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Updated for 2026: We’ve been house sitting since 2019 and have just refreshed this review with the latest updates for 2026, including current membership prices, new features like the 5-applicant limit, new booking fees, and tips for getting started. Whether you’re brand new to house sitting or looking to get the most out of your Trusted Housesitters membership, this guide has you covered. For everything you need to know about house sitting, check out our Ultimate Guide to House Sitting.
If you’re curious about house sitting or considering joining Trusted Housesitters in 2026, you’re in the right place. In this detailed review, we’ll walk you through how the platform works, what we love (and don’t love), and how you can decide if it’s the best house sitting website for you.
Click here to get 30% off any Trusted Housesitters membership with the code AFFNPLH26.
You can also watch our review right here ↓
We’ve been using Trusted Housesitters since 2019 and have completed 25 house sits across 12 countries in Asia, Europe, North America, and South America. It’s been an incredible way to travel affordably, meet great people, and hang out with the cutest pets on the planet. But we’ve also learned a lot of lessons along the way.
About Trusted Housesitters
Trusted Housesitters was founded in Brighton, UK, in 2010 and has one of the largest user bases of house sitting opportunities worldwide. Homeowners and house sitters pay an annual membership fee to join Trusted Housesitters, and house sits are arranged and agreed to through the platform.
Trusted Housesitters works as an exchange. House sitters stay in a home and take care of the pets, gardens, and any other agreed-upon responsibilities. In exchange, they live in the home for free. Sometimes house sits also include the use of the owner’s car.
Why We Love Trusted Housesitters
After seven years and 30+ months of house sitting, here’s what keeps us coming back to Trusted Housesitters:
🏠 Beautiful Accommodation Around the World
This is the biggest perk: we’ve saved thousands of dollars in rent by house sitting in places like Bangkok, London, the French countryside, and a small town in Panama. For digital nomads like us, house sitting is a game-changer.
🌍 Worldwide House Sits
Trusted Housesitters has listings in over 130 countries. Most sits are concentrated in the USA, UK, Australia, and Europe, but opportunities exist globally. We’ve house sat in Thailand, Malaysia, Panama, Peru, Costa Rica, Japan, and India, just to name a few.
🐾 Home Comforts & Pet Cuddles
Unlike staying in hotels or Airbnbs, house sitting offers a homier experience: full kitchens, cozy couches, and adorable pets to snuggle. It’s the best of slow travel and meaningful connection.
🔍 User-Friendly Website & App
Both the website and mobile app are easy to use, making it simple to browse, save, and apply for house sits. You can filter by date, location, pet type, and more.
A view of the available house sits on Trusted Housesitters in March 2026.
How Much Does it Cost to Join Trusted Housesitters?
The next thing we like about Trusted Housesitters might be surprising. Most house sitting websites have a fee to be a member, and Trusted Housesitters is one of the most expensive memberships out there. But we think that’s a good thing!
The homeowners who are members of Trusted Housesitters are looking for top-quality housesitters. Because of this, we’ve been able to secure incredible stays in beautiful properties all around the world.
We’ve stayed in wonderful and unique locations, from bustling neighborhoods in Bangkok, Thailand, to beautiful homes in quaint European villages. The types of house sits and locations available are plentiful and varied.
| House Sitter | Price (USD) | Features |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | $129 + $12 booking fee per sit | Unlimited sits |
| Standard | $169 + $12 booking fee per sit | Alerts, 24/7 vet line |
| Premium | $259 | All of the above + airport lounge pass, cancellation plan, and more |
| Pet Parent | Price (USD) | Features |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | $149 + $12 booking fee per sit | Unlimited sits |
| Standard | $229 + $12 booking fee per sit | Alerts, 24/7 vet line |
| Premium | $299 | All of the above + airport lounge pass, cancellation plan, and more |
| Combined | Price (USD) | Features |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | $209 + $12 booking fee per sit | Unlimited sits |
| Standard | $309 + $12 booking fee per sit | Alerts, 24/7 vet line |
| Premium | $399 | All of the above + airport lounge pass, cancellation plan, and more |
We recommend getting the Standard or Premium plan because of the additional benefits. One of the most useful benefits of both of those plans is that you can set alerts for when house sits for the places and dates you want become available. It’s important to apply quickly when you find a house sit you want, so this is a worthwhile benefit to have!
Click here to get 30% off any Trusted Housesitters membership with the code AFFNPLH26.
The Trusted Housesitters Website
The Trusted Housesitters website is well laid out and easy to use. There is also an app that is just as functional.
