Austin rates by service
Every sitter sets their own rate, so these are the bands you are choosing inside. You will see the sitter's exact price before you confirm anything.
| Service | Austin rate | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| Boarding (dog stays at the sitter's home) | $42 - $78 | per night |
| Dog walking | $18 - $28 | per hour |
| House sitting (sitter stays at yours) | $50 - $100 | per night, national band |
| Drop-in visit | $15 - $25 | per visit, national band |
Tarrytown sitters list at the top, $55 to $78 a night, and Zilker, Barton Hills and South Congress at $50 to $72. Travis Heights and Bouldin Creek run $48 to $68, East Austin and Mueller $45 to $65, and Crestview and Allandale $42 to $62, where the yards suit bigger dogs. The true cost of pet sitting in Austin page has the full ledger.
The Austin dog owner's year
Sitters set their own prices, so the calendar does not raise a rate on its own. It changes how many sitters are still free when you ask.
| When | What it means for booking a sitter |
|---|---|
| January and February | The quiet stretch. A good time to try a sitter on a short stay before a big trip. |
| March (SXSW) | Festival weeks pack the hotels, and short-notice boarding requests climb fast. |
| April and May | Busy weekends, but mostly open calendars. |
| June to August | Family travel in triple-digit heat. A boarding sitter with good air conditioning is the scarce part. |
| October (ACL) | Two festival weekends lift demand for both boarding and drop-ins. |
| Thanksgiving week | Busy travel week, boarding fills first. |
| Christmas to New Year | The longest stays of the year, with many owners away a week or more. |
The holiday pet sitting guide covers how far ahead to plan for the winter weeks. For SXSW and ACL, message sitters a month or more before.
Six nights during SXSW
Say you leave Austin for six nights while the festival is on. Your dog boards with a sitter, priced here at the bottom, median and top of the band. The middle row uses $60 a night, the Austin median in Petme's own rate example for Bouldin Creek.
| Nightly rate | Sitter total (6 nights) | Typical platform fee, 11% to 15% | Total on a typical platform | Total on Petme |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $42 | $252 | $27.72 - $37.80 | $279.72 - $289.80 | $252 |
| $60 | $360 | $39.60 - $54.00 | $399.60 - $414.00 | $360 |
| $78 | $468 | $51.48 - $70.20 | $519.48 - $538.20 | $468 |
A house sitter for the same six nights costs $300 to $600 on the national band, and a typical platform's fee would add $33 to $90. On Petme the owner booking fee is 0%, so the sitter's total is the bill, and Petme credits cashback after a completed booking.
If you stay in town and work the festival instead, the cost is daytime care. One hour-long walk a day for six days is $108 to $168, or two drop-ins a day $180 to $300.
What changes a booking in Austin
The heat sets the walking schedule. The city's weather safety guidance for pets advises limiting activity on hot days and keeping dogs off hot pavement, which can burn paw pads. It names short-muzzled breeds such as boxers, pugs, shih tzus and French bulldogs as having a harder time in extreme heat, along with very old, very young and overweight animals. If your dog is one of those, tell the sitter, and expect summer walks to be short and early. The guide to dehydration and heat stroke in dogs lists the signs to watch for.
Tying a dog outside is not a fallback. The same city page says tethering dogs within Austin city limits is prohibited unless the owner is physically present with the dog. When you are away, the options are a sitter coming to the house, a house sitter, or boarding.
Location matters during festivals. Zilker Park hosts ACL, and traffic around South Austin gets heavy on festival weekends. A sitter who lives near you, rather than across the river, is far more likely to make every drop-in on time.
Boarding or a sitter at home
Boarding is cheaper, $42 to $78 a night against $50 to $100, and suits social dogs. A house sitter keeps your dog away from festival traffic and in its own routine, which is the better choice for anxious, older or medicated dogs. Browse dog boarding in Austin or house sitting in Austin, and the national dog sitting cost guide explains the difference between the four services. Down I-35, the San Antonio dog sitter cost guide covers a cheaper market with its own Fiesta crunch.
Austin dog sitting FAQ
What are dog sitting rates in Austin, TX?
Boarding with a Austin sitter on Petme runs $42 to $78 a night, and an hour-long walk $18 to $28. House sitting runs $50 to $100 a night and drop-ins $15 to $25 on the national bands. Rates are set by each sitter and shown on their profile.
What are Austin dog boarding prices?
Dog boarding in Austin costs $42 to $78 a night, with a median of about $60. Tarrytown sits at the top at $55 to $78, while Crestview and Allandale start around $42. Six nights at the median come to $360, with no owner fee added on Petme.
What are dog walking rates in Austin?
A one-hour walk in Austin runs $18 to $28 on Petme, which puts a full workweek of walks at $90 to $140. A 30-minute walk costs less. In summer, expect walks to move to early morning or evening because of the heat.
What do pet sitters charge on average for an overnight in Austin?
An overnight with a boarding sitter averages about $60 in Austin, inside a $42 to $78 band. A sitter staying at your home costs $50 to $100 a night on the national band. SXSW, ACL weekends and the winter holidays fill first.
What is the average price of a dog sitter in Austin?
There is no single average, because services are priced differently. Boarding averages about $60 a night, an hour-long walk $18 to $28, and a drop-in $15 to $25. Decide which service your dog needs first, then compare rates inside that band.
Where to go next
Booking happens in the Petme app, where you can message a sitter before you book. Each sitter on Petme has passed ID verification and a background check, and the Petme Protection Plan can contribute up to $22,000 toward eligible vet costs if something goes wrong. Start with dog sitters in Austin or find a pet sitter in Austin, and the questions to ask a pet sitter guide helps with the first message.
