UrbanSitter
UrbanSitter is a U.S. marketplace platform, founded in 2010 and operating across all 50 states, that connects families with vetted babysitters, nannies, daycare providers, tutors, pet sitters, and senior caregivers through community-based referrals and employer-sponsored childcare benefits.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2010
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What UrbanSitter does
UrbanSitter is a U.S. childcare marketplace founded in 2010 and headquartered in San Francisco, operating across all 50 states with a headcount of 11-50 employees. The platform connects families seeking childcare with caregivers, including babysitters, nannies, daycare providers, tutors, pet sitters, and senior caregivers, using a community-referral architecture that ties caregiver discovery to 300,000+ local school, neighborhood, and parenting groups. Differentiating features include annual human-reviewed background checks, a dedicated Trust & Safety team, detailed caregiver profiles with repeat-family statistics, and rapid matching (last-minute job posts reportedly receive responses in under 2-3 minutes in most cities). The product surface spans native iOS and Android apps plus a web platform.
The company monetizes through a freemium membership model: families browse and post jobs for free but pay a monthly or annual subscription to book and message caregivers. Caregivers retain 100% of their earnings, which is positioned as a supply-side differentiator versus traditional agencies that charge placement fees. A newer B2B2C revenue stream, the Employer Benefits Program (benefits.urbansitter.com), packages the platform for corporate sponsors offering childcare stipends, with a partnership with ActivityHero (announced February 2026) extending the benefit into camps, after-school programs, and backup care. No revenue figures, ARR, or GMV are disclosed; total disclosed venture funding is approximately $42.9M across rounds from 2012 to 2025, including a $17M Series C in 2017 led by Advance Venture Partners and a ~$2.7M round in 2025. Recent strategic activity includes acquisitions of Sitter (2019) and Kinside (May 2025), as well as product expansion into pet care, senior care, tutoring, and household services.
UrbanSitter firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- UrbanSitter
- Legal name
- UrbanSitter, Inc.
- Website
- https://urbansitter.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2010
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- UrbanSitter is a U.S. marketplace platform, founded in 2010 and operating across all 50 states, that connects families with vetted babysitters, nannies, daycare providers, tutors, pet sitters, and senior caregivers through community-based referrals and employer-sponsored childcare benefits.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
UrbanSitter industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Childcare Marketplace
- NAICS
- Child Care Services (6244), Child Care Services (624410), Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (624120)
- SIC
- Services-Child Day Care Services (8351)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Childcare & Eldercare Caregiving Platforms (BPAMAHAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Nanny Agency / Placement Services (HSAAABAN), General Babysitter/Nanny Placement Agencies (HSAAALAA), On-Call & Last-Minute Babysitting (HSAAAAAC)
Keywords
Where UrbanSitter is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
UrbanSitter business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Family Membership Fees: Families pay a membership fee (monthly or annual) to access booking, messaging, and payment tools. Free to join, browse profiles, and post jobs; membership required to book.
- Employer Benefits Program: B2B2C revenue through employer-sponsored childcare benefits. Employers offer stipends that employees can use across UrbanSitter and partner platforms for various care services.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free tier for browsing and job posting |
| Subscription | Monthly | Paid membership for booking access |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
UrbanSitter product offering
Product offeringCore offering
UrbanSitter operates an online marketplace platform that connects families with background-checked childcare and caregiving providers, including babysitters, nannies, daycare centers, tutors, pet sitters, senior caregivers, and household service professionals. The platform leverages a referral network spanning 300,000+ local community groups across all 50 U.S. states to match families with caregivers trusted by people they already know. Families can join, browse, and post jobs for free, with paid membership required to book; caregivers retain 100% of their earnings.
Product overview
UrbanSitter is a marketplace platform offering multiple interconnected child care and caregiving services. The core products include Babysitting Services, Nanny Services, Daycare Finder, Tutoring, Pet Sitting, Senior Care, and Household Services—all built on a unified platform with shared trust infrastructure (annual background checks, Trust & Safety team review, community reviews). The Employer Benefits Program represents a B2B add-on module that integrates with ActivityHero to offer corporate-sponsored childcare stipends. The platform operates across all 50 U.S. states with native iOS and Android mobile apps for on-the-go booking and payment.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Babysitting Services
Quantifiable outcome
- Last-minute job posts receive responses in under 2-3 minutes in most cities
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use UrbanSitter
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
UrbanSitter technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
UrbanSitter partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- ActivityHerocoreUrbanSitter partnered with ActivityHero to provide employer-sponsored childcare benefits integrating camp, after-school programs, and backup care for school-age children. The partnership allows employers to offer stipends that can be used across both platforms for various care services. Both companies position this as a recruitment and retention tool for employers.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
UrbanSitter competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Care.com: Care.com is the largest online marketplace for childcare, senior care, pet care, and housekeeping. It is the most direct competitor to UrbanSitter, offering a similar two-sided marketplace model connecting families with caregivers, and competes head-to-head on geographic coverage, caregiver pool size, and brand recognition.
