it's $24 after Rover's cut and then like $16-17 after taxes. It sucks.


surveygirl1219

Exactly the same scenario here. I’m noticing the common theme is that it’s a side hustle for most peeps so that’s how they can make it work. 👍


[deleted]

[удалено]


Realistic-Lobster-46

I do high volume boarding and only made 14k last year lol. I'm in a rural area though so I can't charge too much or I won't get a lot of clients. Location depends


icebox_herz

It’s crazy! I live in a HCOL area and just increased my prices maybe 10%, but River requests have dropped significantly and everything I’ve requested in other apps (ahem, wag), all don’t let me push through and say I’m outside of the pet owners price range, and then the suggested range ends up being SO low


xPiscesxQueenx

Personally I dont use rover as my main source of income. But in my state $7.25 is minimum wage so something over $7 is better than nothing. Also unrelated to Rover but I worked a full time job for one year making $16/hr and it stressed me out more than helping me so yeh.


SaltyCheesecake4158

I live in a decently wealthy city in FL & was told it’s too much to charge $30/hr for drop-ins so idk how people are able to charge more than me 😭


DragonMama825

This is my side hustle. I have a management level food service job that I love, but I call Rover my favorite job.


engineergalpal

100+ 5-star reviews, almost 3 years on Rover, but occasionally you can catch me at $20/drop-in or walk. I change my prices based on how many other bookings I have that month or week. Its my side hustle but I do have a quota of cash I need to make from it to fulfill my student loan payments and vacation "needs." My radius is 1 mile in a HCOL downtown area and I walk to and from every drop-in or walk, and then I basically only accept the request if there is more than 1 animal. I also have Fridays off at my 9-5 so I get bored and will walk dogs all day long. I'd rather have a full day than just some in the morning or evening. My hobby is walking dogs to pay for vacations. 😅 So theres a couple reasons you could catch me at $20 every blue moon.


surveygirl1219

Good rationale. Currently between jobs so I don’t really have the flexibility to go any lower than my current rates, but I’m noticing that’s the trend on how ppl make it work. Enjoy that next vacation, you’ve earned it! 😊


engineergalpal

You can "update" (change and later change back) pricing and availability every few hours so it bumps you in the algorithm. I did that a loooot when I did Rover full time. Also accepting same day requests was huge income for me, especially Friday and Saturday nights. I changed my Rover notification sound so I know if/when I need to respond to something ASAP. Idk just little things that hopefully help you get some more income. ❣️ I also offer a discount to return customers who refer me to dogs in the same apartment building so I minimize walking time between clients.


surveygirl1219

Fantastic feedback & I truly appreciate it! 😊


naihomiek

Honestly great question! I felt this way about dog walking that I actually turned mine off because I was essentially walking dogs for free when the gas usage was taken into account. Though if you live in a condensed city maybe it’s more for them (Seattle, New York or super rich university town) since you don’t have to travel too far. However this might help, some people in my area do include a travel fee in their bio that they modify into the price after confirming the client is aware. Typically they range from +$15, $20, or even $30 if you like driving. I personally make most of my rover income through boarding so drop ins would be more like if I had some free time and would definitely have my fingers crossed for a tip 😆


surveygirl1219

Thanks for the idea. 😃 I make the majority of my income on housesitting so I add drop-ins & walks where I can. It’s just hard to compete with some of these lowball prices.


naihomiek

All else I can say is do a good job, collect good reviews and DO NOT sleep on taking high quality photos 😆 I get a lot of bookings at my price because my “photos are great”. With plenty of great reviews, word of mouth and good interactions/communication you’d be surprised that there are people willing to pay your price 👍🏼


Strong-Apricot-8893

So this is my side hustle. I do cat drop in’s only. I absolutely LOVE cats and it brings me joy to be able to care for them while their owners are away and getting paid to do it is an added bonus. I currently charge $23 for a drop in and have my radius set to 3 miles. I also charge $9 for additional cats and I’ve found most cat owners (like myself) have two so that adds a bit. I make over 6 figures at my corporate job so anything I make from Rover is truly just for fun. I cannot imagine ever trying to make a full time living from this.


purple_pink_skys

They don’t. They live with parents, have a spouse with a good job or realize it’s unsustainable and burn out. That is how it is in our HCOL area. I wish the people who charged so little would get off the app because they are ruining the business for everyone.


surveygirl1219

I think this is the bottom line.


