Mad Paws
Mad Paws is an Australian two-sided online marketplace, founded in 2014 and headquartered in Sydney, connecting individual pet owners with verified, independent pet sitters across Australia. The platform facilitates bookings for pet hosting, sitting, daycare, walking, grooming, and training services.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersSydney, Australia
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Mad Paws does
Mad Paws is an Australian two-sided online marketplace founded in 2014 and headquartered in Sydney that connects individual pet owners with verified, independent pet sitters offering overnight hosting, in-home pet sitting, daycare, house visits, dog walking, dog grooming, and dog training services across all Australian states and territories. The platform operates as a cloud-based web and mobile application (iOS and Android), with built-in trust mechanisms including identity verification for sitters, optional police checks, a pre-booking meet-and-greet feature, and the Mad Paws Guarantee that backs every booking. The product surface was extended via the 2021 acquisition of Waggly Club and the 2022 acquisition of Pet Chemist, the latter adding a pet retail/pharmacy vertical.
Mad Paws firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Mad Paws
- Legal name
- Mad Paws
- Website
- https://madpaws.com.au
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Acquired
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Mad Paws is an Australian two-sided online marketplace, founded in 2014 and headquartered in Sydney, connecting individual pet owners with verified, independent pet sitters across Australia. The platform facilitates bookings for pet hosting, sitting, daycare, walking, grooming, and training services.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Mad Paws industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Pet Care Marketplace
- NAICS
- Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services (81291)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Pet Care & Pet Services Platforms (Sitting, Walking, Grooming) (BPAMAHAI)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Multi-Pet / Multi-Household In-Home Sitting (HSANAEAL)
Keywords
Where Mad Paws is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Sydney
- HQ country
- Australia
- HQ region
- Oceania
Offices1 record
Markets served
Mad Paws business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Personnel
Revenue model
- Platform Commission (Sitter Side): Mad Paws collects a 20% fee on each booking completed through the platform. This is deducted from the sitter's earnings and covers customer support, booking support, marketing, and product improvements. An additional owner fee also applies to each booking.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Pet Sitter Earnings - Up to $1,600/month potential |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Pet Owner Booking Fees |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Mad Paws product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Mad Paws operates an Australian online marketplace that connects pet owners with a network of verified pet sitters offering pet hosting, pet sitting, dog walking, daycare, house visits, grooming, and training services. The platform enables pet owners to search, compare, and book sitters directly via its website and mobile apps, while sitters earn income by delivering in-home pet care. Mad Paws monetises the marketplace by taking a 20% commission on each completed booking plus an owner booking fee.
Product overview
Mad Paws is a single-platform marketplace offering an Australian online pet care marketplace connecting pet owners with verified pet sitters. The platform operates as a unified service marketplace supporting over 300,000 active pet owners and 70,000 pet care providers across Australia. The core Mad Paws Marketplace Platform enables pet owner-sitter matching and booking, with integrated mobile apps (iOS/Android) for on-the-go access. The platform offers specialized services including Pet Hosting (overnight at sitter's home), Pet Sitting (overnight at pet owner's home), Pet Day Care, House Visiting, Dog Walking, Dog Grooming, and Dog Training. Additional protection is provided through the Mad Paws Guarantee. The platform was acquired by Rover (US pet care company) in November 2025 and continues operating as a separate brand based in Sydney.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Mad Paws Marketplace Platform An Australian online pet care marketplace connecting pet owners with verified pet sitters across Australia, enabling search, profile browsing, booking, and management of pet care services.
- Pet Hosting
Quantifiable outcome
- 4.6 rating from over 3000 reviews on Product Review platform
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Mad Paws
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Mad Paws technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Mad Paws partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- The Sharing HubminorThe Sharing Hub is listed as a partner on Mad Paws' website. The nature of the partnership appears to be related to sustainable or sharing economy initiatives, though specific details are not provided in the source material.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Mad Paws competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- TrustedHousesitters: TrustedHousesitters operates a membership-based house- and pet-sitting marketplace with international reach. Overlaps with Mad Paws on in-home pet sitting and house-sitting bundles, though monetised via subscriptions rather than per-booking commissions.
- Pawshake: Pawshake is a direct marketplace competitor operating in Australia and other markets, connecting pet owners with local pet sitters for boarding, sitting, walking, and daycare — the same core use cases as Mad Paws.
- PetBacker: PetBacker is an Asia-Pacific focused pet care marketplace offering boarding, sitting, walking, grooming, and daycare services. Directly comparable two-sided marketplace model with overlapping service catalogue.
Broad incumbents
- Wag!: Wag! is a large US-based pet care marketplace offering walking, sitting, boarding, and grooming. Comparable marketplace mechanics and service mix; primarily a US competitor but a useful benchmark for platform economics.
- Care.com: Care.com is a broad marketplace for pet care alongside child, senior, and household care. Overlaps with Mad Paws on pet sitting and dog walking and shares a marketplace commission model, though it spans multiple care verticals.
- Rover: Rover is the global category leader in pet-sitting and dog-walking marketplaces and is also Mad Paws' parent following the November 2025 acquisition. Direct functional overlap across hosting, sitting, walking, and daycare, with materially larger geographic reach.
- PetCoach (by PetSmart): PetSmart is a US pet care retail and services incumbent offering in-store grooming, training, and PetsHotel boarding. Comparable service categories but delivered through owned facilities rather than a peer-to-peer marketplace.
Others
- Airbnb: While not a direct pet-care competitor, Airbnb's Experiences and house-sitting adjacencies occasionally overlap with the in-home pet-sitting use case. Useful as a benchmark for two-sided marketplace liquidity and trust architecture.
Regional players
- Holidog: Holidog is a European pet-sitting and dog-walking marketplace. Functionally similar to Mad Paws but primarily serves France and other European markets rather than competing directly in Australia.
- DogBuddy (Barkibu): DogBuddy is a European pet care marketplace (now part of Barkibu) offering dog sitting, boarding, walking, and daycare. Comparable marketplace model but operates primarily in Europe rather than Australia.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Mad Paws social profiles
Digital presenceMad Paws financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Mad Paws leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles9 records
Mad Paws funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds7 records
Investors7 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Mad Paws 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 Mad Paws
What does Mad Paws do?
Mad Paws operates an Australian online marketplace that connects pet owners with a network of verified pet sitters offering pet hosting, pet sitting, dog walking, daycare, house visits, grooming, and training services. The platform enables pet owners to search, compare, and book sitters directly via its website and mobile apps, while sitters earn income by delivering in-home pet care. Mad Paws monetises the marketplace by taking a 20% commission on each completed booking plus an owner booking fee.
Is Mad Paws a public or private company?
Mad Paws is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently acquired.
When was Mad Paws founded?
Mad Paws was founded in 2014. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Mad Paws based?
Mad Paws is headquartered in Sydney, Australia, in the Oceania region.
How does Mad Paws make money?
One revenue line is on record: platform Commission (Sitter Side).
Who are Mad Paws's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are TrustedHousesitters, Pawshake and PetBacker. Broad incumbents are Wag!, Care.com, Rover and PetCoach (by PetSmart). Airbnb is listed as an others. Regional players are Holidog and DogBuddy (Barkibu).
Does Mad Paws have an API?
No public API is recorded for Mad Paws.
What industry is Mad Paws in?
Mad Paws's product category is Pet Care Marketplace. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAMAHAI, Pet Care & Pet Services Platforms (Sitting, Walking, Grooming), with a secondary code of HSANAEAL, Multi-Pet / Multi-Household In-Home Sitting. Its NAICS code is 81291.