The process to find and apply for house sits is simple and fun!
The Trusted Housesitters Community
When you join Trusted Housesitters, you get access to their community forum. It is choc-a-bloc with information and resources to help you get started and answer any questions you may have.
The Trusted Housesitters community is very responsive and open to helping one another out. They also organize in-person meet-ups sometimes, although we haven’t been able to attend those yet.
We have met so many wonderful people and pets through the house sits we’ve done who have become friends. We still stay in touch with many of the people we have house sat for. We’ve even met up with them when our paths crossed. Not only that, but we’ve also been invited back by homeowners to house sit for them again.
Overall, we love using Trusted Housesitters to arrange house sits all over the world, and we don’t see ourselves stopping any time soon!
That said, it’s not perfect…
Things We Don’t Love (And How to Avoid Problems)
House sitting isn’t a free-for-all vacation. It’s a commitment.
As we mentioned before, when you are house sitting, the pets and the home are your #1 priority. That means that you may not have as much free time or flexibility as you might when you’re on a regular vacation.
That’s why it’s essential to discuss all the responsibilities and expectations with the homeowner upfront before accepting a house sit.
Some tips we’ve learned:
- 🐶 Clarify expectations with the homeowner before confirming a sit
- 📞 Have a video call to go over daily routines, pet needs, and house quirks
- 📋 Only apply to sits with reviews, especially when starting out
We once accepted a sit from a homeowner without reviews and didn’t ask enough questions… Let’s just say, lesson learned.
And there have been house sits where, after having a conversation with the homeowner, we realized it wasn’t a good fit, and we politely declined. It’s important to understand everyone’s expectations before accepting the sit so there are no nasty surprises.
How to House Sit Without Hiccups
Like in any relationship, communication is the leading factor in whether it will work out. That’s why we highly recommend jumping on a call with the homeowner to ask any and all questions you may have so that there are no unhappy surprises when you arrive at the house sit.
An issue we had was with a homeowner who didn’t have reviews. Unfortunately, we didn’t ask enough of the right questions on our call, which led to some misunderstandings and miscommunications during the house sit.
We also weren’t able to overlap with the homeowner in person before their trip as their dates changed. Because of the poor communication, it just wasn’t the best experience overall.
We now have a rule not to apply for house sits unless the homeowner already has reviews.
How Do I Become a House Sitter With No Experience?
You might be wondering about how to become a house sitter with no experience. How can you get reviews without having done any house sits, and how can you get house sits without any reviews?
The good news is that Trusted Housesitters has two types of reviews you can get: external references and reviews from homeowners/house sitters after a house sit is completed.
When you are first setting up your Trusted Housesitters profile, we recommend getting three to five external references from friends and family who know you well and can speak to your character.
Trusted Housesitters makes it easy to send these external reference requests through the website. Having these will go a long way in helping you land your first house sit or find a great house sitter.
Read our guide on how to become a house sitter with no experience.
Another thing that might mean house sitting isn’t a good fit for you is if you don’t like animals. About 95% of the house sitting opportunities on Trusted Housesitters include taking care of pets.
There are filters on the website that let you search for specific pets or even no pets to make it easier to find what you’re comfortable with.
TrustedHousesitters Updates
Five Applicant Limit
In 2023, Trusted Housesitters made a change to limit house sitting applications to only five house sitters per listing. That means after five people apply for a house sit, the listing is closed until the homeowner responds to those first five applicants.
This change is great for newer house sitters because it means that as long as you are one of the first five people to apply, you have a good chance of landing house sits.
However, for sitters who have been around for a while, like us, who relied on having lots of great reviews and experience to get chosen, it now means we need to be more on top of applying quickly.
In the past, we were able to secure house sits with 50+ applicants because of our profile and experience, but that won’t be the case anymore.
We understand why this change was made because it was difficult for homeowners to go through and respond to so many applications, and it was also hard for newer house sitters to land the sits they wanted.
Now, to make sure we stay on top of applying for house sits we want, we take advantage of the option to get instant alerts for our saved searches when house sits for the locations and dates we’re interested in become available. This feature is only available with the Standard Sitter and Premium Sitter plans.
Click here to get 30% off any Trusted Housesitters membership with the code AFFNPLH26
We honestly don’t have too many bad things to say about using Trusted Housesitters. We’re incredibly grateful for the opportunities we’ve gotten through the platform to travel to new places and live for free while meeting cool people and cute pets along the way!