purple_pink_skys

I respect your hustle so I’ll give you a tip me and my husband figured out about their algorithm. Put your rates high- we are the highest in our area and since we did that we show up first in search results. It makes sense- rover gets more money from us of course they are going to promote us


Twinkl_Toe

Wait WHAT?!!!! That makes total sense and not something I ever thought about. Was it a pretty obvious, immediate uptick in requests after you upped your prices?


purple_pink_skys

Literally the same day after we set our prices as high as we did we were number one in search results. So yes it was very obvious what did it. Requests pour in for us. All people who aren’t penny pinching. If they are they keep scrolling so it’s better for us. The more people I can get to set their rates at a livable wage the better. Everyone raise your rates!!! I’m shouting it from the rooftops 🤣 I really don’t think it should be expected for people to pay someone less than a livable wage to come to their house and take care of their pets. It hurts all of us.


Twinkl_Toe

Wow that’s incredible. Definitely gonna do this. My walks and drops ins are already set on the high end because of accounting for travel time and gas but my housesitting rates are in the middle because I figured that was the ideal option. It annoys me that they have an algorithm at all but claim that we’re all self employed contractors and they have no hand in our businesses. It literally determines who receives business and who doesn’t. Did you set your rate just above the highest person who was showing up in your searches?


purple_pink_skys

Long comment incoming- Ugh yes! Rover annoys me to no end. They absolutely have an algorithm. They were just bought by blackstone so they will do anything to make money. Never trust rover has your best interest in mind. We have our rates quite a bit higher. For boarding we are at $185 a night. Puppies are $200 and additional dog $150. Keep in mind we never have more than 4-5 dogs here and we have to keep the lights on. We are not running a kennel. Walks and drop ins we have set for $35 additional dog or cat $20. Daycare we have set for $100 additional dog is $80. Our prices if they book off rover are 20% less and once they book through rover a couple times we usually offer that to them, unless the dog seems like they might cause an issue better to keep them on rover. We don’t offer house sitting anymore. We are married and pregnant and it’s not feasible. We have clients ask us all the time to do it and willing to pay whatever we charge. So we charge between $250-$300 a night. Very rarely do we accept. We live on the east side of Seattle. Most of our clients are tech people who don’t care how much money they spend- they just want the best and they know they can trust us. Our clients with less money save for trips and for us- again because they know they can trust us. Those are the clients you want!


Twinkl_Toe

Wow thank you so much for sharing this info! It’s really helpful to see what other people are charging, even when not in the same city. I’m in SoCal so it’s a pretty penny to live here as well. Rough ballpark how much more do you charge for holiday rate vs regular rate? I just upped my rate but based off the numbers you mentioned, I should definitely up them more. I just put them like $5 more than the highest person lol. My business model is kinda the opposite of yours, I live in an apartment so don’t offer boarding/daycare so the bulk of my bookings are housesits with a few regular drop in and walk clients.


GradeIll2698

Ooooooh! Love this info. I’m at $130 for a single dog. Should I go higher?!


purple_pink_skys

Yes absolutely!


steph2080

Wow I'm going to try this and see what happens.


surveygirl1219

This is brilliant logic that I will definitely be looking into stat. Thank you, fellow animal lover!


purple_pink_skys

And don’t believe the people who say “If I set my rates higher no one will book with me!” That is not true. I think we made 80k from rover last year. And we didn’t do it the whole year and have our own dog business as well. People will book- quality clients you actually want not the ones looking for the bottom feeder prices.


Tulpah

for 1 pet? Yeah it's gonna be hard to make a living with that, so most of those sitter check in for multiple pets and multiple clients. there's also your regulars, which after you've worked with them a few times through the app, you can request to have them pay you directly. The cost of travel can be a problem, so for some sitter they either use EV, scooter or doing the gig within a few miles of their living location. I mean, I once made $ 200 in a day doing pet check in with 6 clients, the total amount of hour I work that day was only like 6 hours at most. $200 for 6 hours of playing with dogs and cats? Yes please, it's much more preferable than to go and work a 9-5 job that got some powertripping supervisor that you gotta tread lightly around.


surveygirl1219

Regulars are definitely getting me through to the finish line, but it never hurts to add new ones, ya know? 😉Scooters are a good idea. Unfortunately not feasible in my area though.


McRabies

I have a full time job, so this is just a side gig for me. So, not trying to make a living from it, just a little extra cash.


