Rover vs Wag for Sitters and Walkers: Who Pays More

Rover pays more for most walkers and sitters: it takes a published 20% and leaves you 80% of every booking, or $19.20 of a $24 walk. Wag no longer publishes its cut; its 2022 investor deck listed 40%, which would leave $14.40. Use the apps for reviews and build direct clients alongside, without moving app clients off-platform.

That is the honest headline. The rest of this page gives each app's fees from its own help pages, what walks actually cost in November 2026, what it costs to join, and what each app's terms say about moving clients off the app. If you are deciding whether pet care is worth doing at all, our pet sitting, boarding and dog walking guide covers the work, insurance and where the money concentrates (overnight care, not walks).

What does each app take from you?

Sources: Rover's service fees article and Terms of Service; Wag's investor presentation, tips page, service fees, sign-up article, Wag! Pro and sitter page. All checked 2 November 2026.

Two notes on that table. Rover's US article says "Service fees may vary", and its UK and European pages say take-home rates can depend on when your profile was created, so long-standing sitters may see a different number. And Wag's ownership changed in 2025: it completed a pre-packaged Chapter 11 reorganisation in September 2025, under which its secured lender took ownership. The app kept running, but the 2022 fee figure comes from when it was a listed company, and it may have changed. Before you rely on it, open the earnings breakdown in Wag's caregiver app.

What does a 30-minute walk pay on each?

Both companies publish what owners pay for walks.

Sources: Rover's national dog walking rates (September 2026), Chicago and Milwaukee guides; Wag's dog walking cost page and New York page. The take-home column is our arithmetic, plus tips, which both apps pass through in full.

Rover says most US walks fall between $16 and $25. Wag says most of its walks fall between $20 and $29, and a 20-minute Express walk averages $18.

Now turn that into an hourly figure. A 30-minute walk with 10 minutes of travel either side takes 50 minutes. At $17.16 kept per Rover walk, that is about $20.60 an hour before tips, fuel and tax, and less if you wait between bookings. Run your own numbers through the hourly rate calculator, including the hours you spend unpaid on messages and meet-and-greets.

How much should you charge on Rover and Wag?

Both apps let you set your own rates, so pricing is your first real decision.

Start near your local average, slightly below. Rover publishes city averages (Chicago $23.47, Milwaukee $19.44 for a 30-minute walk) and Wag publishes city prices too (about $24 in New York, $25 in Boston and Worcester, $23 in Portland, Maine). Find your own city's page on each app and set your first rate a dollar or two below it. Owners booking a sitter with no reviews want a reason to take the chance.

Raise it after five reviews. Reviews are what owners use to choose between sitters they have never met. Once you have five good ones, move to the local average. Once you have twenty and a waiting list, move above it.

Price the add-ons. A second dog, a puppy that needs extra care or a longer walk all take more time. Rover's house sitting rate guide lists typical add-ons such as $5 to $10 extra for puppies and for senior dogs or dogs with medical needs. Add them to your profile so you are not negotiating each booking.

Drop-ins are short and cheap. Wag's drop-in page says a 20-minute drop-in visit runs about $13 to $16. Count travel time before filling your day with them.

Which app has better protection?

Both run background checks and both offer a guarantee on bookings made through the app.

• Rover says every booking is backed by the Rover Guarantee, which "covers Up to $25,000 in vet care reimbursement for eligible claims related to injury to either the pet parent's or provider's pets", plus 24/7 support.
• Wag says every caregiver must pass a third-party background check, per its trust and safety page, and its guarantee terms say Wag "will step in to cover eligible costs of a Pet Owner" in set circumstances.

A platform guarantee is not insurance in your name. It covers bookings made and paid through that app, under its terms. The day you take a client of your own, you need your own pet sitter liability policy, which our pet sitting guide covers.

Which app suits which kind of work?

Walks on demand: Wag's walking page is built around on-demand walks: 20-minute Express, 30-minute and 60-minute Deluxe. If you want to pick up walks in gaps in your day, it is the more natural fit.

