In short: UK pet sitters typically earn £12 to £22 per dog walk, £10 to £18 per drop-in visit, and £25 to £55 per night for home boarding, with London at the top of every band. Part-time sitters commonly clear £800 to £1,400 a month before commission. The single biggest factor in what you actually keep is not your rates, it is how much your platform takes.
Search results for pet sitter pay in the UK are dominated by job sites quoting an average advertised salary of around £24,420 a year. That figure describes employed pet care roles at kennels and catteries. It tells you almost nothing about what a self-employed sitter taking their own bookings actually earns, because a self-employed sitter sets their own rates, chooses their own hours, and keeps everything except the platform's cut.
This guide breaks down real UK rates by service and region, works through concrete monthly income examples, and shows how commission decides your take-home.
Pet sitting rates in the UK by service
Rates vary by service, by how busy your area is, and by the time of year. Holiday periods push boarding and house sitting rates up sharply because demand spikes while supply stays flat. The bands below reflect typical 2026 going rates across the UK.
| Service | Typical UK rate | What it involves |
|---|
| Dog walking | £12 to £22 per walk | A 30 to 60 minute walk, often solo or in a small group |
| Drop-in visits | £10 to £18 per visit | A short home visit to feed, toilet and check on a pet |
| Doggy daycare | £20 to £40 per day | A dog spends the day in your home while the owner works |
| Home boarding | £25 to £55 per night | Overnight care in your home, the highest-value service |
| House sitting | £30 to £65 per night | You stay at the owner's home and care for the pet there |
Dog walking and drop-in visits are the easiest services to fill bookings on, because owners need them week in and week out. Home boarding and house sitting pay the most per booking but require more trust, and boarding in your own home may need an Animal Activity Licence. See our guide to the
home boarding licence in the UK before you advertise overnight care.
Pet sitting rates by UK region
Location matters. London rates sit well above the national average across every service, reflecting higher demand and higher costs. The South East, Bristol, Edinburgh and other major cities track close behind. Smaller towns and much of the North and Wales sit lower, though competition is often thinner there too, which can mean more consistent bookings for a reliable sitter.
| Region | Dog walking | Home boarding (per night) |
|---|
| London | £18 to £28 | £35 to £65 |
| South East and major cities | £14 to £22 | £30 to £55 |
| Midlands | £12 to £18 | £25 to £45 |
| North, Scotland and Wales | £10 to £16 | £22 to £40 |
If you sit in the capital, our
become a pet sitter in London page covers borough-level demand. For other cities, start from the
become a pet sitter in the UK hub.
Worked example: a part-time monthly income
Numbers are clearer than ranges. Take a sitter offering dog walking and drop-in visits five days a week, with no overnight care:
- 2 dog walks a day at £15 = £30
- 2 drop-in visits a day at £13 = £26
- Daily total: £56, across 5 days = £280 a week
- Monthly gross: roughly £1,120
Now a sitter who adds home boarding at weekends and over holidays:
- Weekday walks and visits as above: £1,120 a month
- 3 boarding nights a week at £40 = £120, roughly £480 a month
- Monthly gross: around £1,600
These are gross figures, before your platform takes its commission. That last deduction is where sitters lose the most money without realising it.
How much you keep: commission compared
Two sitters can charge identical rates and take home very different amounts, because platforms keep very different shares of each booking.
On
Petme, sitters keep up to 90% of every booking, the commission falls as your earnings grow, and active sitters earn up to 5% cashback on what they make. Owners pay no platform service fee, which keeps your headline rate intact rather than padded with a charge that makes owners hesitate.
On Rover, sitters keep 85% of non-recurring bookings, with recurring weekly bookings keeping more. Rover also adds a separate service fee to the owner at checkout, capped per booking. On Pawshake, the commission is a flat 19%, so sitters keep about 81% of each booking regardless of how often the client rebooks.
Here is the same £40 boarding night across the three:
| Platform | Sitter keeps | On a £40 night |
|---|
| Petme | up to 90% | up to £36.00 |
| Rover (non-recurring) | 85% | £34.00 |
| Pawshake | about 81% | about £32.40 |
On a single night the gap looks small. Across the £1,600-a-month sitter above, the difference between keeping 90% and keeping 81% is roughly £144 a month, or over £1,700 a year, for doing exactly the same work. For a full side by side, see our
best pet sitting apps for sitters in the UK comparison.
What affects how much you earn
Beyond rates and commission, a few things move your income more than anything else:
- Repeat clients. A handful of regular dog-walking clients is worth more than a stream of one-offs, because the bookings recur without new sales effort. A social profile that owners follow, rather than a job board you re-apply on, is built for exactly this.
- Service mix. Adding boarding or daycare raises your per-booking value far more than nudging your walk rate up by a pound.
- Seasonality. School holidays, Christmas and summer are when boarding and house sitting rates climb. Sitters who keep weekends free over these periods earn disproportionately.
- Reviews and response time. A complete profile, fast replies and early reviews are what turn a browsing owner into a booking. Our dog sitter rates guide covers pricing for new sitters in more depth.
The bottom line on UK pet sitting pay
The honest answer to how much pet sitters earn in the UK is that it ranges from a few hundred pounds a month as a side income to a full-time wage for sitters who board, hold the right licence, and build a loyal base of repeat clients. The rates you charge set the ceiling. The commission you pay sets how much of that ceiling you actually reach.
If you want to keep more of what you earn, you can
become a pet sitter in the UK with Petme and set your own rates. You can also see everything
Petme offers across the UK. New to it? Read our guide to becoming a pet sitter with
no experience, and on the tax side, our breakdown of
pet sitter tax for the self-employed.
Frequently asked questions
How much do pet sitters earn in the UK?
Self-employed pet sitters in the UK typically earn between £12 and £22 per dog walk, £10 to £18 per drop-in visit, and £25 to £55 per night for home boarding, with London at the top of each band. A sitter working part time can clear £800 to £1,400 a month before platform commission; full-time boarding sitters in high-demand areas earn more. What you keep depends heavily on the commission your platform charges.
How much do Rover sitters make in the UK?
Rover sitters in the UK set their own rates, but Rover keeps 15% of non-recurring bookings, so a sitter keeps 85% of what they charge. Recurring weekly bookings keep more. Rover also adds a separate service fee to the owner at checkout, which can hold down the rates owners are willing to pay. Actual take-home depends on your rates, booking volume and area.
How much does Pawshake pay sitters in the UK?
Pawshake sitters set their own prices and Pawshake deducts a flat 19% commission, so a sitter keeps about 81% of each booking. On a £40 night that is roughly £7.60 to the platform and £32.40 to the sitter. The flat rate applies to one-off and repeat bookings alike.
Can you make a full-time income pet sitting in the UK?
Yes. Sitters who offer home boarding and daycare, hold an Animal Activity Licence where required, and build a steady base of repeat clients can earn a full-time income, especially in cities and over school holidays. Boarding commands the highest nightly rates, and stacking two or three dogs over a holiday week is where the strongest earners make their money.
Do pet sitters pay tax on their earnings in the UK?
Yes. Pet sitting income is self-employment income. You can earn up to £1,000 a year tax-free under the Trading Allowance, but above that you must register with HMRC and file a Self Assessment return. Legitimate costs like insurance, equipment and a portion of your phone bill are deductible.