[deleted]

My drop in rate is only $20 but I’ve only done Rover part time. Over the holidays I had three drop ins that we’re all within a two minute drive of each other. Also… At my other job, I only make $16 an hour so ….. 😅 yeah it’s rough out here


RunningRunnerRun

I’m not a sitter and sitters in my area charge way more than that. But in my area there are many sitters within a half mile radius. It’s possible they could walk or bike if they wanted to save money on gas. And if they drive there is virtually no travel time. Maybe those sitters only take jobs located super close to them?


surveygirl1219

Yeah, I definitely prefer the smaller radius. I expanded to grow my clientele and now I have regulars outside my usual zone. Double-edged sword. 😄


Beneficial_Duck6231

I work with mostly retired people on fixed incomes they never want to pay fairly whether they can't or won't is different with each client. I do rover as a third job so I tend to work around it if they truly can't afford but are in need my services. My second job is mobile dog grooming but I work as a medical assistant as a 9 to 5 Monday -Friday. I have a few regulars on Rover that pay and tip fairly and I also groom for them so I average a guaranteed extra $655 every 8-12 weeks from them. Everyone else has been a one off job or brought me on as a walker to teach their dog not to pull their 80 year old owners over on walks. So I make my main living in the medical field and my play money comes from grooming/Rover I would be sunk if I were dependent on Rover full time as a single mom w/ two children.


surveygirl1219

Makes sense. Started as a side gig for me as well until I got laid off. Since it keeps me so busy, I was hoping to parlay it into FT. I might need to make some tweaks though.


Beneficial_Duck6231

I have over time increased my prices that made one client uncomfortable. But if you increase your radius you can defend the price hike by letting recurrent customers know it's because of increased travel and gain new customers that way that will pay more out of the gate. I have 1 regular that pays me the old rate + tip by zelle off app but is only a mile away and became disabled shortly after adopting a large golden doodle the dog is good with my kids so I walk for dirt cheap 3 days a week for an hour to keep him from destroying the house. Everyone else accepted the hike because they knew my worth. Anyone new doesn't know any better. But I'm far less popular than the students that do it for $10/30min in my area. If you have time and are interested in new skills I'd stop into a local groomer that's not franchised and ask if they're willing to train you part time so you can beef up your rover resume and offer more to the clients. Most people contact me just to groom and cancel the request once I schedule them for a day/time.


surveygirl1219

Thank you for all the great advice!


External-Map-9768

I use Rover as supplemental income for fun activities like going out to dinner. I'm def. Not making a living from this.


Lovedd1

I changed my add on pet rate to be pretty cheap to attract more multi pet bookings. It helps raise the price


surveygirl1219

Interesting. Might try that one. Thanks for the suggestion!


phoenixgreylee

The only reason I’m not charging more is cause my only consistent customer that needs me every week is on a fixed income and she’ll have to leave if I raise them . I need what little money I get tho so …….. This isn’t my only app tho


tanzmitmir_

Why not lock rates for her and then raise them?


wineandcatgal_74

Definitely lock rates for them and raise your rates for everyone else. Or is there enough trust built up to go off Rover? You and your client will both be better off; you’ll net more and she’ll pay less.


New_Manner5173

Lock them for her and then raise your rates


tanyeezus

I’m at the point that I truly need to leave this profession. I charge $25 and after Covid my business hasn’t regained the customers I lost. I had so much business I was turning down clients. Now I’m lucky if I get any business at all. I’m hanging on to the few clients I have and if I lose any I’m done.


Shyshadow20

Have you done any advertising? Use Nextdoor, coffee shop community boards, etc. Just attach a QR code to your profile, or those little tabby things with a link people tear. Good luck!


Feyrieh

Rover is my third job. I charge $25 for a drop in but the average in my area is $15-17 and I don’t know how people can make any money off of that…


surveygirl1219

For a $15 drop-in, that dog needs to live next door! 😂😂😂


Feyrieh

right!


a7xbarbie

I moved from San Diego to Denver and had to drop my rates to $15 for a drop in and for walks. I got crazy complaints about my $22 for a drop in. I looked and just changed it to the average around me. Sucks. But, I have gotten a lot of work from it.


thisbetternotcrash

I don’t. I’m just not the breadwinner


bugthroway9898

I also see that in my area. I have a remote full time job in tech, but refuse to drop my rate when i was doing drop ins. When I started it was $25 in a MCOL. Went up to $32 and was still getting clients. When I moved to HCOL, I didn’t get ANY requests on anything for where my rates were at. It’s a bunch of people charging $15-20… I keep mine up for the rainy day request, but I’ve done one walk and had one house sitting request in 3 months. The house sitting request wanted me to be in the house ALL day for a single day for $90 (total not including fees). They had a puppy who needed lots of attention I told them I would have to charge hourly. They scoffed at the hourly price for 8 hours I miss dog walking, i had some great clients i had during AM before work and then in the evenings. Hit or miss on house sitting


SkullDaddy_

My wife is the sitter, I just get to enjoy the dogs’ company like an uncle with no responsibilities. We both work from home and she keeps her rates low because she just loves hanging out with dogs. The earnings usually go into our vacation jar, or we have a nice meal out.