Booking Fees for House Sitters and Pet Parents
At the end of 2025, Trusted Housesitters announced that Basic and Standard members, both house sitters and pet parents, will have to pay a US$12 booking fee per house sit.
Premium members will not have to pay the booking fees.
If you already have a Trusted Housesitters membership, this change will kick in the next time your membership renews.
How Trusted Housesitters Works (Step-by-Step)
🖥️ 1. Create Your Profile
After joining Trusted Housesitters as either a homeowner, a housesitter, or both, you set up your profile. Add photos, a bio, background info, references, and ID verifications. They’ll guide you through the process, which is quick and easy.
🔍 2. Search or List
Homeowners can share when they need a sitter and include their dates, information about the home, their pets, and the area they live in. They will also list all the responsibilities and expectations they are looking for from a house sitter on their profile.
Housesitters can search the Trusted Housesitters platform using filters such as location, dates, types of pets, sit duration, etc. to find house sits that are a good fit for them.
When a house sitter finds a house sit they like, they can apply to the house sit and send the homeowner a message.
💬 3. Communicate
The homeowner and housesitter exchange messages through the Trusted Housesitters platform and can set up a time to have a call together. We always like to do a video call with the homeowners through Skype, Zoom, or WhatsApp.
This is a great opportunity for both parties to get to know one another and ask all questions you may have before offering/accepting a house sit.
✈️ 4. Confirm the Sit
If both the homeowner and house sitter feel that it’s a good fit, then the homeowner will send an invitation to the house sitter. Then both parties can formally agree to do the house sit through the Trusted Housesitters website.
Before the house sit, we stay in contact with the homeowner to let them know about our arrival plans. Often homeowners will offer to pick us up at the nearest train or bus station if we are arriving by public transportation.
🐾 5. Prepare & Arrive
Before the house sit starts, the homeowner will be prompted by Trusted Housesitters to complete a Welcome Guide for the house sitter, which provides important information about the house, the responsibilities involved, emergency contact details, and any other useful information.
House sitters should expect a clean and tidy house when they arrive, and homeowners will expect that the house looks in as good of shape when they return.
In our experience, most homeowners leave some food for you to eat and may leave cash for incidentals related to pet care or something with the house.
Homeowners will often ask the housesitter to arrive a day or two in advance. That is so they can show the housesitter everything in person so they have a smoother transition. Often the homeowner and housesitter will spend time together and may share a meal before the homeowner leaves. However, this varies from sit to sit.
We’ve had situations where we only overlapped with the homeowner for a couple of hours before they left. Another time we overlapped with other house sitters, and once we didn’t meet the homeowner at all (not ideal)!
We prefer to overlap with homeowners for at least a day. It’s a great opportunity to get to know one another and make sure we can ask any questions we have in person.
Questions to Ask Before House Sitting
One good question to ask the homeowner is how often they would like updates about their home and pets. Some homeowners like to be messaged daily with a short update and pictures of their pets. Others may be comfortable with more infrequent communication.
Either way, you should be in communication throughout the house sit in case anything comes up that you need to ask about.
Read: The 37 Most Important Questions to Ask Before House Sitting
When the Homeowner Returns
Before the homeowner returns home, we always ensure that the house is as clean or cleaner than when we arrived. We also make sure there is some food available for the homeowner, as they did for us.
When possible, we like to cook a meal for the homeowner upon their return, especially if we will be staying at the house on the night they arrive home. This is a great chance to hear about their trip and catch them up on your time in their home with their pets.
Our Final Verdict: Is Trusted Housesitters Worth It in 2026?
After all the travel we’ve done, all the adventures, and all the furry friends we’ve made, there’s only one question left: is Trusted Housesitters worth it?
Absolutely.
Trusted Housesitters has given us the opportunity to:
- Travel affordably
- Live in beautiful homes
- Meet awesome people and pets
- Build lasting connections around the world
Sure, there’s a learning curve. But if you’re someone who loves pets, enjoys a slower pace of travel, and wants to experience new places like a local, we think you’ll love house sitting as much as we do.
If you have any questions about Trusted Housesitters or house sitting, feel free to leave them in the comments or send us a message on Instagram.
[…] There are a lot of house sitting platforms out there, all with different ranges and benefits. We’ve done 23 house sits (with #24 already on the books) across four continents in the past six years, totaling over two years worth of free accommodation in beautiful homes. And we’ve done all of them through Trusted Housesitters. They have the largest amount of sits available at any one time, they provide great benefits and easy communication for their members, and it’s just an easy way for house sitters and pet parents to connect and know that everyone is properly vetted and trustworthy. […]