easy and convenient
It’s very easy and convenient to search sitters. Good communication with sitters and parents.No annual fee is perfect for parents that something came out!
Joyce Chang
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Otter Childcare
4.818 reviews
Last reviewed: Feb 22, 2024Do you agree with Otter Childcare's TrustScore? Voice your opinion today and hear what 18 customers have already said.
withotter.comMember since Mar 2026
Otter Childcare is an online company. Based on 18 reviews on TrustPlane, it has an average rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars. Last reviewed February 22, 2024.
Customer Reviews
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18 reviews
We've only had one sitter but so far so…
We've only had one sitter but so far so good.This was our first time having a sitter at all. We got our 2yo bathed and into her PJs, then said bye to our sitter (Marleane) and our baby. Our sitter was great at playing with our kid.We didn't prescribe our typical bedtime routine -- instead they played for a while and then somehow our sitter got her to go to bed without crying! After we got home our baby stayed asleep and slept through the night.Total interaction time with the baby wasn't all that long, but it was a pretty excellent experience and we're hoping a few more times will make this an easier thing to do regularly.
Sam Liu
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Highly recommend!
The platform is easy to use. The babysitters we have had have been great. Only positive things to share so far!
Karyn Morgan Morgan
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Otter is such an excellent service
Otter is such an excellent service. Saved us so much time finding and vetting a babysitter. Plus I love that payment is all handled through the app and not awkward!
Annie
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As a 5 star provider
As a 5 star provider, I should be booking/ offered more jobs then i currently am.
Fethiya Idris
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Love Otter!
Great families & easy platform to work with.
caragh
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Variety of jobs! Nice group of families!
Thus far I've enjoyed my experience working for Otter. I've met some great families and kids. I like the ease of use and not having to find the variety of jobs. Love it!
Anastasia Autuori
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It’s very easy to book and find care
It’s very easy to book and find care. The payment process is easy as well.
Jill Patton
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nice way of filling in gaps in childcare
There is a lot that I like about Otter as a parent. The payment system is very convenient. It's nice that I don't have to deal with getting cash or writing out a check to someone like in a normal babysitting transaction. The other thing that I appreciate about this platform is that there are no monthly fees. I remember finding someone on care.com that looked like a good fit for my family but I didn't want to pay the costly membership. What has prevented me from using Otter on several occasions is the mileage fee. For someone to come to my home, it would cost an extra $50. I think this makes sense given many sitters are students who use Lyft/Uber. However, Otter has several sitters who own their own cars and might not necessarily live that far away. I recently booked someone just to find out that they only lived one town over from me. Maybe the mileage fee should be individualized to specific sitters? I don't know what the solution to that conundrum is, but at the moment that gas fee is a lot higher than what I pay to sitters (non otters) who attend Stanford. I think one downside to Otter is the game theory element of it all. Some sitters understandably want to work gigs that pay the most money, so they might not accept a booking made by a parent right away in the hopes that something better comes along. As a result, it might take a while to hear back on a potential booking. Generally speaking if I text a sitter outside of Otter they are a yes or a no pretty quickly. Otter is a great way to fill in the gaps for me. I am spoiled by in-laws who watch my kids for free. I also use teachers from my children's preschool to help out on the weekends. But in the instances that the grandparents or regular sitters are not available, Otter is a solid alternative.
Kathleen L.
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Trustworthy service with exceptionally…
Trustworthy service with exceptionally competent and reliable management and customer service staff. The friendliest, most transparent, and easiest-to-use babysitting service I have used. Need a sitter? Click. Need to pay? Click. That's it and everybody is happy: sitter, parents, and kids.
Anna L.
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Rates need to improve/ be consistent
I sometimes don’t understand the payouts and rates for Otter. Some offers are for $50 an hour due to transit fees or last minute, while others are $22 for long hours and a lot of children. I feel like this makes it so sitters incentivize the bigger payouts so they don’t accept the lower ones anymore or ones in advance that don’t get any bonuses. Also, I’m not sure how the process works for families, but a lot of the families use the platform and then ask sitters to come back for a solid rate (more than what otter offers normally), so maybe some improvements need to be made on that end too.
nancy
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You Otter Consider Otter Care
I really like Otter. We often ask friends to babysit, but it's nice to have other options and to not overload friends with babysitting requests. Our kids have loved the students who come babysit. It's an easy system to use. I wish it cost less, but that's just the Bay Area deal. I'd recommend anyone to use this service.
Sierra Thomander
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Otter is a great service the sitters…
Otter is a great service the sitters they sent were great and they spoke to me about the rigorous screening process they had to go through to get onboarded to Otter.
Joel G
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Very easy to work with
Very easy to work with. System is set up to help you book sitting jobs according to your schedule which makes it easy as a stay at home mom.
Natalia de la Quintana
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I’ve been a sitter with Otter for over…
I’ve been a sitter with Otter for over a year now and absolutely love working for them! Although they serve hundreds of families and manage so many sitters, Otter still manages to create the feeling of being a tight-knit, thoughtful community. They truly care about their sitters and make us feel like every one of us is an integral part of the team and that we are very valued. Each time I’ve had a question or concern, Otter has always addressed it quickly and with great regard to what I said. I also love the model of how Otter vets and background checks families first and does all the scheduling for sessions. As a sitter, this not only makes it super easy for me to just accept/decline sessions that work with my schedule, but it also makes me feel really safe going to each session and confident that there will be no hiccups. I truly could not imagine a better childcare company to work for!
Cassy Moretto Regout
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Amazing, reliable sitters
Otter has been a lifesaver for regular "date nights." We have been amazed at how the service has connected us with really high quality babysitters in the area (most often a student at a nearby university) and love how much time it saves us. Most of all, our kids have loved the sitters we've had! Unlike other sites where one has to send a dozen or more inquiries out, Otter provides vetted, reliable babysitting with one 30-second request.
Dom
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I have used Otter twice now
I have used Otter twice now. Its an easy way to book a trusted sitter. Both our sitters have been amazing with our children. Highly recommended
Zoe
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Dependable and easy to use!
I’m happy with Otter so far! It’s very easy to use, the sitters have been great, and I love the care team aspect and pricing model! Definitely will keep using them!
Soma
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According to TrustPlane, Otter Childcare has a 4.8/5 rating based on 18 verified reviews as of April 2026. Source: trustplane.app/company/withotter-com