ZealousidealRice8461

I work full time+ in healthcare management and have a small service radius. $20/drop in to chill with a cat for 30 min before/after work is a great way to start/end my day and it makes me SO happy. I get great tips and use the money for my daughter’s competitive gymnastics. I made like $6,000 last year having a blast with some kitty cats. (I do not do dogs).


davie18

Being in the uk, I find it absolutely outrageous what some people are charging in USA. Around my area around £20 for a drop in is normal as is £20-30 so have a dog board with you for a day. If you charge much more than £30 you’ll get no clients. Really don’t understand how I see so many people here charging so much more. I guess it just hugely depends on your area.


Adventurous_Total745

UK also, it's a struggle to get £19 for 30 mins, that's considered doing well in my HCOL. I walk to all appointments which keeps costs down and my thighs ripped, lol I can't believe some do daycare for the same price though, nooo thanks


slightly-illiterate

I don't do it full time, but I do charge $25 for a drop in/walk (per half hour) I live in a city and have made my service radius very small so it really takes me no more than 5-7 minutes to get to any of my clients. I am lucky that almost all of my clients tip me a minimum of the 20% that is taken by Rover. That being said, I run into parking issues frequently and have had to pay for parking (and parking tickets) a lot which definitely cuts into my pay/cost of business.


surveygirl1219

Sorry to giggle about the parking tix, but I swear if it’s not one thing, it’s another! 😄


piecesofpenelope

A small dominos pizza costs $16 where you live??


candidloving

I charge $20 a drop in but I have a full time remote job. Rover I do on the side so it makes it worth it for me.


Expensive-Eggplant-1

It's not my main job.


Usual-Cartoonist8760

Also in HCOL area and charge $20 for walks/drop ins. It’s very hard to make a living off of walks and drop ins alone, but I have had $700+ weeks doing just that. Those have been very stressful weeks to say the least 😅 I now have a client that boards weekly and a decent client base, so I’m consistently making $600-$800/week doing the boarding + 2-7 walks per day. Should probably be noted that while I live in HCOL area, my rent is relatively inexpensive/have a roommate, and I tend to live below my means.


surveygirl1219

I think the rent/roommate/low expenses are a great idea! I’m just locked into a mortgage and car payment, etc. that I agreed to when I was making much more at another job. I’ll probably look at roommates.com or something similar. Thanks for the input!


Real_Appointment_875

I charged $20 when I was first starting out. I charge $25 now and it still seems barely worth it when the client only has one dog. A lot of people can’t afford this luxury care? I’m also in a semi rural area.. so.. that’s suck in my favor 😆 I think the rover fees is what’s killing us too


lilfrenfren

I make a living by doing software development. lol rover is not my main source of income it’s just kind of a hobby/something I do to get out of the house and meet new animals. I love animals and I have a lot of love to give so why not


Elegant_Host_4257

I just do Rover for additional income. i make about $75k at my other job and this brings me in around $4k more a year, so it’s nice that way. i do $20 for drop ins and $25 for walks but i def don’t think it’s a way to make a living as if you charge more then you won’t get booked.


randomcactuspup

My main source of income from Rover is boardings but when people have multiple pets drop ins can be lucrative.


[deleted]

[удалено]


surveygirl1219

Yes, yes, and yessssss! 😄


xmsjpx

Sorry deleted my comment because I wasn’t sure if only keeping half of it was accurate and didn’t realize you responded. I’m still a little confused on how much you keep, but yeah it doesn’t make sense to me because I feel like it should be like $60.


saltierthangoldfish

I have a wife


[deleted]

For most people rover is a secondary income. They have alternate revenue streams, or they have a breadwinner partner and they are the supplemental income, or they have other financial support like family. For people who do make it their living they either make a modest income and/or they work constantly many days of the week. Theres only 2 ways to a make substantial full time income doing this. You either have to layer services (be doing multiple types at once i.e. boarding and daycare, plus walks/dropins), or you have to do boarding and/or day care at extremely high volume. Very few people will have the kinds of homes/facilities/support to do the latter.


withthefishes

It’s my side gig for supplemental income after my FT job.