- Sittercity: Sittercity is a direct competitor in the online babysitter and nanny marketplace space, owned by Bright Horizons. It offers similar family-to-caregiver matching with background checks and competes with UrbanSitter in the same primary use cases — date-night sitters and ongoing nanny placements.
Emerging players
- Helpr: Helpr is an emerging on-demand childcare platform focused on backup care and employer-sponsored benefits. It overlaps with UrbanSitter's employer benefits channel and last-minute booking use case, positioning itself as a more modern, app-first alternative for working parents.
- Bambino: Bambino was a neighborhood-based babysitter sharing app that focused on community referrals, closely mirroring UrbanSitter's social-graph differentiation. It was acquired by Care.com in 2019, making it a former direct competitor now folded into the dominant rival.
- Papa: Papa is a marketplace platform connecting seniors and families with 'Papa Pals' for companion care, transportation, and daily support. It overlaps with UrbanSitter's senior care vertical and shares the marketplace model plus employer benefits (insurance/Medicare) distribution channel.
- Rover: Rover operates the leading marketplace for pet sitting and dog walking, sharing the same trust-and-safety infrastructure (background checks, reviews, payments) model as UrbanSitter. It is a direct competitor in the pet care vertical that UrbanSitter has expanded into.
- Wyndy: Wyndy is a college-student-focused babysitter marketplace with a similar two-sided model and emphasis on background checks and reviews. It targets the same date-night and recurring-sitter use case as UrbanSitter in university-heavy markets.
- Nanno: Nanno is a smaller niche nanny and babysitter placement platform serving major U.S. cities. It competes with UrbanSitter in the full-time nanny placement use case with a similar curated-profile approach, but lacks UrbanSitter's national scale and community-referral moat.
Broad incumbents
- Bright Horizons Family Solutions: Bright Horizons is the largest U.S. provider of employer-sponsored childcare, including centers, back-up care, and educational programs. As the parent of Sittercity, it competes with UrbanSitter both as a direct marketplace rival (Sittercity) and as a dominant incumbent in employer-sponsored childcare benefits.
- TaskRabbit: TaskRabbit is a broad gig-services marketplace (now owned by IKEA) connecting users with local taskers for household services, errands, and cleaning. It overlaps with UrbanSitter's household services vertical and competes for the same household-services demand.
Market position
Strengths1 record
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks1 record
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
UrbanSitter social profiles
Digital presenceUrbanSitter financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
UrbanSitter leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
UrbanSitter funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds8 records
Investors9 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
UrbanSitter M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A2 records
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about UrbanSitter
What does UrbanSitter do?
UrbanSitter operates an online marketplace platform that connects families with background-checked childcare and caregiving providers, including babysitters, nannies, daycare centers, tutors, pet sitters, senior caregivers, and household service professionals. The platform leverages a referral network spanning 300,000+ local community groups across all 50 U.S. states to match families with caregivers trusted by people they already know. Families can join, browse, and post jobs for free, with paid membership required to book; caregivers retain 100% of their earnings.
Is UrbanSitter a public or private company?
UrbanSitter is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was UrbanSitter founded?
UrbanSitter was founded in 2010. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is UrbanSitter based?
UrbanSitter is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does UrbanSitter make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Family Membership Fees are the primary driver. The others are employer Benefits Program.
Who are UrbanSitter's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Care.com and Sittercity. Emerging players are Helpr, Bambino, Papa, Rover, Wyndy and Nanno. Broad incumbents are Bright Horizons Family Solutions and TaskRabbit.
Does UrbanSitter have an API?
No public API is recorded for UrbanSitter.
What industry is UrbanSitter in?
UrbanSitter's product category is Childcare Marketplace. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAMAHAJ, Childcare & Eldercare Caregiving Platforms, with a secondary code of HSAAABAN, Nanny Agency / Placement Services. Its NAICS code is 6244 and its SIC code is 8351.