Overnight sitting and boarding: Rover. Our pet sitting guide explains why overnight care pays more than walks, and Rover lets you set your own rates with a known 20% fee. Wag adds a booking fee from $14.99 to every sitting or boarding booking on the owner's side, which makes your price look higher.

Both at once: Nothing in either app's fee pages stops you holding profiles on both. Keep each client on the app where you met them.

Which is cheaper for pet owners?

Owners pay the sitter's rate plus each app's fee, and the fees work differently. On a $24 walk, Rover's 11% booking fee adds $2.64, and Wag's flat $2.99 walk fee adds $2.99 (our arithmetic from the fee pages above). On a $300 week of boarding, Rover's 11% adds $33, while Wag's sitting and boarding fee starts at $14.99. For you as the sitter, that means your price on Wag looks closer to what the owner pays on long bookings, and slightly further on short walks.

What happens when an owner cancels?

Wag's cancellation policy for caregivers says that for walks and drop-ins "You receive 100% of the $5 cancellation fee when eligible". For longer services the payout depends on the booking. On Rover, read its cancellation terms for sitters before you accept your first holiday booking, because a cancelled week of boarding over Christmas is hard to refill.

Can you move repeat clients off the app?

This is the question everyone asks, and both apps answer it plainly.

Rover: "Arranging a booking on Rover, then completing it off Rover violates our Terms of Service and could result in losing your access to Rover" (Bookings on Rover). Its help centre adds that "Accepting payments outside of Rover could also lead to account suspensions for both the sitter and the owner" (support article).

Wag: its Terms of Service (updated 22 September 2026) say that if an owner solicits a caregiver they first met through Wag for off-platform care, "Wag! is entitled to charge both the Pet Owner and the Pet Care Provider a referral fee", and "Pet Owner's referral fee will be $1,000". Wag's help centre warns caregivers that off-app services with pet parents met through the platform "can lead to referral fees".

So the honest path is two separate books of business:

1. App clients stay on the app. They pay for the guarantee and you pay for the introduction. That is the deal.
2. Direct clients come from your own marketing. Flyers at vets and groomers, a post in your neighbourhood Facebook group or Nextdoor, cards for every neighbour whose dog you walk past, and referrals from your direct clients' friends. These clients never touched the app, so no fee applies, and you keep 100%.

Your app reviews still help with direct clients: you can tell a new client you have 30 five-star reviews, even though you cannot poach the people who wrote them.

What if you live in the UK?

Wag's sitter page says caregivers must be at least 18 and a US permanent resident (Wag), so in the UK the comparison is Rover against local independents. Rover's UK help centre says "Pet sitters and dog walkers take home 85% of their earnings from each booking", a better split than in the US, with the note that take-home rates can vary by when your profile was created.

Do you pay tax on Rover and Wag income?

Yes. Both apps treat you as self-employed, so nothing is withheld and you owe tax on your profit. Keep a record of every booking, your mileage between visits and anything you buy for the work (leashes, poop bags, treats, insurance). Our side hustle tax guide covers what to set aside and when to pay.

Who should skip this?

• Anyone who wants a full-time income from walks alone. At about $20 an hour before costs, walks are a starting point. Overnight sitting and boarding pay more per hour of commitment.
• Anyone who cannot meet clients and their dogs in person first. The meet-and-greet is the screening, for you and for the dog.
• Anyone uninsured who plans to take direct clients. The app guarantees do not cover you off the app.

Your first 30 days, dated

• Week of 2 Nov: Create profiles on Rover and Wag. Pay Wag's application fee only if your area shows demand on its owner pages. Price walks just under your local Rover average.
• Week of 9 Nov: Take every booking you can reach. Ask every client for a review after the second visit.
• Week of 16 Nov: Offer holiday sitting for Thanksgiving (26 November) and Christmas on Rover. Holiday dates fill early.
• Week of 23 Nov: Print 100 flyers with your own number. Leave them at two vets and two groomers who allow it. Post once in your local group with photos (with owners' permission).
• 30 Nov: Count. App clients, direct clients and hours worked. Raise your Rover rate to the local average once you have five reviews, and price direct clients at the app price, since there is no fee to pass on.