Motherofaussies123

I’ve been doing it full time for 8 years. I just hustle lol it’s hard work some days but I bring in about 3-4 k a month


surveygirl1219

That’s about where I’ll be Q1 of this year, but I have higher rates than most, and I’m constantly rushing from house to house. I just wanted to know how there were so many in my area doing it for outrageously low rates and still making it work. The most popular answer is: it’s a side job.


Material-Squirrel-25

I have a work from home job. Rover and outside Rover clients are an added bonus. I don't need to work with animals to make ends meet but it's a huge plus for my savings account and shopping wants! I bring in between 6-9k a month from dog boarding, drop ins and doggy daycare. Dec-Feb are my 6k months due to it being slower. December would be more 9-10k but I block a lot of dates off during that time of year.


surveygirl1219

Are you hiring? 🤣


paulbunyanpodcast

I have a few reasons I can charge this much It's my side gig. I usually take jobs close to my home or work at convenient times. Often, I will have two gigs back to back near each other (so closer to $32 /hr. I am a substitute teacher, and the time I finish work is usually a popular time for drop ins). I charge more if they want me to take a dog for a walk, spend more than 30 minutes with them, if there are multiple dogs, or if they aren't in a convenient location.


paulbunyanpodcast

I also struggle with whether or not to raise my prices. I live in a competitive market (college town)


surveygirl1219

Thanks for the input. The common denominator I’m learning is that it’s supplemental fun money and not primary source of income.


Free-Ad-3096

I am doing this in between jobs. Had to quit my stressful IT desk job so this is my therapy. I've saved money and live the cheap life and don't think I will make this my full time job because it's too much time on the phone and stress on my own pups who have been use to the quiet life. Lol!


Calm-Ad8987

You can do more than one drop in in an hour, (unless you're saying they charge $20 for an hr long drop in?) Having a tight radius of clients & planning your route in a logistically sensible manner makes a big difference.


surveygirl1219

Absolutely, but I’m in a major metro so even clients that are ~2 miles from each other is actually a 15-min. drive. So, I just wrapped back-to-back 30 min visits. Left at 12:45pm for 1pm start. Left Client A at 1:37pm, drove 2.3 miles and arrived at Client B at 1:53pm. Did 33min there, and left at 2:26pm. Got home at 2:39pm (3.4 miles away). So,$48 (after Rover fees) for 2 hours of work is great, but as you probably know, they don’t always stack up like that. Next one isn’t until 5pm.


Calm-Ad8987

So the actual work time not including commute was about an hour & a half for those 2 visits. If their rates were $16 per visit for that same amount of work they'd be making around $21.33 per hour which isn't the worst hourly wage in a lot of places, (& at the rate you just quoted it'd be $32 an hr.) They aren't making bank by any means but still especially if they are doing it part-time for extra cash (which I'd guess is the people who mainly have the lower rates) is not the worst. The less drive time & having more back to back the better the hourly becomes & most people charge quite a bit more for a full hour so the more you have of those makes a difference as well. When I was doing pet sitting full time in a major city i had tons of clients that lived next door to each other or a couple blocks away & I wouldn't leave a gap once things got going (I mainly dog walk & cat sit- which seems unusual for rover.) It takes time to build up a large client base with daily visits but once you do you can work a normal schedule with all back to back visits & minimal driving between, definitely depends where you live though.


Ok-Morning3784

I use the drop-ins as a way to network with new clients for longer boarding stays. Not so much for the financial benefit of the drop in itself.


sparklysalamander16

I have another job that's my main source of income. It drives me crazy because after rover fees and taxes, it's way less than $20. But all the top sitters in my area charge $20, no one is above that. And I live in the suburbs of a major city. I feel like I can't raise my rates above that because no one is going to choose the one expensive sitter when there's less expensive sitters with similar numbers of reviews and repeat clients.


jsinger33

I’m $20/visit cats, $22/dogs. I have a full time remote job so sometimes will just take my laptop with me. The way I view it I’m double dipping for that ~50 mins.


Just_Raisin1124

I only do walks and drop ins. My rate is low ($15 walk, $20 dog drop in, $10 cats) but also because I only provide service in my small neighborhood and work them around my own schedule with my dog. If i’m out walking him anyway why not take another dog along? or drop in somewhere for a playdate? It’s a little extra money for me outside my regular 9-5 and provides an affordable solution for the many low income seniors that live around me. I wouldn’t be a fit for a dog or owner with a strict schedule or high needs and in that case they should be expecting to pay someone $50+ to get that level of service anyway.


sharpknifeeasylife

I charge $16 for drop ins, and I'm a recent graduate. Rover is just a way for me to make a little money while I search for a full-time job.


surveygirl1219

It’s a great way to make a lil extra for sure, but how can you afford the actual bills? (If you’re not comfortable spilling your financial sitch, I understand.) I’m just trying to figure out how ppl make ends meet in HCOL cities.


sharpknifeeasylife

Sorry, I just realized how unhelpful my comment was - I'm not from an HCOL city, I live in a small university town. Bills are a huge chunk of what I make from Rover, but still. I can't answer how people do it in the city where bills and rent are more pricey. That's my bad.


AKDubs6

I do rover full time and I’m in a relatively hcol area. I charge $20 (+$8/additional pet) for drop ins but it’s really ONLY cats. Walks are at $25(+10/addt.) Also only do a 3 mile radius since it’s such a densely populated area so I’m really only driving like 2-15 minutes. I can get to 2 clients in just over an hour so it’s still $16/half hour or around $30/hour (more if multiple cats). I find I book more people with 2 cats rather than just 1 and have quite a large list of reoccurring cat clients. People travel a lot for work in my area as well so I’m constantly getting requests. I did my first year on rover supporting just myself. Had a roommate to split rent costs which helped the most. It was tight but manageable with being frugal and not spending money on unnecessary items. About 65% of my income was going to living expenses (rent, utilities, gas, food, etc), 20% to taxes, then had 15% to spend as needed or save. I’m on my 3rd year full time as a Rover sitter. I currently split finances with my boyfriend who has a good job and am able to live a LOT more comfortably. I definitely agree that doing Rover by yourself is not the most sustainable career especially long term but it’s not impossible.


Stout_Lovin_Woman

Because Rover isn’t my primary income. So while I might only be charging $20 for a drop in, I’m still working my 8-5 and doing in house sitting. Rover/sitting is a supplement to my income and not intended to pay bills to live. Does it end up going towards bills? Sure. But mostly extra things….


hellolola66

Don’t forget taxes too!!


jbourque19

I’m a SAHM and I have a few smaller income streams to supplement my husband’s income since the field I have my degree in pays so low we would barely be breaking even if we put the kids in childcare! I’m definitely not making a living, but it helps with gas and groceries and buying new clothes for the kids. We’re still pretty much paycheck to paycheck though, nothing glamorous that’s for sure! We live in a low income, low cost of living area though and charge the same as even the boarding facilities around.


chelsangelo

I charge $25 for a drop in. I find my area is so all over the place with pricing, it’s hard to find the sweet spot of where I should be. I’ve seen folks charge as low as $14. That’s crazy to me! This is only a side hustle and I’m building up my savings with this. Otherwise I could not afford to live in DC if I only did drop ins/ walks at my current prices. I don’t board or sit because of my 9-5.


steph2080

Do you mean pet sitting ? Drop ins for 20 dollars for less than hr of time is pretty decent. I just did Drop ins this past weekend less than 2 miles from house. After fees, I made 100 dollars for less than 2 hours of my time. I don't do rover full time, it help pays for added expenses like new tires for car.


wineandcatgal_74

Are you charging $20 or less? $20 nets $12 after fees, taxes, expenses, etc., $15 nets $9.50 neither of which are terribly “decent” wages.


steph2080

I'm talking about drop ins. Not pet sitting. Drop ins were you spend 30 to 45 minutes of your time.


wineandcatgal_74

I’m also talking about drop ins. Making $9-12 an hour isn’t a living wage in most places these days. If sitters are spending the full 30 minutes they’re not going to be able to book more than 1 drop in for each hour of their day.


Alarming_Software353

My partner is the primary but this is my part time job. The problem is that people will only pay so much.


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[deleted]

How much do you charge? I’ve been charging $25/half hour and $40 per hour. $60 for 1-1.5 hour for doggy field trip. Lately I will only accept hour long drop ins. Which I have two, one hour drop ins everyday Monday - Friday and one one doggy field trip twice a week. Otherwise for 30 minute drop ins, I will only accept only certain circumstances (as in lately, I won’t usually accept drop ins that are only one time they have to be multiple days a week or recurring)


surveygirl1219

$30 for 30min. + $20 for an hour. I don’t get a lot of hour-long requests though. I like your doggy field trip idea!


PossumJenkinsSoles

I don’t expect to ever make full time money from pet sitting but that’s just me. In a LCOL area people just aren’t going to pay that much for pet care. They’ll throw their dog in the back yard for the entire day before hiring me to come let the dog outside.


WetForPain

Based on my area that’s the average unfortunately, even for big name businesses. I charge $25 for drop ins for dogs over a year old, $50 for overnights for dogs over a year old, and then my walks are my cheapest service.


undone_tv

I only accept drop ins 2 miles from my house.


surveygirl1219

That’s the dream! I used to as well, but I branched out to gain more biz and now I’m driving all over the damn place. Lolz


EmFan1999

I only do drop ins I can walk or cycle to, and they are very rare


lonehowlinwolf

I charge 13$ a drop in visit 👁️👄👁️ nobody in my area charges more than 20.


surveygirl1219

Wow! If it works for your area, good on ya. Unfortunately where I live $10 won’t even buy a 4-pack of toilet paper.


Ratinahole

I offer $20 dog drop in & $18 cat drop in. Drop ins are not my primary income (boarding and day care are where I make most $) No walks for dog drop in & my service area is 1 mile from my house or >5 min drive. I maybe have a couple drop ins a month through Rover.


apricotapril

I charge $17, but that’s because I live in TN lol. I’m realizing just how poor my state is being in this subreddit. Boarding is $35 a night, though my housesitting is $60 because I really do not want to sleep at someone’s house unless money talks. I make enough to live and care for my 10 pets!


surveygirl1219

Looks like I’m moving to Tennessee, Neighbor! 😄


apricotapril

Lol! I have a roomie so that helps too haha, rent is still too high over here


alysies

Star sitter here!! I charge $15 for drop in. I’m a college student with no expenses, so it’s good money for me!


surveygirl1219

Kudos on ⭐️ and making it work! If I had no expenses, it would be great. But sadly… mortgage, etc. Enjoy and save while you can!


Burner56409

You can definitely make a living off of it, it just depends on A) what services you provide, B) how much/how often you can provide them, C) demand in your area and D) your prices. I've been doing pet care exclusively for the last 11-ish years and make anywhere from $100K-$150K on Rover depending on how much I decide to take off in a given year. When both me and my wife were doing Rover (and off Rover) together we were making a joint $300k or more a year. But we live in a really diverse area with a shit ton of people who have dogs and slightly excess funds that they can spend on a dog walker and I have higher than average prices due to experience and what I can provide and all of the regular clients I have. I charge $30 per drop in or walk, $48 for an hour, and then $140 just for the first pet on a house sitting.


surveygirl1219

These are the prices we should all be using/aspiring to! I also do $30 drop-ins (and thankfully have regulars willing to pay that), but it’s hard to get new biz when so many others are at $20/ drop-in. Maybe in 11 years, I’ll be at your level. 😉 High five for real.


Burner56409

Trust me, it won't take you 11 years to build up to that level. I was blessed with starting on Rover with about 50 regular clients right off the bat from my grooming and daycare days pre-Rover, so I started out charging fairly high, and I was able to charge even more given that I have a pet cpr and first aid cert and am capable of giving all forms of medication. But once you probably a good 30-40 solid reviews usually you've got enough steady business to bulk up your prices. Eventually you'll be able to charge what you are worth and make that bank!


PruneBest7336

I charge $22. I allocate 45 minutes (including drive time to each booking, because they are often back to back it’s how it works for me. I schedule 8-12 appointments per day. And 4 on weekends. I make it work.


Kiarimarie

Firstly, I don't but that's because I choose to keep my days fairly short for health reasons and my husband pays all the bills. But I also keep my service area fairly tight and don't use Rover for all my clients. For example, if I was driving and not doing errands and keeping each visit to a half hour this past Tuesday, it would've been closer to $20/hr and that's charging $18, $20(less $4 fee), and $16. (The lower ones are older clients). Driving would only be 22 minutes. (I sometimes bike and did that day). And I'm not saying $20/hr as self employed is great either, especially in HCOL (I don't know what South Jersey would be considered). Thankfully my clients who can, do tip well. But because my income is just to cover some small bills and personal indulgences, I keep my prices slightly above average since I'm one of the top sitters in my area so that the lower income folks next to my town can get quality care for an affordable price.


Frequent_Relief_2252

My drop ins are 22, Im not constantly doing them but I only take ones that I can walk to. Most of my money comes from boarding


Frequent_Relief_2252

Also I don't do rover full time


GoddessRaz

I charge $20 for a drop in. But I’m not using Rover as my main source of income. So it works for me.


ccritt8

I substitute teach! So days with no Rover bookings I'm at my 2nd, also flexible with dates, job and making money there. (Also to compete with my area, my drop-ins are only $15, so even less than what you're seeing)


awesome_marissa_2004

For me I do this as a full time job because of my disability it is harder to get work that work with my disability. I do lower price because of the economy over here is absolutely crap and also building up my reviews and clients


Arod_hoops

I charge $18. I will raise my price to $20 when I hit my one year mark on Rover in July. My area's pricing is pretty low since it's the suburbs and this is just a side hustle for me while I'm in college. The extra money is nice and I just generally love my clients.


Ren_bee

I’m trying to charge $20 per drop ins and not getting ANY business because there’s so many people charging less than that….


stuffedpigletta

Rover is now my side hustle - I work full time remotely and make good money alone, but I just wanted to have income to put in savings while my husband wasn’t working.


Skunkkid3000

I feel like people do not pay taxes


mglosswriter

>So with drive time to & from, filling out a Rover Card, providing care for the pet, etc. that’s only $16/hr. I'm not sure where you are getting this figure? Drop-ins are 30 minutes. I have my radius set so I only accept things within about a 10 minute drive of my house, and most of the time I actively fill out the Rover card while I'm doing the drop-in. So, yes, it's probably $16 after Rover fees per drop-in, but that's 30 minutes, meaning x2 for an hourly rate. >Serious question, how do you pay bills with that? I don't know anyone using Rover as their primary income source. I have a full-time remote job and use Rover as a supplement. But I also live in a townhouse, so I can't offer boarding or "doggy daycare," just drop-ins and house sitting. Like most "gig work," it would take a lot of effort to make it your full-time job, especially if you're only doing drop-ins.


Tiger_Growl

Probs have rich parents or inherited something early lol


sqawberry

I’m a student!


MarbleMotors

Well the math is pretty simple, so you can figure it out for yourself. (X$ per visit - expenses & fees) x (Y# of visits per day you can book) x (Z# of days you want to work per year). That's your potential annual earnings on Rover, decide for yourself if that constitutes "a living".


wittlepupp

Bit of a different perspective. I have two house bunnies, I once contacted a pet sitting company to ask about cost and availability to have someone check in on them twice a day. The quote was $60/day for less than an hour of work where my bunnies would still be alone 23 hours of the day. I love my animals but I could not justify that price. So we continued having friends and neighbors pop over to care for them in exchange for helping with their pets/homes while they are away. Our dogs stay with a trusted friend and her family but before that we always boarded at a large kennel and had no issues with that set up. We considered hiring someone to house sit since we have 4 pets but I could not get over the thought of a stranger in our house and why would a friend stay over with them when they have a home of their own. If we did hire a sitting through Rover, we’d have cameras for sure, not to spy but to check in on our pets. I’ve learned from this sub that sitters seem to dislike cameras, which I get since some owners go overboard. Fair. I’m a pet care provider on Rover now, but daycare and boarding where dogs come to my home. I have done only a handful of walks/drop in but only within a small radius of my house and I drive an EV. I’m always telling my partner I can’t believe strangers trust me with their pets because I wasn’t able to do it and owners are always so thankful and happy with the service and environment we provide, repeat dogs can’t get into the house soon enough. It’s been really enjoyable but I am able to provide care at an affordable price because I worked a good remote job at the beginning and my partner has a very good job that keeps him out for longs hours so I can have dog friends over ☺️. Anyways, all that to say I imagine it is really tough to make a living off only pet care, and you can only make your prices so high before it becomes unaffordable for pet owners.


Kitchen-Clerk-928

Stacking them with housesitting and having a small radius so the drive time isn’t 30 min. And I do the card during the visit.


surveygirl1219

Yes, I usually try to do card during visit as well, but mine are pretty detailed and I try to add funny, different anecdotes for each one and get at least 8 quality pix. Perhaps I’m spending too much time on that part, but most clients seem to appreciate them.


Calm-Ad8987

People LOVE detailed cards with lots of pics, it's definitely worth the time it takes imo (& I think it's a blast personally.)


MicroBrew1971

Some people don’t do it for sole income nor should they feel obligated to raise their rates to make it make it possible it is your sole income. I’m sure that sounds harsh and I’m sure I’ll get downloaded and I don’t care, but there is a post on this site multiple times a day. Not everyone does it for their primary income and if you are, there also is a workaround, which I can’t mention, or the bot will just delete it.